Whether Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania continues to be slammed by critics who make it one of the worst films mcu never made, fans continue to debate on what could have been better or not to make this third feature film a bit drinkable. Among the sources of fan anger: the failed introduction of Kang the Conqueror and the lame adaptation of MODOK. If the latter is a difficult character to adapt given his ridiculous design, he was savagely scuttled by Peyton Reed and the bogus writing of Jeff Loveness. MODOK was reduced to being the big human head in CGI of the actor Correy Stoll (Yellowjacket in the first movie) while the script featured the character’s butt parting, destined to be deeply humiliated and mocked after viewing the film. In the movie, MODOK ended up sacrificing himself just because he didn’t want to be” a loser“, after a short exchange with Cassie Lang, the daughter of his enemy whom he strangely begins to appreciate. Incoherent choice after having come close to killing her a few years earlier.
MODOK however, does not by itself illustrate all that is wrong with this Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Everything is to be thrown in the trash. VFX artists are, all the more, once again on a crusade against feature films for not having had the necessary time to provide good special effects. The film is therefore a gigantic bazaar to be sent de facto to the dump, so much so that the staff of marvel studios then decided to change course and focus on quality over quantity.
Feat of arms that annoys the fans a little more: Jeff Loveness maintained that he did not wish (and would not wish) never do MODOK a serious character, and that his public humiliation was amply justified. The artist Marvel Alexi Briclot posted concept art on instagram where an alternative design for the supervillain was presented. The goal was to keep the identity of the character secret a little longer. The reversal of the situation on this subject (MODOK’s identity is revealed in the first third of the film) no doubt stems from the fact that the initial rumors about Ant Man 3 had already announced that Darren Cross would be MODOK.
The link on the concept arts ofAlexi Briclot are available here on his Instagram account!
One of MODOK’s first concepts for AntMan and the Wasp: QUANTUMANIA. A twisted and fucked up version from Darren Cross / Yellow Jacket (played by #coreystoll) having endured the harsh and transforming environment that is the Quantum Realm. Make him a mental organism designed only to kill. Always a challenge to keep the tie to the comic book source material and push it further while embracing the whole concept of its roots in film. At some point, an idea of some quantum geysers emerged, aging, degreasing and transforming things. I jumped at the idea and thought of a twisted reconfiguration (did I mean Cronenberg’s Fly? Maybe a bit in concept…). Part of the challenge was to keep Darren Cross’s likeness hidden to later be revealed. Under the direction and leadership of @andyparkart. Alexi Briclot