Disney+ may be the main hub for MCU content in terms of streaming services but Hulu isn’t abandoning its Marvel roster. Hulu’s Helstrom, a live-action supernatural thriller is just around the corner and will soon be joined by Marvel’s MODOK, an animated comedy done in the stop-motion style of classics like Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken. At New York Comic Con’s digital Metaverse event, the cast and crew presented a first look at the series to give fans an idea of exactly what’s in store for the off-beat streaming TV show.
The show stars Patton Oswalt as MODOK, Aimee Garcia as his wife Jodie, Ben Schwartz as his son Lou, and Melissa Fumero as his daughter Melissa. The show centers around MODOK’s villainous organization, AIM, as it goes through some hard times–they’re bankrupt and being bought out by a Silicon Valley tech firm to keep them afloat. So now, in the words of co-creator Jordan Blum, “MODOK is suddenly forced to sit through things like HR meetings.”
So who is MODOK? Well, in Patton Oswalt’s words, he’s a “supervillain who not only hates superheroes, he hates every other supervillain, so it’s just double barreled resentment all the way down.” This is in contrast with his son, the lab-created Lou who Ben Schwartz says “is unlike everyone in his family” and daughter Melissa, who according to Melissa Fumero, “has daddy issues and very much wants to follow in her father’s supervillain footsteps.” Apparently, despite Melissa taking after MODOK (as in, being a giant floating head with baby arms) she’s still the queen bee of her high school.
To cap it all off comes MODOK’s wife Jodie who is a career woman and mommy blogger. In an exclusive clip shared with the panel, we see that Jodie is a successful entrepreneur who would ideally like to see MODOK give up his supervillain lifestyle because she’s currently bringing in enough money to support the family on her own. Naturally, MODOK, who “doesn’t like change” according to Oswalt, isn’t thrilled with the idea.
Oswalt went on to explain that Jodie has a supervillain arc of her own, but doesn’t realize that it’s a supervillain arc until it’s too late. “In her mind it was like an Eat, Pray, Love thing,” Oswalt said.
The family will be joined by a revolving door of supporting characters and Marvel universe cameos. Blum said that fans can expect to see “A-listers and D-listers and characters you’d have to dig down deep to even find that they ever existed. We pulled from everywhere.” Blum also confirmed that they were even allowed to pull from other Marvel properties like the X-Men, but couldn’t elaborate exactly which mutants may be showing up.
Currently Marvel’s MODOK has no official release date and will be “coming soon” to Hulu.
