The Marvel Comics supervillain MODOK is the subject of a new and critically acclaimed Hulu stop-motion animation series. It’s one of the most interesting takes on the unusual villain so far, but comic book readers know there have been many other versions – some just as strange – in the original Marvel Comics.

MODOK (Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) was designed by the scientists and engineers at A.I.M. to help unlock the secrets of the Cosmic Cube. That mission has led to lots of different iterations of the supervillain over the years since his debut in Tales of Suspense #93 back in 1967.

10 Nextwave Squad MODOK

MODOK is kind of silly on the surface, being a giant head in a floating chair with tiny arms and legs. His most gonzo alternate version might belong to the version encountered and ultimately defeated by the Nextwave Squad in the comics. That superhero team discovered a quartet of MODOKs who all resembled Elvis Presley. These MODOKs were created by the Beyond Corporation, one of the many evil organizations populating Marvel Comics. They were all destroyed, but other MODOK variants remain active.

9 MODOT

The original MODOK was the result of genetic experiments on the part of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) that rendered George Tarpelton unable to walk. MODOT (Mobile Organism Designed Only for Talking) is a later version that has some improvements over the original. This version could walk on his own, for example. The original couldn’t because his cranium had grown so large and heavy he required a hoverchair to get around. MODOT first appears in a Howard The Duck mini-series from 2007. Howard The Duck was himself the subject of a darkly comic family movie.

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8 MODOG

Numerous versions of MODOK exist throughout the Marvel Universe (and beyond). One from the main continuity of Earth-616 is MODOG (Mobile Organism Designed Only for Genocide). This version of the supervillain was intended to be a huge upgrade from the original but didn’t perform very well at all. Iron Man dumped him out in space in the first encounter and that was pretty much the end for MODOG. He first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #2 in 2008.

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7 Ultimate MODOK

The Ultimate Comics universe of Earth-1610 is home to many alternate versions of Marvel villains, like Kraven The Hunter. MODOK got a very frightening revision for this early 2000s imprint. This version isn’t a product of A.I.M., but the result of an alien infection by this universe’s version of Galactus, or Gah Lak Tus, one of the most powerful Marvel cosmic characters.

The Ultimate MODOK eventually became a giant head, writhing with vine-like appendages he could attack others with. Though he was destroyed, it was eventually revealed another MODOK existed inside the head of Doctor Faustus.

6 Ms. MODOK

Just as Ultron once designed Jocasta in one of the strangest Avengers romances ever, MODOK fell in love with Ms. MODOK. In The Incredible Hulk #287 back in 1983, MODOK creates a partner for himself by transforming Dr. Katherine Waynesboro into Ms. MODOK. She’s essentially the same as MODOK in appearance, except she has dark hair. Dr. Waynesboro rejects what MODOK has done to her and asks him to turn back into a normal human, which he ultimately does.

5 Embryonic MODOKs

MODOK fought against a number of major Marvel superheroes over the years. One of his strangest and scariest versions took on Carol Danvers, the current version of Captain Marvel. During her time as Ms. Marvel, she battled a group of 24 embryonic MODOK heads. Collectively, the heads had the power to distort reality and they tried to divide her into a normal human Carol and a Kree warrior. Depending on which direction the movie goes in, this could be a comic book storyline that The Marvels movie adapts.

4 Resurrected MODOK

In Captain America #313 in 1986, MODOK’s many plots come back to haunt him. Unable to achieve his goals, A.I.M. turns on their creation and has him killed. He isn’t out of the game for long. MODOK is resurrected by A.I.M. in 1995 in Captain America #440. This is a more powerful and ruthless version of the character, and he secures his position as leader of A.I.M. once and for all. He also goes on to become a member of The Intelligencia, a clandestine cabal of genius supervillains, playing a big role in the creation of the Red Hulk.

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3 BRODOK

One of the strangest versions of MODOK in the comics is BRODOK. This slightly silly take on the character derived his name from (Bio-Robotic Organism Designed Overwhelmingly for Kissing) and appeared outwardly human. Despite his movie-star good looks, he was actually MODOK Superior in disguise.

BRODOK fought the West Coast Avengers, one of the best Avengers rosters ever, in the first issue of the third volume of that series, trying to turn all of L.A. into monsters. He was defeated and eventually reverted to his true form.

2 MODAM

Ms. MODOK is not the only female version of MODOK. The second was MODAM, which A.I.M. engineered after they killed the original MODOK. MODAM (Mental Organism Designed for Aggressive Maneuvers) first appeared in West Coast Avengers #36. She possessed all of MODOK’s intellect and psionic powers, as well as an upgraded Doomsday Chair from which she operated. Her distinguishing feature was her elongated pincer arms which she used to attack enemies.

1 MODOK Superior

MODOK is always scheming, and one of his most elaborate and dangerous plots is the creation of MODOK Superior. MODOK Superior is the result of a cloned brain of the original MODOK evolving into a new form. He possesses all of the original’s powers and abilities, but none of his weaknesses. MODOK Superior played a role through several major storylines in the early 2000s including Fear Itself and into recent years. An evolved form of him appears as Ulti-MODOK in the future of Iron Man 2020.

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