Though the movie does have its defenders, it's fair to say that 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Qauntumania is generally viewed as a misfire for Marvel Studios, and M.O.D.O.K. wound up being one of the most widely lambasted aspects of the movie.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his allies encounter the "Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing" ("that's really M.O.D.O.F.K.") when they arrive in the Quantum Realm and land on Kang's (Jonathn Majors) radar. It's not long before he unmasks and reveals himself to be the first Ant-Man's villain, Darren Cross (complete with actor Corey Stoll's massive CG face), who somehow survived as a... giant head with baby arms and legs.
Kang discovered Cross after he was banished to the Quantum Realm, kitted him out with tech, and made him his henchman. As it turns out, M.O.D.O.K. was originally going to have a lackey of his own before the character ended up being cut from the movie.
Concept artist J.S. Marantz has shared several designs for what he describes as a "kaiju" character, who M.O.D.O.K. created and planned to unleash upon the Quantum Realm.
"This sequence was cut from the film, but it was so much fun designing a creature that Modok would unleash on the quantum realm. He was supposed to be one of his experiments , kind of made in his image."
Ant-Man 3 was released during a bit of a bad patch for the MCU, with the next instalment in the franchise, The Marvels, emerging as the lowest-grossing Marvel Studios film of all time. The studio would later announce a new "quality over quantity" initiative, with fewer movies and Disney+ shows released on a yearly basis.
Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.
Directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania also stars Jonathan Majors as Kang, David Dastmalchian as Veb, Katy O'Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as Quaz and Bill Murray as Lord Krylar.
The MCU threequel is now available to stream on Disney+.