Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. is currently careening toward its May 21 release date on Hulu, dragging with it a combination of high-profile comedy voice acting, Robot Chicken-honed animation, and some of Marvel’s deadliest weirdos designed only for killing. And while we understand that there are a lot of Marvel TV projects out there right now, we have to admit that we were thoroughly charmed by the show’s appearance at WonderCon@Home today—and specifically by a clip shown off by series co-creator Jordan Blum, that presents an updated, mad-science-y spin on a classic trope: The wizard’s duel (i.e., two incredibly powerful people throwing increasingly creative weapons/spells/knives at each other until one of them quits or dies.)
(If the time-cueing on the embed isn’t working properly, the fight clip kicks off at about the 36-minute mark.)
In this case, we’re seeing a throwdown between Patton Oswalt’s titular M.O.D.O.K. and his old rival Monica Rappaccini (Wendi McLendon-Covey), a.k.a. A.I.M.’s Scientist Supreme. The end result is a really effective little tutorial in escalating lunacy, as the two super-scientists battle it out with an increasingly silly set of weapons, counter-weapons, poisons, antidotes, and, again, knives. It’s a hell of a selling point for the series—as was news of some of the guest casting that’s been lined up for it today, including the hinfo that Jon Hamm will be playing the series’ version of Iron Man, Bill Hader will take on the part of guy-we-always-skipped-over-in-the-Essential-Handbook-Of-The-Marvel-Universe Angarr The Screamer, and (in a callback to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2) Nathan Fillion is finally getting to actually play Wonder Man.
Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. lands on Hulu on May 21. Bring on the screaming exploding clone babies and unlikely animal friends.