Do you ever rub your eyes and suddenly find you’re awake and not asleep, as you’ve grown to suspect you were? M.O.D.O.K., up till this point in his life would have probably eaten the spleen of Vincent Price for posing this question to him. After the events of this issue maybe not so much. Maybe after this series we might have to be refer to M.O.D.O.K. by his original name George Tarleton?? Let’s dive in and find out.

We open with a glimpse inside the mind of M.O.D.O.K. It’s a POV shot. He must be standing on the sidewalk looking at this nice family home with a white picked fence. He is monologuing even in his own head, go figure. Speaking with his usual bluster, he doesn’t dream, even though this is so obviously a dream he is having. M.O.D.O.K. approaches the house and enters but the place is only filled with scratched out faces.

WAKE UP! A screaming Monica Rappaccini snaps M.O.D.O.K. out of his reverie. This happened to him in the middle of a heist. It is not good to show weakness if you’re a villain, especially with billions on the line. Even if it happens because you took a blast to the head like M.O.D.O.K. did. People will try to take advantage of any moment of hesitation or handicap in the villain game.

That is essentially the snowflake that starts the ball rolling. M.O.D.O.K gets back to A.I.M. base and Monica wants him decommissioned or at the very least sidelined. M.O.D.O.K. only wants answers and to be left alone, but Monica smells blood in the water.

With traces of M.O.D.O.K.’s past life seeping into his present mind movies he retires to his quarters, but not till after making a fool out of Monica. Which further aggravates this mad scientist that is out to get M.O.D.O.K. With just a little more evidence of M.O.D.O.K’s failing mental acuity Monica is able to turn all of A.I.M. against him. What ensues next is one of the funnest battle/escape scenes I have seen in comics in awhile.

To fix himself M.O.D.O.K. will have to turn to someone else that might know what it’s like to be covered in a suit of armor, but someone in stark contrast to himself.

Final Thoughts:

This issue really hit the sweet spot for me this week. The whole team of creators did a great job. The art was colorful, energetic, violent, and gentle in all the right places. The story had great humor with a premise that is easy to understand and consume. Throw this on your pull list and enjoy the escapism.

9.8/10