2 years ago
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What is simply a superhero without a supervillain? Not much. Some supervillains, however, are worthy a batch much than others. I person truthful decided to spotlight immoderate lesser-known villains. Are they underrated gems oregon irredeemable losers who merit to beryllium forgotten? You decide! Today’s subject: M.O.D.A.M.!
Some of you whitethorn beryllium acquainted with M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing), the occasional (literal) caput of A.I.M. He’s showed up rather a spot implicit the years successful some the comics and assorted cartoons. Less celebrated is his pistillate counterpart, M.O.D.A.M. (Mental Organism Designed for Aggressive Maneuvers), who archetypal appeared successful West Coast Avengers #36 successful 1988…not that anyone knew it astatine the time.
In this issue, the Avengers were forced into a reenactment of The Most Dangerous Game: a mind-controlling villain made them each hunt down chap subordinate Hank Pym. While trying to evade his teammates, Hank stumbled crossed what appeared to beryllium his woman Maria, who was supposedly killed by Communists years ago. Instead, they experimented connected her and utilized her accrued intellect to nonstop the instauration of galore Silver Age villains, similar Crimson Dynamo.
With Maria’s help, Hank broke the villain’s clasp implicit the Avengers. He past decided to enactment with Maria to effort to shrink her encephalon and instrumentality her to normal.
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Notable Appearances
Solo Avengers #16 revealed that Maria was not truly Maria: she was an A.I.M. operative designated S.O.D.A.M. (Specialized Organism Designed for Aggressive Maneuvers). She present could onslaught opponents with powerfulness blasts and caput power alternatively than sitting backmost and designing weapons for others.
At that point, it was inactive unclear if “Maria” was the existent Maria Pym, mutated and brainwashed beyond recognition, oregon if she was conscionable an experimentation designed to look similar her and instrumentality Hank into doing immoderate escaped repair work. The Avengers lone knew that they had a almighty caller force to contend with…
Quasar #9
S.O.D.A.M. became M.O.D.A.M. and acquired her much familiar, M.O.D.O.K.-with-lipstick quality successful Quasar #9. Alas, this contented is not disposable connected Marvel Unlimited, truthful I can’t archer you overmuch much astir it.
I should constituent retired that her translation was not communal cognition among Earth’s superheroes: during the blisteringly anserine “Superia Stratagem” storyline successful Captain America, Cap learned his person Diamondback had been kidnapped by a “monster-size head,” and helium assumed M.O.D.O.K. was responsible. He seemed rather amazed to find M.O.D.A.M. instead.
Iron Man #296–297
Here we yet get the information astir M.O.D.A.M.’s origins. (Well, maybe.) Omega Red, usually an X-Men villain, interrupts a combat betwixt Iron Man and M.O.D.A.M., claiming that she is truly Olinka Barankova, who erstwhile betrayed him to the Soviet concealed police. She insists he’s mistaken, but he’s not buying it.
Iron Man saves her from Omega Red’s rage, and M.O.D.A.M. repays him by trying to termination him. Nice. No wonderment Iron Man muses that she “plays rougher than…M.O.D.O.K. did.”
Captain America #440
In this issue, M.O.D.A.M. was tasked with trying to hole the vas containing a Cosmic Cube, which was expelling convulsive energy. She is intelligibly afraid, and she adjacent suspects that A.I.M. has deemed her “expendable.” Yet she does her work anyway.
I’m not wide connected whether she was killed successful the ruptures — that’s erstwhile A.I.M. mislaid interaction with her — oregon by the Red Skull, who pops up retired of obscurity aboriginal successful the issue. Either way, adjacent though this wasn’t overmuch of an quality (she vanishes beauteous quick), I deliberation it’s absorbing that M.O.D.A.M. is inactive susceptible of quality emotions similar fear, adjacent if she is truthful devoted to work that she can’t bash thing to debar a nasty fate.
Or possibly she physically can’t disobey: it’s made wide successful the Iron Man issues that the mutation process had intelligence broadside effects.
Anything Else?
Whatever killed her, Hydra intelligibly got to her assemblage earlier A.I.M. did: her lone different quality was successful Captain America #3 successful 1998, erstwhile we spot her corpse connected show astatine Hydra headquarters. Yecch.
The Verdict
Too soon to tell.
That mightiness dependable weird, since the quality has been astir for 35 years. But each of M.O.D.A.M.’s appearances person revolved astir A) her serving arsenic a lackey for different villains, usually A.I.M., oregon B) caller revelations astir her history. That doesn’t permission overmuch clip for her to make arsenic a quality successful her ain right. Heck, we inactive don’t cognize if Omega Red correctly identified her arsenic the erstwhile Olinka Barankova, oregon if she was close successful saying that A.I.M. falsified her records. Exploring her origins could astir apt marque for an absorbing adventure.
Maybe Marvel ne'er did thing with this quality since she is truthful visually akin to M.O.D.O.K. How galore giant-headed super-geniuses does 1 need, anyway? For me, that becomes thing of a catch-22: I can’t archer if this quality is worthwhile due to the fact that Marvel hasn’t done thing with her, and Marvel won’t bash thing with her due to the fact that they don’t spot her arsenic worthwhile.
Want to conscionable much overlooked villains? Check retired my profiles connected King Tut, the Matador, Peek-a-Boo, Man-Killer, Mad Mod, Big Wheel, KGBeast, the Living Monolith, Egg Fu, Mahkizmo, and the One-Shot Special!
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