Entering Marvel Contest of Champions: M.O.D.O.K.

A big head with an even bigger ego blasts his way into Battlerealm this week in “Marvel Contest of Champions.” Rejoice folks: M.O.D.O.K.’s finally joining the marvelous melee! We talked to Kabam Art Director Gabriel Frizzera and Game Designer Shane O’Connor about the maniacal mental organism, his nefarious plans, and how exactly he’ll be duking it out with those tiny limbs of his.

Marvel.com: What’s our favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing doing on Battlerealm? Wouldn’t he be more at home, on Earth, with a bunch of A.I.M. lackeys at his beck and call?

Gabriel Frizzera: He’s been in the Battlerealm for a while, since his unsuccessful rebellion against The Collector landed him a job as his trusted Chairman for Technological Affairs. After some disastrous experiments with Terrigen, M.O.D.O.K. felt he was about to get sacked and changed sides. The Grandmaster was about to get rid of him as a leftover of the old administration, but M.O.D.O.K. convinced him to let him take over a small portion of the Battlerealm to run a Hotel/Spa/Bootcamp where Grandmaster could send all the unwanted Champions. Little does he know, that M.O.D.O.K. has other plans…check out our motion comic if you want to find out more!

Marvel.com: And this looks like classic M.O.D.O.K.—gold floaty chair, tiny purple limbs, terrible haircut. Are there any unique “Contest” tweaks I missed?

Gabriel Frizzera: No, he’s pretty much the classic. This one is pure, unadulterated M.O.D.O.K., one of the best designs for a Super Villain ever created by “King” Jack Kirby. In fact, he was one of the first characters we modelled for the game, but for the longest time we couldn’t agree on how to best introduce him. I’m a big fan, so I was always pushing for the character. It took almost three years, but M.O.D.O.K. is finally playable in The Contest!

Marvel.com: I gotta know, what the heck do his animations look like? I mean he can’t really punch or kick…

Gabriel Frizzera: To compensate for the lack of reach of his limbs, we built giant mechanical arms with a variety of abilities, like claws, circular saws, etc, that more than compensate for his tiny arms and legs; actually, his arms and legs are regular size, his head is the one that’s oversized. He also uses his trademarked psychic blasts, and lots and massive headbutts, of course!

Marvel.com: What about his abilities? I’m guessing the team worked his mad genius into his kit somehow?

Shane O’Connor: We all know it would take a super genius to calculate the optimal ability alignments that unlock the maximum killing potential…but here’s a hint: M.O.D.O.K. is protected by a powerful Force Field at all times. Enemies will need to find a way to take it down and deal damage before it comes back online. M.O.D.O.K. also oscillates his attributes with a hidden ability called Flux. M.O.D.O.K. is weakest when Flux is low, but watch out for his Incinerate and Doomsday Blades when Flux is high!

Marvel.com: What exactly are the unique block bonuses he gets from the different Classes?

Shane O’Connor: Once M.O.D.O.K. awakens his Signature “Master Plan” Ability, he’ll want to pay attention to the Classes that appear in Quests. Once he defeats a Class, he’ll activate a unique Block bonus for future fights against that Class within the same Quest. Each bonus calibrates his Block and Force Field to become more effective against that Class. For example, he’ll take less damage from Cosmic enemies using Buffs or Science enemies using Debuffs. It’s especially effective against Mystic Champions, but M.O.D.O.K. didn’t bother to develop a bonus against the Skill Class. After all, they’re not even Super Human!

Marvel.com: What kind of teammates do we want fighting at his side?

Shane O’Connor: M.O.D.O.K. has left an impression on many members of The Contest. He has seven Synergy Bonuses—more than any other Champion to date! Taskmaster is both a worthy adversary and a powerful ally, as his Advanced Idea Mechanics Synergy increases M.O.D.O.K.’s ability to recharge his Force Field. Deadpool and Gwenpool ran away with his Doomsday Chair, but if they team up with him then M.O.D.O.K.’s Flux is restored to its true maximum potential. Abomination and Ultron are also great to pair with due to their powerful Unique Synergy Bonuses.

Marvel.com: And when can we fly his big head around Battlrealm?

Shane O’Connor: Find the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing in the SCIENCE RULES! Crystal as well as the MECHANIZED ORGANISM and DESIGNED ONLY FOR KILLING Arenas on Dec 21!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com and @MarvelGames on Twitter for more “Marvel Contest of Champions” news and interviews!