Who Agents Of SHIELD Planned To Become MODOK (& Why They Didn"t)

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Before debuting in the MCU, MODOK was almost introduced into Agents of SHIELD, but these plans were hastily canceled. Produced under the Marvel Television banner, adjacent to Marvel Studios' MCU, Agents of SHIELD ran on ABC for seven seasons between 2013 and 2020. The series featured the mysterious return of Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson following the character's death at the hands of Loki in The Avengers, exploring the dynamics of a new team of SHIELD agents as they deal with the unfolding events of the MCU. AoS introduced the Inhumans and explored the ongoing battle against HYDRA and nefarious Life Model Decoys.
Over its run, Agents of SHIELD explored many storylines from Marvel Comics that weren't planned for adaptation into the MCU proper. During Agents of SHIELD season 4, many LMDs set to work on eliminating Inhumans, working under the command of the leader of the Watchdog terrorist organization, the Superior, otherwise known as Anton Ivanov. Season 4 also teased the introduction of one strange Marvel villain, who would eventually debut in the MCU's Phase 5's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, though MODOK's debut in Agents of SHIELD was eventually blocked by Marvel.
How MODOK Would've Appeared In Agents Of SHIELD

During his battle with Inhumans, namely Daisy Johnson, a.k.a. Quake, Ivanov is mortally wounded and taken into the care of Aida, the original Life Model Decoy, who severed his head from his body and stored it inside a glass dome. In this state, Ivanov was able to control LMD bodies of himself, as his brain was kept intact, with Aida keeping him alive in order for him to protect her Framework. During an interview with The AV Club, Agents of SHIELD producer Jeffrey Bell confirmed that the severed head of Ivanov would have become MODOK in the series, which would have marked the villain's live-action debut six years before Quantumania.
Why MODOK Didn't Appear In Agents Of SHIELD

According to Bell, Agents of SHIELD was originally given the green light to use a multitude of characters from Marvel Comics, which led to the development of storylines that would start to introduce some of the weirder characters in Marvel's roster. This specifically concerned MODOK, as many die-hard Marvel fans would have instantly recognized the direction that the series was taking with Superior's severed head in a jar, particularly since the villain even told Aida that his LMD body was "only designed for killing." MODOK (Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) would eventually be retracted from Agents of SHIELD, potentially in preparation for his eventual use in the MCU proper.
For Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, MODOK's MCU origin was changed significantly, both from his Marvel Comics backstory and from his potential origins in Agents of SHIELD. Marvel Studios revealed MODOK to be the new identity of Darren Cross, a.k.a. Yellowjacket, from 2015's Ant-Man, who was turned into the killing machine after meeting Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm. This was perhaps a clearer origin story for MODOK in the MCU, rather than the villain simply being someone's severed head in a jar; however, it would have been great to see MODOK turn up in Agents of SHIELD, especially after being teased so obviously.
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