Possible spoilers ahead!
The new Hulu animates series “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.” is an original take on the Marvel Comics villain who first appeared in 1967. The series was co-created by Patton Oswalt (who also voices M.O.D.O.K.) and Jordan Blum and does away with the character’s convoluted comic history in favor of a brand-new origin and setting.
The show opens with a flashback to his childhood, with M.O.D.O.K.’s mother comforting her unusually proportioned son after he’s bullied at school. She tells her son “One day, that big, beautiful, womb-wrecking head of yours is going to change the world,” It’s a sweet scene, but it also a scene that sets the stage for him becoming M.O.D.O.K. (by the way, the character’s name stands for Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing).
35 years later M.O.D.O.K. is the leader of A.I.M (Advanced Idea Mechanics), complete with henchmen in yellow hazmat suits. By day, M.O.D.O.K. leads their villainous plots including battles with Iron Man (Jon Hamm) and S.H.I.E.L.D. But by night, he returns to his home in the suburbs, where he lives with his wife Jodie (Aimee Garcia), an author and lifestyle vlogger, his tween son Lou (Ben Schwartz), and his teenage daughter Melissa (Melissa Fumero), who’s inherited her father’s unusual shape, and floats around in a bedazzled pink chair of her own.
I had a bad feeling after watching the trailer for “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.” a few weeks ago. Based on what I saw, it seemed like Marvel was trying to do their version of the Harley Quinn animated series, which would have been cool. But the difference is that the Harley Quinn show is willing to take huge chances while “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.” seems happy with having a talented voice cast delivering mediocre jokes.
Despite boasting some talented people, this show is not good. None of the corny jokes made me laugh, and the barrage of one-liners fell flat time after time. There were moments when I was embarrassed for the actors who deserved much better material than this. Iron Man watching “The Great British Bake Off” while he fights M.O.D.O.K. is not funny. Neither is the scene lead character telling his kids it’s their fault if he and his wife divorced, and both are played for laughs.
The series then decides to Mix in a ton of family drama in between jokes. However, some of this drama can get pretty sad and dark at times, and the transitions between tones are jarring throughout the 10 episode season. The mix of genres works in the Harley Quinn show because it’s anchored by well-developed characters the audience can root for. None of the characters in M.O.D.O.K. are as likable or as well developed. With bad jokes and too much family drama, you get a show that doesn’t know what kind of series it wants to be.
When it comes to the animation style, I’m guessing people who work or worked on “Robot Chicken” had major input on the show because many of the characters move, and act like they’re in a “Robot Chicken” skit. Too bad Marvel didn’t bring some of those writers on board, maybe they could have made some of the humor better in places.
Coming on the heels of “Wandavision” and “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.” is a huge letdown. This series is not appointment-viewing like the other shows were. While part of me gives Marvel some credit for trying to create an adult animated series, M.O.D.O.K. is a series that isn’t sure if it should leap R-rated territory and it shows. Either go all in as Harley Quinn did, or don’t try at all.
“Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.” final grade: D