Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

Quote1 My name is Darren, and I... am not... a dick! Quote2
Darren Cross[src]

History

Darren Cross was a brilliant young scientist who after graduating the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of twenty as valedictorian and was taken on as a protégé by Dr. Henry Pym.[1] His ambitions led him to serve on the board of directors for Dr. Pym's company, Pym Technologies, where he eventually had Dr. Pym removed by a narrow margin of one vote. With Pym out of his way, he proceeded to embark on a lengthy research project to recreate Pym's discoveries with Pym Particles.[2]

Within a few short years Cross had managed to build a functional method of using Pym Particles to shrink inorganic matter to tiny sizes and created the weaponized Yellowjacket's Suit designed specifically for combat and espionage. However, the means to shrink organic matter continued to elude him. Ongoing frustration and continued exposure to Pym Particles also had a detrimental effect on his sanity, and when estranged Pym's daughter Hope, who likewise worked at the company, saw this and how close Cross was to perfecting the technology, she grew alarmed and turned to her father for help. Cross always suspected that Dr. Pym might intervene however, and began implementing contingencies to deal with his old mentor if that happened.[2]

The experiments to reduce the size of living tissue were resulting in the shrunken matter to be liquefied during the change, and so one of Cross's ideas was to use this aspect of his incomplete Pym Particle technology as a weapon. He deployed this idea using a modified taser for the delivery method, and when one of his fellow board members became a problem he got rid of the man by reducing him to tiny gelatinous blob with this weapon.[2]

Darren Cross (Earth-199999) from Marvel's Ant-Man 001

As Yellowjacket

By this time, Cross's mental state had become increasingly unstable, to the point where he made overtures to Hydra seeking to profit by supplying them with Pym Particle technology. After the first successful test on a live subject he could finally draw them into his plan, although he had also failed to notice Hope's alarm at what he had done, and had consequently underestimated the plans Pym had put in motion against him.[2]

On the eve of a meeting with Hydra in his research laboratory, Dr. Pym had been intercepted entering the building and Hope had likewise given Darren reason to doubt her loyalty. Their associate Scott Lang, wearing Dr. Pym's old Ant-Man's Suit, was also caught breaking into a secure chamber in the lab, which left Cross with all three, and the buyers from Hydra, drawn together in the same room. He intervened when Hydra moved to kill Dr. Pym, but only so he could take the gun and kill Pym himself. It was at this moment the ever resourceful Scott Lang found a way to break free of his containment and attack. In the chaos that followed, Hydra were quickly beaten, and Dr. Pym shot in the chest. Cross had little hope fighting Lang in the Ant-Man suit, so he grabbed his case containing the Yellowjacket's Suit and retreated for the roof and a waiting helicopter.[2]

Lang reached the helicopter as it was taking off, and so began a lengthy confrontation between the two. Indiscriminate use of the Yellowjacket suit's weapons hit the two crewmen and sent the helicopter falling to earth in an uncontrolled spin. Lang was separated from him for the moment, so he seized the opportunity to take Lang's daughter Cassie hostage to use as leverage. Lang resumed the fight and eventually beat Cross by shrinking well below safety limits to sabotage the Yellowjacket suit. Cross could only scream as random, unregulated Pym Particle activity wracked his body before he winked out of existence.[2]

Darren Cross (Earth-199999) from Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania 002

As M.O.D.O.K.

Darren had in fact survived, but fell into the Quantum Realm, where his now deformed body was found by Kang the Conqueror. Kang saved his life by providing him a suit of flying armor enhanced with advanced weaponry, transforming Darren into M.O.D.O.K., a Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing. M.O.D.O.K. served as Kang's feared enforcer for years until eventually he came face to face with his mentor and rival once again when Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne traveled into the Quantum Realm along with Janet Van Dyne and Cassie Lang. When Scott and Cassie were captured by Kang, they were brought to meet M.O.D.O.K. who revealed to them the story of his survival. He also later battled Hank Pym, being able to knock his ship out of the sky. When Cassie escaped from Kang's prison, Kang ordered M.O.D.O.K. to kill her and he chased her across the city until she used the Pym Particles to enlarge herself and beat him. She then told M.O.D.O.K. to stop being a dick and he took to heart, acknowledging his real name and attacking Kang to weaking his personal shield in a critical moment. This cost Darren his life, but he was able to die in peace, knowing that he acted as an Avenger.[3]

Attributes

Powers

Doomsday Chair Capabilities

Weaknesses

  • Through repeated unprotected exposure to Pym Particles, Cross has become mentally unstable.[2]
  • After being shrunken to the Quantum Realm, Cross' head was left disproportionate to his body, while increasing his mind, it also left his body to require the Doomsday Chair to live and move around.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

  • Yellowjacket's Suit: With the use of Pym Particles and Yellowjacket's Suit, Cross exhibited the following powers:
    • Size Reduction and Density Compaction: With exposure to Pym Particles, Cross can reduce the space between his atoms reducing his size and increasing his density.[2]
    • Yellowjacket's Sting: Yellowjacket's Suit could generate powerful bio-electric blasts.[2] The exact power source and upper limits of this ability are unknown.
    • Flight: Yellowjacket's Suit was equipped with some type of rocket or jet propulsion system. However, this was primarily used for short distance flight and hovering.[2] It remains unclear if this system could sustain long distance flight.

Weapons

Transportation

Notes

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement