Spoilers ahead for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
In “Quantumania,” M.O.D.O.K. wasn’t merely a mechanized organism, but a biologically altered version of Darren, a.k.a. the Yellowjacket from the first “Ant-Man” film in 2015. When the Yellowjacket was shrunk into oblivion, he landed in the microscopic Quantum Realm where his battered body was salvaged by Kang. His head was grown, his limbs shrunk, and he was equipped with head lasers and retractable weapons that he used to slaughter hundreds. He worked for Kang for years, happy to be a M.O.D.O.K. Just as Darren did, however, M.O.D.O.K. has something of a fragile ego, and tended to react violently or wounded when confronted with his own insecurities.
Jeff Loveness briefly described the scene wherein he and M.O.D.O.K. were to trade a few barbs:
“Oh, I almost got — another deleted scene — I got killed by M.O.D.O.K. […] I got cut. That was another scene that was probably too weird. I was talking back to M.O.D.O.K. and kind of s***ing on him, and he blew me up with his head laser. […] In the Loveness Cut, we’ll do it.”
The scene would have, no doubt, been hysterical.
Loveness has had a long career in comedy writing, having worked on “The Onion News Network” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” immediately after college. He also won a Primetime Emmy for his extensive work on the hit animated show “Rick and Morty” and is no stranger to comic books, having written for titles like “Shazam!,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and “Venom.”
“Quantumania” is Loveness’ first produced feature film, and one can only imagine his thrill in being M.O.D.O.K.ed. Luckily, extended cuts on Blu-ray are common, and Loveness may still get his moment in the spotlight. Er, death laser.
