M.O.D.O.K.



""They once called me M.O.D.O.C. -- but I'd much rather be killing than computing!""

- M.O.D.O.K., Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

M.O.D.O.K. is a Marvel Comics super-villain created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Making his Silver Age debut in Tales of Suspense #93 (September, 1967), M.O.D.O.K. has been featured in over 40 years of Marvel canon. While originally a foe of Captain America, M.O.D.O.K is not tied to a single hero's Rogues Gallery. He has battled the likes of The Falcon, Nick Fury and SHIELD, Iron Man, Namor, the Incredible Hulk. rival villains Mad Thinker and Yellow Claw, Ms. Marvel, the Champions (Angel, Iceman, Black Widow, Darkstar, Ghost Rider, and The Incredible Hercules), the Thing, and the Serpent Society. The later group managed to assassinate him back in 1986. But M.O.D.O.K. was revived in 1995 and has remained a prominent villain since then. In 2009, IGN.com ranked M.O.D.O.K. #100 on its IGN Top 100 Villains list.

A lowly technician working for Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), George Tarleton was nothing special. One day, Tarleton is picked by A.I.M.'s Scientist Supreme to be genetically altered into a living computer code-named M.O.D.O.C.: Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing. The experiment was a success: Tarleton's brain became enormous, granting him superhuman intelligence and vast psionic powers. Driven mad by the procedures performed on him, M.O.D.O.C. kills his masters in cold blood. Enjoying the slaughter, M.O.D.O.C. renames himself M.O.D.O.K: Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. Having eliminated the existing command structure, M.O.D.O.K. takes over A.I.M, declaring himself the new Scientist Supreme.

Comic Books

 * Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11
 * MODOK: Reign Delay

Storylines
 * Marvel Zombies
 * Fall of the Hulks

Video Games

 * Marvel Ultimate Alliance: A member of the Masters of Evil, M.O.D.O.K. is the final boss of the Omega Base level.
 * Marvel Super Hero Squad: M.O.D.O.K. and A.I.M. appear early in the game, stealing an infinity fractal for Doctor Doom. Changing his mind, M.O.D.O.K. would use the fractal to power one of his doom cannons until Wolverine and the Hulk intervene.
 * Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet: M.O.D.O.K. makes a cameo appearance, still working for Dr. Doom.
 * Marvel vs. Capcom 3: M.O.D.O.K. appears as a playable character, taking  in his ending.

Western Animation

 * Iron Man
 * Iron Man: Armored Adventures
 * The Superhero Squad Show
 * Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes

"M.O.D.O.K.: Never again will I forget to lobotomize one of my clones!"
 * Ascended Extra: To a degree: he's made the host of the officially sanctioned clay/action-figure animated comedy series Marvel Super Heroes: What The-?!, appearing in nearly every episode, including having an episode devoted entirely to his M.O.M.E.N.T.S . However, he's treated as a Butt Monkey even still.
 * Back From the Dead: A.I.M. used a Cosmic Cube to bring M.O.D.O.K. back to life, believing that he would be loyal as originally designed. They were wrong.
 * Bad Boss: So bad that A.I.M. had him assassinated by the Serpent Society for his obsession with killing superheroes.
 * Big Bad: Leader of the Intelligencia, M.O.D.O.K. was the big bad during Fall of the Hulks.
 * Bio Augmentation: The source of M.O.D.O.K's giant cranium and superhuman powers.
 * Body Surf
 * Body Swap: M.O.D.O.K. once swapped bodies with Damocles Rivas. The two ended up sharing M.O.D.O.K.'s body for a while when things went wrong.
 * Brain Uploading: M.O.D.O.K. found a way to upload his brain online, giving him the ability to travel by e-mail.
 * Brains Evil, Brawn Good: Definitely applies when M.O.D.O.K. faces off against The Hulk.
 * Cephalothorax: He does have a small, atrophied body, but you can't see anything but his head and limbs as long as he's in his chair.
 * Combat Tentacles
 * De-Power: In Incredible Hulk #610, a Hulked out Amadeus Cho uses his temporary reality warping powers to turn M.O.D.O.K. back into George Tarleton.
 * Cloning Gambit: The Red Hulk later discovers M.O.D.O.K. had hidden a clone of himself away in case something happened to him. This version sees himself as an upgrade to the original.
 * Deflector Shields: M.O.D.O.K.'s shields are strong enough to withstand nuclear blasts.
 * Distaff Counterpart: M.O.D.A.M., the Mental Organism Designed for Aggressive Maneuvers.
 * Driven by Envy
 * Evil Cripple: M.O.D.O.K. gained his powers at the cost of his mobility. Without his Doomsday Chair and headband, M.O.D.O.K. would be completely helpless.
 * Evil Genius
 * Evil Laugh
 * Expendable Clone: M.O.D.O.K.'s organs fail often, so he has clones kept in storage for replacement parts. In Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, M.O.D.O.K. vs. M.O.D.O.K. fights usually end with the following:

"Gray Hulk: Ah, M.O.D.O.K. The Mental Organism Designed Only for Kick-ball. M.O.D.O.K.: Yes, it—Hey! That's not what it stands for!"
 * For Science!: A.I.M.'s primary goal is to achieve scientific breakthroughs. When M.O.D.O.K. loses sight of this goal, A.I.M has him assassinated.
 * Fun with Acronyms A.I.M. really seems to love this.
 * Humongous Mecha
 * Mind Probe
 * Mooks: A.I.M. henchmen don't have a very long shelf life.
 * M.O.D.O.K.'s latest incarnation relies on Life Model Decoys.
 * My Brain Is Big
 * Never Say "Die": Animated series never know what to do with his name. The Iron Man half of the Marvel Action Hour never said it was an acronym. Iron Man: Armored Adventures makes it MODOC, with the C standing for Conquest. The Superhero Squad Show keeps MODOK, and plays with the name (making the last letter stand for something different, as supplied by whoever's mocking him or whatever he's bragging about. However, what the K actually stands for is never given. Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes does the same as Armored Adventures. However, it actually makes more sense given MODOC's modus operandi in the show and the fact that he isn't as Ax Crazy.
 * Also, the kid-friendly parody The Super Hero Squad Show was able to use this Trope for some laughs:


 * Non-Indicative Name: To be honest, he's good at a lot of things other than killing.
 * Powered Armor: M.O.D.O.K. wears an exoskeleton that allows him to move his limbs in conjunction with the Doomsday Chair.
 * Psychic Powers
 * Psycho Prototype: Originally designed as a harmless living computer, M.O.D.O.K. went crazy and killed his masters instead of following orders.
 * The Starscream: A successful one, given that he turned on his creators and took over A.I.M.
 * Super Intelligence: The reason why he was mutated into MODOC in the first place.
 * Super Wheelchair: M.O.D.O.K.'s Doomsday Chair gives him the power of Flight. It also has a number of on-board weapons like lasers, missiles, and bombs.
 * Take Over the World
 * Tragic Monster: Even if he's been rendered crazy enough that he enjoys it now, it's not as if he really deserved to be transformed into MODOC. There's a reason why the page image for Cephalothorax depicts M.O.D.O.K. weeping over what he has become.
 * Taken up to eleven in, where MODOK gets an episode in the first season explaining he's not crazy like his comics counterpart and, arguably, isn't even evil. He was a scientist who was forcibly mutated into his grotesque form by a rival who was jealous over MODOK's upcoming engagement -- the only reason he has allied himself with the Mandarin at all is because the Mandarin has promised to use his powers to restore MODOK to human form if MODOK helps him. The plot of the episode is even based on MODOK being forced to come to Iron Man and beg him to save the woman who would have been MODOK's wife if not for his transformation.
 * The Unexpected: His appearance in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 definitely qualifies.
 * Use Your Head: M.O.D.O.K.'s Battering Ram moves in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.
 * Weaponized Exhaust
 * Weaponized Headgear: M.O.D.O.K.'s headband focuses his powers, allowing him to operate his Doomsday Chair and fire "psionic blasts" from his forehead.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity