M.O.D.O.K is a fun but ultimately weak foray from Marvel into comedy and animation. Despite the stellar voice cast who deliver great performances, it doesn’t make up for the hit and miss ratio of the jokes, the episodes are chocked full of attempts at humour but not enough of them land. While there’s some genuinely hilarious jokes, each episode is saturated with many tired and unimaginative jokes that takes away from the better jokes the show has. It’s unfortunate as this is what the show hinges on, there is a story that builds upon itself throughout which is interesting enough but the main draw for the show is the comedy and too many jokes fall flat to keep you invested in it.
![M.O.D.O.K.': Supervillain Sitcom Mixes Vulgar Humor & Real Emotion In Marvel's Most Surprising Project In Years [Review]](https://theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MODOK-Marvel.jpg)
It’s not all bad, I really enjoyed some of the characters in the show; Lou, played by Ben Schwartz, is an absolute delight whenever he’s on screen and is the show’s funniest character both in the writing and Schwartz’s effortlessly comedic performance. Most of the other side characters have some funny moments but unfortunately, they’re used as plot devices for M.O.D.O.K and aren’t given much character development themselves or enough time and love to really make us care about them. However, the voice cast truly feels as if they had fun reading the, at times, ludicrous lines and having their characters placed in absolutely bizarre situations, which makes the times when the jokes don’t land mildly more fun.
The animation quality is great, opting to use the same sort of stop-motion visuals as ‘Robot Chicken’ and it really works. Seeing characters from the Marvel universe in explicitly violent scenarios with the stop-motion animation touch was an interesting and entertaining take on the characters and world many of us are used to by now.
In some of the later episodes the show seems to find it’s groove (especially episode 8) and I wouldn’t mind seeing a second season but going forward the show has to tighten up its script in order to have a reason for why people should continue watching. Despite having some good elements M.O.D.O.K is less than the sum of its parts. Especially with the overabundance of superhero content we’re getting now, M.O.D.O.K misses the mark and isn’t required viewing for Marvel fans.
★★1/2
