M.O.D.O.K. tries to while away a lonely weekend at a fancy supervillain bar, but his rejection by his ‘peers’ drives him to desperate measures.

The more this show goes on, the more surprised I am by the fact that between the irreverence, ostentatiously filthy language and over the top violence, there are also moments of genuine heart that really hit home.

One such moment in this episode hits towards the end and lands all the harder because of where – or rather who – it comes from. It’s a small thing that could have been just another one of the dumb jokes that show fires out at machine gun pace but instead it pauses and centres itself just long enough to let the moment really sink in.

Other than that, it’s business as usual in M.O.D.O.K. world. Alone without the kids or his wife in a crappy apartment, our ‘hero’ decides to go drown his sorrows in a high end supervillain bar. Received less than well by the patrons, he finds himself forced to go to the Bar With No Name and recruit the low-life washed up villains there in a typically dumb scheme to try to win the approval of his ‘peer group’.

But then there’s that heart which the writers and Patton Oswalt between them bring to the thing, where in-between the stupid gags and moments mocking the various villainous outcasts, we get to see the real stories behind them. And more importantly we get to see M.O.D.O.K.’s reaction to those stories, and the fact that beneath all the bluster and noise, he’s still just a man, with the emotions, worries and troubles of a man, albeit a particularly maladjusted type of man.

Elsewhere, Jodie and Monica end up bonding over drinks as they mutually bitch about the man they share in common in their lives and Lou continues to be a gem of a character in the show, this time flirting with a new friend and seeking ever more ridiculous ways to be unique, as Ben Schwarz really enjoys himself with the part.

And there’s also a reminder that M.O.D.O.K.’s younger self travelled forward through time after him and isn’t too happy with the direction his older self seems to have taken – expect that to become important as the series progresses.

Verdict: A fabulous blend of irreverent humour and heartwarming moments. Cracking stuff. 9/10

Greg D. Smith