If This Be... M.O.D.O.K.!

"If This Be... M.O.D.O.K.!" is the first episode of the first season of M.O.D.O.K.. It premiered on Hulu on May 21, 2021.
==Synopsis==
Supervillain M.O.D.O.K. is forced to sell A.I.M. to the tech company GRUMBL. As he struggles to regain control of A.I.M. he risks losing something even more important - his family.
==Plot==
35 years ago, the big headed George Tarleton is comforted by his mother following being bullied by the other children. His mother informs him that one day he will change the world with his "womb wrecking" head. In the present, George, now going by MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing), is the leader of A.I.M. and leads an attack on Wall Street against S.H.I.E.L.D. He is thwarted by the appearance of Iron Man (who is simultaneously watching The Great British Bake Off), but he manages to swipe his boot during the encounter. Despite his celebration at A.I.M. headquarters, he is insulted by his head scientist Monica Rappaccini who informs him that he lost the fight because he Tweeted it. Regardless, MODOK calls her envious and continues to celebrate with the boot.
At the end of the day, MODOK returns to his home, a modest living suburban house, and meets up with his wife Jodie, a mommy vlogger and lifestyle coach. As she tells him all the deals and offerings she has received, MODOK appears more interested in Iron Man's boot. She asks him to fix the smoothie maker who just so happens to be the Super-Adaptoid who dislikes being used for menial tasks. Jodie also calls down their son Lou who is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, but is having trouble deciding a suit because he wants to look flashy and perform magic. MODOK and Jodie's daughter, Melissa, returns home after having received detention for catfishing and exposing a rival at school. Despite their problems, MODOK continues to praise the boot he stole and ignores his wife's success.
The next day at A.I.M., MODOK learns that the company is losing money quickly and is confronted by Monica who demands he hand over control of A.I.M. to her. In his anger, he ends up blasting the arm off of A.I.M. agent Gary, who does not seem too affected by it, though he does wish to reattach it. MODOK plans a grand attack on Fort Knox to claim more money, but their building proceeds to lose power and resources. A.I.M. is suddenly visited by the CEO of GRUMBL, Austin Van Der Sleet, who reveals that he is well aware of MODOK's financial difficulties (which he apparently pulled from his recent Google searches) and offers to buy A.I.M. MODOK turns him down, much to Monica and the agents' chagrin, as he claims that they can manage on their own.
MODOK moves base to home, though it quickly begins to interfere with his family life. Jodie pulls him over to suggest that he give up A.I.M. and have her be the breadwinner of the house as she can financially support them now. MODOK turns this down as he feels that A.I.M. is still a part of him, concerning Jodie. Austin visits his house and offers to take him out to eat, see a concert and go to an arcade. During this time, Austin begins to break down the benefits of GRUMBL to MODOK before taking him back to the main offices. While there, MODOK sees a toy version of himself and Austin claims that the toy was from his childhood and that he has admired him for a long time. While MODOK is put off the sob story, he decides to finally accept Austin's help in having GRUMBL invest in A.I.M.
The next day, MODOK arrives at work to discover that things have changed. The main entrance hall is now a break room like environment with a ping pong table, arcade machine and cereal dispenser, his torture room has been converted into a kids zone area (though the window still has electrified bars), his science team is dwindled down to Gary, and the cafeteria's mural, which depicted a rather crude and immodest painting of MODOK, is being covered over (thanks in part due to Monica's complaint). MODOK demands Austin return things to normal, but he refuses as he the contract clearly says that he signed over A.I.M. to him. MODOK ends up throwing a temper tantrum (which involved blowing up a contract worker) and he is put on sabbatical. As he leaves, MODOK learns that Gary and a couple of other agents are being let go. Furthermore, Austin technically still does not own A.I.M. as he still needs to sign the deed. MODOK decides to plot a heist.
MODOK, the A.I.M. agents, Lou and the Super-Adaptoid plot to break back into A.I.M. and steal a bottle of chewable Pym particle tablets to perform the heist (Super-Adaptoid's sole role is to be a ladder for MODOK). They are caught by Monica, but they outwit her by blowing up her odd science experiment. MODOK plots to shrink himself into a small dart gun and fire himself into Austin while planting a cerebral cortex manipulator in his brain to prevent him from signing the contract. The plan seems to run smoothly, but MODOK ends up in someone else's body. That person being Jodie who is trying to expand her business through GRUMBL. While hesitant to control his wife, he pretends to find a loophole via her memories and takes over her body by physically attacking Austin. He he sneezed out and Jodie runs away embarrassed. Nevertheless, Austin still signs the contract, while admitting that the toy of him he was a ruse, but MODOK manages to negotiate the security of the A.I.M. agents' jobs by creating a new tablet for GRUMBL.
MODOK and a visibly disappointed Jodie have dinner out. MODOK voices his "win" and plots to kill Austin. Jodie explains that she lost the deal with GRUMBL, but she managed to secure a new one with Roxxon. She tells him that she felt violated by what he did to her, but MODOK insists that it was for a good cause and further claims that she somehow allowed it in the past. Jodie solemnly tells MODOK that she wants to divorce him because of his behavior towards her and leaves the restaurant. MODOK is visibly shaken by the news, made even worse by the fact that the Pym particles are still in his system and he burps; shrinking himself.
==Cast==
* Patton Oswalt as George Tarleton/M.O.D.O.K.
* Aimee Garcia as Jodie Tarleton
* Melissa Fumero as Melissa Tarleton
* Ben Schwartz as Lou Tarleton
* Wendi McLendon-Covey as Monica Rappaccini
* Beck Bennett as Austin Van Der Sleet
* Jon Daly as Super-Adaptoid
* Sam Richardson as Gary
* Jon Hamm as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* John DiMaggio as A.I.M. Agent
* Trevor Devall
==Trivia==
*The title is a reference to M.O.D.O.K.'s debut in Tales of Suspense #94.
*MODOK and Austin attend a Lila Cheney concert. In the comics, Lila Cheney is a Mutant with the ability to teleport.
Category:M.O.D.O.K. episodes
Category:Series premieres