Hulu’s MODOK: The 10 Most Hilarious Quotes

Over the past year or so, Marvel has gained a strong foothold in the TV landscape. With Disney Plus series’ such as WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Loki being some of the biggest TV shows to debut recently, Marvel has proved that their superhero stories can also work on the small screen.

Debuting on Hulu in between Winter Soldier and Loki, Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. instead focuses on MODOK, a character considered to be one of Marvel’s weirder villains. Coming from the creative team behind Robot Chicken, MODOK is Marvel at its funniest and most adult.

10 “1, 2, 3…Uncomfortable!”

As AIM adjusts to the growing pains due to its acquisition by parent company GRUMBL, a group of AIM’s masked workers attend a meeting. To start off the meeting, one of the members asks the other mask-wearers to shout out their race on 3, unless they are uncomfortable. When he counts to 3, the mask-wearers shout “Uncomfortable!” in unison.

Playing on the fact that each of the lowly workers never take off their masks, the amount of build-up to this joke and unexpected punchline cause the joke to hit hard.

9 “OK, It Just Scratched ‘Kill Me’ Onto The Linoleum”

As M.O.D.O.K. is slowly realizing his incompetence with running AIM in the pilot episode, he meets with Monica (one of AIM’s top scientists), who shows him her new creation: a genetically modified monstrosity of a dog that is obviously in a ton of pain.

Monica’s obliviousness to the state of the dog combined with M.O.D.O.K.’s mounting disgust of the abomination before him make the joke even funnier. In addition to being one of the show’s funnier jokes, it shows each character’s mental state at that point.

8 “Why Did The Killer Who Lived Here Before Us Have To Be The Bloodstain Killer?”

After M.O.D.O.K.’s family life changes drastically when his wife Jodie asks for a divorce, he is forced to move out of his house into a dingy apartment covered in bloodstains from the apartment’s previous owner, The Bloodstain Killer. With his family visiting for the first time, he finds it very tough to clean up before they arrive.

In addition to furthering M.O.D.O.K.’s comical downward spiral, the nonsensical name of the serial killer as well as the exaggerated length of time it takes for M.O.D.O.K. to clean up the blood ensures that this is a joke which works on multiple levels.

7 “The Water Just Comes Right Out Of The Toilet!”

When the rest of his family arrive to see his apartment, M.O.D.O.K.’s excitable son Lou, played by Ben Schwartz, remarks on the trashy aspects of M.O.D.O.K.’s apartment. When he goes to the bathroom, Lou remarks in awe at the toilet overflowing before it flips over.

Schwartz’s line delivery as well as Lou’s lack of awareness ensures that this joke hits. Coming right after the Bloodstain Killer joke, Lou’s obliviousness highlights the comically dirty nature of M.O.D.O.K.’s apartment.

6 “A Time Before I Felt Comfortable Enough to Fart In Our Marital Bed…And At Her Father’s Deathbed…And At His Wake…And During The Entirety of Her Tearful Eulogy…”

In the season’s second episode “The M.O.D.O.K. That Time Forgot”, M.O.D.O.K. resolves to save his marriage by building a time machine to take Jodie to a Third Eye Blind concert 17 years prior, at the beginning of their relationship. M.O.D.O.K. thinks back on how he’s changed since then.

While this joke illustrates just how much M.O.D.O.K. has changed, it more importantly works due the increasingly serious moments that M.O.D.O.K. mentions passing gas in. Other shows would have used a joke like this purely as cheap potty humor, but M.O.D.O.K. adds a deeper meaning to it.

5 “You’re An Illiterate Who Loves PBS?”

As M.O.D.O.K. plots to prove his worth as a villain in order to be accepted into an elite group of villains, M.O.D.O.K. plans a heist with a group of illiterate not-so-super superheroes. When one of them mentions that they donated to PBS because of how much they like it, M.O.D.O.K. is comically confused.

A quick one-liner, this is a great example of a character’s reaction drawing attention to and highlighting the ridiculousness of a joke. PBS is also an unexpected punchline, coming out of nowhere and hitting hard.

4 “Seriously, Remember How It Used To Be Around Here? Messy. Disorganized. Hilarious Workers Deaths.”

As AIM navigates through its transitionary period during the GRUMBL takeover, M.O.D.O.K. finds himself more and more disillusioned by the changes to AIM. Talking about how corporate and sterile AIM has begun, M.O.D.O.K. reminisces on how dangerous and exciting AIM used to be.

Sticking to the classic “Rule of Thirds” joke setup, “hilarious workers deaths” works well because it comes so far out of left-field. It shows both M.O.D.O.K.’s obliviousness to his past management failures, as well as provides a stark contrast to the changes that GRUMBL has made.

3 “Looks Like My Teenage Daughter Is Gonna Help Me Get Laid”

As M.O.D.O.K. is still stuck in a rut due to the divorce, Jodie rebounds rather quickly and starts dating another superhero, Wonder Man. Devastated by this, M.O.D.O.K. sinks even deeper into his depression until his daughter Melissa, voiced by Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Melissa Fumero, agrees to help him find another woman.

Highlighting M.O.D.O.K.’s highly emotional state of mind, this joke works because of how oblivious M.O.D.O.K. is to the inappropriateness of having his own daughter find a new love interest for him.

2 “He Only Gave Me Two Jobs To Do: Mine And His”

After M.O.D.O.K. joins AIM in an entry-level position, he convinces Gary, voiced by Veep‘s Sam Richardson, to distribute the mail for him. When Gary loses the mail cart, he worries that M.O.D.O.K. will be upset that Gary didn’t do both of their jobs.

M.O.D.O.K. convincing Gary to do his job for him is funny in a ridiculous way, which is highlighted by Richardson’s worried delivery. This joke shows how subservient Gary is to M.O.D.O.K., while also showing M.O.D.O.K.’s inner deviousness.

1 “How Can I Be Excited About A Birth When I Have To Plan A Funeral…For All Of My Dreams!”

After M.O.D.O.K. and Jodie revisit their lives 17 years ago, M.O.D.O.K. revisits the time around Melissa’s birth. While they prepare for raising Melissa, a sullen M.O.D.O.K. convinces himself that having a daughter will ruin all of his villainous dreams.

Upending a time in their life that should be filled with happiness and excitement, M.O.D.O.K.’s anger provides a humorous alternative. Convinced that he won’t be able to achieve any of his goals, this joke highlights M.O.D.O.K.’s over-inflated ego and overall lack of awareness.

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