'Marvel's MODOK': A head for world domination

If you thought about Disney + WandaVision like a wild ride, get ready for the delicious madness of the new series Marvel MODOK  Since its first appearance in the 1967 issue of Suspenseful tales, the frustrated and insane super-villain MODOK has left a huge impression on fans of the Marvel universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing) always comes up with futile schemes to take down the likes of Captain America, Iron Man, Deadpool, Ms. Marvel and the Hulk. The deeply insecure character is finally getting the respect he thinks he deserves when he appears on his own Hulu show in May.

Produced by the dynamic duo of writer Jordan Blum (American Dad!) and everyone's favorite writer / comic / actor / award host Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), not only is the show incredibly entertaining, it also features fantastic stop-motion animation by the friendly Stoopid troupe Buddy Stoodios (Robot chicken). “I've always wanted to work in this world of underground D-list heroes and villains from the Marvel universe,” says Oswalt, who also plays the lead character. "For me, the most exciting thing was to be able to fool around in the strange alleys of this world and make the main character a little human and easily recognizable, while also exploring his family life with his wife and children."

Blum says he had wanted to work with Oswalt for a long time. The two had previously collaborated on a pilot for FOX, so when Blum had a meeting with the folks at Marvel, he jumped at the opportunity to re-engage Oswalt. “He has the perfect voice and speaks the language of superheroes,” says Blum. “They always say they never meet your heroes, but in Patton's case, it was just the opposite. He is such an amazing and incredible collaborator. We both have this great love for comics. In fact, we've always met in comic shops around town. "

Let the game begin

Blum and Oswalt joined forces to develop and build theirs MODOK the series and things started when Marvel and Hulu bought their bundle two years ago. "After we wrote the pilot and the Bible for the show, we had to understand what the show looked like, so we got several presentations from different animation studios."

The duo says they were blown away by what Stoopid Buddy has put together. “They actually did two versions, the first was a standard 2D animation and the other was stop motion,” says Blum. “Not only did their stop-motion version stand out, it also incorporated an original, hand-held and truthful camera style that was unlike anything I've seen before. He was cinematic, he had great craftsmanship and made great use of depth of field and camera movement. It looked like something Laika was going to do. It's a very busy market for animation and you really need to have a distinctive style that doesn't get lost in the clutter. "

Fortunately, production began before COVID closed last year, so they were able to get a good deal of the work done. Subsequently, health precautions were put in place in the study. Newspapers and mail work were done remotely. “They had to bring a safety specialist to the studio and all were tested weekly,” says Blum. “There are 30 mini-stages at Stoopid Buddy, and we only had one or two puppeteers working at the same time, and then the camera crew would register. The work was slower, but everything was well done. "

The first season of Marvel's MODOK (10 episodes) will premiere on Hulu on May 21.