In case you thought it was a joke when it was first announced,
Marvel TV and Hulu are indeed making an animated series about M.O.D.O.K. The acronym stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, but M.O.D.O.K. is really a “show, don’t tell” kind of character. The most impressive thing about him is his appearance: He’s a giant floating head with little bitty arms and legs sticking out. And as Marvel and Hulu announced Tuesday, he will be voiced by Patton Oswalt in the new show.
As Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. begins, the titular character has been ousted from both his evil organization A.I.M. and his family, bringing on a midlife crisis. Now M.O.D.O.K. has to reinvent himself in order to recapture the things he loves. Aimee Garcia voices M.O.D.O.K.’s wife Jodie, who is excited to make an independent career for herself as a mommy blogger without M.O.D.O.K. weighing her down. Their son Lou is voiced by Ben Schwartz and is described as “a kid who marches to the beat of his own drum.” Despite a lack of friends, ambition, and hygiene, Lou is nevertheless confident, which makes him hard to understand for the insecure M.O.D.O.K. His sister Melissa is voiced by Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Melissa Fumero, and is described as sharing “her father’s features” — does that mean she also has a gigantic head? Even so, she’s a queen bee at school.
Rounding out the cast is Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs) as M.O.D.O.K.’s rival mad scientist Monica Rappaccini; Beck Bennett (Saturday Night Live) as Austin Van Der Sleet, the “post-merger-integration-consultant” who becomes M.O.D.O.K.’s new boss after A.I.M. is acquired by the hilariously named Silicon Valley start-up GRUMBL; Jon Daly (The Kroll Show) as Super Adaptoid, a snarky android with greater dreams than massaging M.O.D.O.K.’s scalp; and Sam Richardson (Veep) as Gary, M.O.D.O.K.’s loyal henchman at A.I.M.
Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. is set to hit Hulu later this year. Stay tuned for any news about companion shows Howard the Duck, Tigra & Dazzler, and Hit-Monkey, because the four are supposed to link up in the crossover The Offenders, just as Netflix’ Marvel shows linked up for The Defenders.
