The Avengers will face AIM in the face of Square Enix’s Avengers and Crystal Dynamics’ Marvel’s face, and although we’ve seen some of AIM’s powers in the beta and trailers, we’ve still seen the true thoughts behind the organization. t the void has filled since the Avengers disbanded. Now everything’s changing, as we have your exclusive first look at Marvel’s Avengers MODOK (aka George Tarleton) and Monica Rappaccini, who will be brought to life by Usman Ally and Jolene Andersen. Not only that, but we had a chance to chat with her about her characters and gain some extra insight from Marvel’s Avengers creative director Shaun Escayg, and by kicking things off we wanted to find out more about the role that Monica plays. in the story and who this dangerous woman is is true.
“What I find so powerful about Monica is her genius, the fact that she’s such an incredibly brilliant scientist, and then on top of that she has that sociopathic streak that I think comes from her intense intellect and that drives her to experiment. and digging through things, “Andersen said. “She has this one-track mind in a way and that’s what I feel is her strongest point, and what makes her so powerful. Also her drive, her ability to manipulate everything around her. She’s a perfect example. of a person who makes her a perfect villain, I like that, and she comes in an unassuming bottle at the same time.I love all that nuance with her and I do not know if that’s her in a norm, but that’s how I feel for her. “
Tony Stark is often regarded as the smartest person in the room, but now you have someone in Monica who can meet that high beam and fight him like a fight on his home turf.
“Yeah and I love that. She’s like you met your match … I appreciate that element too, and that she’s a woman and that she’s brilliant and that she does not hesitate. If she’s ever afraid of anyone, is it not her or that … I think the only time she’s ever shown vulnerability with the Tarleton, MODOK. Beyond that, she’s absolutely up to the task and I find her confidence admirable, and she needs to be trusted. have, because they are pretty incredible, “Andersen said.
As for MODOK, he starts out as George Tarleton, but a series of events and his own ego pave the way for his transformation into a, well, big head in a high chair, and the character completely surprises Usman after the role was offered.
“When Shaun first talked to me about the character, I had no acquaintance with MODOK and that I was just sure, yes. He was, you will be the villain … and Shaun and I worked together in a capacity where.” I used to play a villain for him, so I understand the language, and I said that very well, so who is it and what do they look like, that kind of stuff.He was, you’ll be this really big head at some point, and I was like oh … so it was definitely a bit of a shock, but I really think it’s the character’s journey that’s the coolest part of the whole thing, “Ally said. “In terms of how George becomes this creature, this thing and how much of it is driven by his ambition to help people, I think there is a real belief that what he is doing is for the betterment of people and that strong, strong feeling of yourself and his position in society, wanting to do more is what drives him.I found that one of the really fascinating things was and how that blasts with the ego or one’s own insecurity that comes to the fore “He’s a very complex character.”
We’ve seen MODOK before in other shows and projects, though taking Marvel’s Avengers will not be as extreme as some of those other interpretations.
“We were very happy, Marvel gave us the opportunity to read as much as as little as we wanted. That they gave us access to quite a few of the comic books and everything we might need,” Ally said. “I wanted to know more about him and those first few comic books where you see MODOK for the first time and you are right. Some of that is rather extreme and some of the earlier comic book versions of MODOK are uttered by some exceptional voice actors, but it character is cartoonish in some ways and difficult to take seriously. “
“Very early on, Shaun and I talked about how everything with this character really needs to be rooted,” Ally said. “This is a real man who becomes something else, and even in those moments of extreme volatility and anger there is still a great man who feels wrong, who feels like he wants what is best for people. , which really has a messy complex and so those are the things as an actor that are much more interesting to concentrate on.I respect where the characters come from, but we have the opportunity to do something different now, and like you said, based on truth and reality, and it was exciting to do that. “
“I would also add to what Usman mentioned earlier. From a storytelling standpoint, I personally do not believe in heroes or villains in terms of ideas. I think that is perspective, people are put in situations and react or feel and are therefore labeled heroic or sometimes not when they are the most heroic, probably doing terrible things to survive, “Escayg said. “Well, villains, again I believe that the truth behind every villain is a hero, someone who wanted to do something, live long enough as that hero that you have become the villain and many of these themes we challenge in the writing is that, that’s all subjective, that’s all perspective.We all see our version of these heroes, villains, etc. and even the whole theme of the game, what is this superhero? What does that mean? Is that dangerous or powerful beings? What is MODOK but a man who somehow tries to protect humanity and by harming himself and the ego to do so? That … and I believe it’s the truth behind all Marvel characters as we deepen that. “
As for the organization of AIM itself, the Marvel’s Avengers team wanted to make sure that they were not just an all-out evil conglomerate, but an organization based on a relatable and even altruistic principle that actually has a valid argument.
“When we unveiled The Avengers … they unraveled earlier in many different incarnations of this, but I wanted one where, not only did they unravel, because they felt a lot of guilt, etc., But that d “there was an answer to, as a solution to, the loss of the superhero,” Escayg said. “From a whole level, the thing that challenges this story is the idea of the superhero, are they heroic as dangerous, powerful beings? To get an equality argument, because of course you would like to save the day and do things we fantasize yourself all about being heroic in one sense or another.That the superhero idea is there, but what would that answer be to something that was so super powerful and so incredible of a power? Like lightning as polymorphic etc, and we wanted to that science that answer.And AIM, historically founded in heavy science, and technology and advancement, that as the equal solution to humanity and protection of humanity in our story show the rise of how an organization like that to the power could, could control and retain power and all the different ideals as idealistic people that would come in and out of this organization, MODOK one of them. “
Fans will get a deeper look at what Monica is asking to go in a slightly different direction than George, and this story is truly the origin of her dynamic and relationship.
“In this story, we make their origins,” Escayg said. “You have these two scientists, very passionate about the journey of science on how to save humanity, and in that science it’s the key connecting tissue if you will, because that’s the thing that connects them. When they start to separate … or deviations occur where the details of how they use that science and what they do with that science and what science represents to each of them, that is where they begin to break apart. “
“If you’ve seen any of the early A-Day things, convince Monica George to come on board and bring these Terriers to The Avengers, because this way we can increase our funding, it’s the dream of them both sharing, “Escayg said. “Protection for all, clean energy for all. This is what science can do and Monica is really root for George, and removes the ego for a second from George in this particular relationship. George’s ego says that Tony Stark is all of me takes game and he will have the copyright and I will have no control over it and I will be in the shadows like I always have been.That’s the headspace of George and Monica is like no, forget that now, big picture.You have to play the game to get what you want, and somehow they feed each other off. “
“In the same way, George pressed his ability to experiment,” Escayg said. “His ability to be that audience-aware, scientist genius that Terrigen has found and is now spreading through AIM and technology through AIM, is what makes Monica get the library of inhuman data she needs to power That they are very much in tune with each other at this point in the story, and as the story progresses, we begin to see that fray when George’s intent, as Usman called it, comes to the rescue complex. begins the split or begins to deceive the relationship and that is where we begin to see the true intentions of each of these characters.Now we know that science glues them, what separates them and how does that constant collision come through it story? In this particular story we set up this base of relationships that you talked about that will happen in the future.So of us is the birth of these characters within AIM, how they mutually agreed and start now speak against the differences between them. “
You can see both MODOK and Monica in the artwork above, and make sure to check out all of our coverage of Marvel’s Avengers here! As always you can talk all the things Marvel’s Avengers follow me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.
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