Against all odds, the M.O.D.O.K. TV show arrives on Hulu this week! The only survivor of that wave of wacky Hulu shows Marvel TV announced a couple years ago, M.O.D.O.K. looks to be a fun and super-weird family comedy starring Patton Oswalt. It all sounds great to me! And to celebrate, we’re gonna look at some funky M.O.D.O.K.s!

M.O.D.O.K. stands for “Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing”. He’s been around since the late 1960s, a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. And as you can see, he’s this giant head dude in a mechanized chair! Heck, he was the big bad villain in that recent failed Avengers video game. The dude has chops. He’s put in the work over the decades. And a new TV show starring him as a suburban dad sounds like the apex of his career!

Over the years, there have been a ton of knock-off M.O.D.O.K.s in comics. With an acronym for a name, it’s easy to come up with knock-offs. And we’re going to take a look at the best ones! Join me after the jump for some M.O.D.O.K. madness!

6. M.O.D.A.M.

The most famous and long-lasting knock off is M.O.D.A.M., otherwise known as the lady M.O.D.O.K. She was an A.I.M. plot from the late 1980s who took on the likes of Hank Pym, Hawkeye and Quasar. Her name stands for “Mental Organism Designed for Aggressive Maneuvers”. She’s…basically just M.O.D.O.K. with feminine lips. That’s just going have to be good enough.

5. M.O.D.O.R.D.

The “Mental Organism Designed Only for Roller Derby” was a one-off joke M.O.D.O.K. who appeared in a single short story where he was defeated by Dazzler. Because heck yeah! And that’s all there really is to say about this dude.

4. M.O.D.A.A.K.

It pains me to show this picture and write any of these words. But this character exists and we all need to know about it. M.O.D.A.A.K. stands for “Mental Organism Designed As America’s King” and the influence is not subtle in the least. This version is from the home reality of Spider-Gwen and was an enemy of Captain America’s…which totally tracks, as far as I’m concerned.

3. Elvis M.O.D.O.K.s

Sadly, these little fellas don’t have a name of their own, but they were instantly memorable nonetheless. The Elvis-themed M.O.D.O.K.s were part of the defenses of the Beyond Corporation sent against the forces of Nextwave in a comic that was underappreciated in its time. It was the Arrested Development of comics. As you can see, the Elvis dudes shot cheeseburgers from their bodies and had a lot of backup. Good times! Fun fact, the Beyond Corporation was run by a baby version of M.O.D.O.K. that was claimed to be the offspring of M.O.D.O.K. and M.O.D.A.M., so that’s a handful of funky M.O.D.O.K.s for the price of one!

2. H.E.C.T.O.R.

Now the fun begins! H.E.C.T.O.R. is the Amalgam version of M.O.D.O.K., a combination of two classic big head characters: M.O.D.O.K. and Hector Hammond! This ultimate giant-headed monstrosity took on Iron Lantern as the leader of the Weaponeers of A.I.M., because god damned right he did! I love all things Amalgam Comics and H.E.C.T.O.R. — the “Highly Evolved Creature Totally Oriented for Revenge” — is the perfect example.

1. M.O.D.O.T.

Leave it up to Howard the Duck comics to give us a really funky M.O.D.O.K. The “Mental Organism Designed Only for Talking” was created by a branch of A.I.M. based in Cleveland that wanted to increase their operating budget. So they tricked one of their scientists into becoming M.O.D.O.T. to talk to the head office to make it happen. Instead, M.O.D.O.T. took control of the branch and created an army of human-like robots to take control of the mass media airwaves, which he would use to achieve fame and fortune. And unlike most M.O.D.O.K.s, this guy had nearly full use of his arms and legs. Lucky him!

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