Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. [REVIEW]

From Age of Ultron forward, I have become very numb to Marvel as a whole. Neither their movies nor their shows have managed to leave a lasting impression (with the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy). They very clearly have a science to their work, and up until their latest release on Hulu, I thought they had no intention of changing it. Turns out using one of the more calculated characters in the Marvel universe to go against the formula is the best move they made in years.

We not only follow M.O.D.O.K. trying to take over the world, but we follow his relationship with his family that introduces a romcom element to the mix. An unexpected plus for this series. If you took away Patton Oswalt’s performance, it would be another funny Stoopid Buddy thing, but with his performance, I found myself howl laughing pretty much every single episode. The last episode felt like a producer’s note in an effort to make it more like the rest of Marvel’s library. If you find yourself enjoying the show and are generally tired of the company like me, I would recommend stopping after the 9th episode.

Fans of Marvel comics will find a fair amount of characters they may recognize as deep cuts. I, for example, love the inclusion of Arcade and how his role in the show pushes M.O.D.O.K. to the furthest bond with his family. I am also a fan of the decision to make Wonderman a total asshole to only be outshined by Melissa. Fans of last year’s Sonic movie may recognize Ben Schwartz as M.O.D.O.K.’s son in which you’ll realize he only ever plays himself in everything he does (not a diss at all). Honestly, if you check out the IMDB for this show, the cast is pretty stacked.

M.O.D.O.K. has aesthetically been one of my favorite comic book characters, and Stupid Buddy Stoodios (Robot Chicken, Supermansion, & Blark and Son) have entertained me for years. If the tone was any different from comedic and if the style of the show was live-action, it very well could have sucked. Also worth noting that they edited the footage to come off like it was shot with an on-ground camera crew which is a really nice touch. Turns out this union made for something worthy of signing up for a 30-day trial if you want to.

I know a lot of people in my social media who don’t miss an opportunity to drown my feed in how great Marvel is, and I don’t see much of anyone posting about this particular show. Few of those people will take the time to share the beauty of animation. I know more and more people are sharing the gospel like Guillermo Del Toro on the release of Wolfwalkers, but the deafening silence for M.O.D.O.K. tells me that animation has a long way to go before animation gets properly respected and recognized.