Apparently one of the inspirations for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's take on a classic Marvel Comics villain came from, surprisingly, The Simpsons.
Jeff Loveness, a writer for the film, spoke at length to SFX Magazine about the enjoyment of bringing an unhinged character in the villain M.O.D.O.K. to the big screen. Yet, he dropped a few intriguing references when describing influential sources to bring the character to life. "I’ll just say he was inspired by Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and Frank Grimes in an old Simpsons episode," Loveness said. Like the character of Frank Grimes, he describes M.O.D.O.K. as "this really put-upon, selfish, entitled but then also deeply sad, insecure man who knows that he got a shit deal in life and is trying to make the best of it."
M.O.D.O.K.'s MCU Debut
M.O.D.O.K., a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, was introduced in Tales of Suspense #93 (1967), taking shape as a mutated, cybernetically altered villain with an oversized head who flies around on a hoverchair. The writer went on to explain a bit of the nuance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe-debuting character, whose name is an acronym for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. "His ego will crumble the second he’s challenged but then, also like Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda, he’s pretty good at killing people," he explained. Loveness further described M.O.D.O.K. as a loose-cannon and how, from day-one in the writer's room, the movie became more fun when they included him.
But the Rick and Morty writer clearly had a deep love for the character, saying "M.O.D.O.K. is maybe my single favorite thing that I got in the movie. Obviously, we are very faithful to the comics with the design and the look, but then there is a little bit of extra we put into him. Maybe I’ll get fired off The Kang Dynasty when people see it, but some of my favorite moments come from M.O.D.O.K. and the dynamics there." However, a recent trailer seemingly revealed how Quantumania reinvented M.O.D.O.K.as a resurfaced version of Darren Cross/Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll), the villain of 2015's original Ant-Man. Since he was last seen being violently pulled into the Quantum Realm while battling Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Loveness' comparison to the grudge-holding Frank Grimes seems apt.
The character of Frank Grimes was first introduced in Season 8, Episode 23 of The Simpsons titled "Homer's Enemy," which aired on May 4, 1997. Former The Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein described the episode as a "what if" scenario, exploring what would happen if a real person entered Homer's world and had to deal with him. In the end, Grimes is driven mad by Homer constantly being rewarded for his buffoonish behavior and ends up dying after touching high-voltage wires without safety gloves.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to arrive in theaters on Feb. 16, 2023.
Source: SFX Magazine via GamesRadar+