For those unfamiliar, MODOK—short for mechanized organism designed only for killing—was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1967, and first debuted in Tales of Suspense #94. Before becoming a giant floating head with powerful telepathic abilities, MODOK was George Tarleton, a scientist at Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Using science to alter his biology, Tarleton became the villainous MODOK, who seeks world domination.

However, the MODOK in Marvel’s Avengers game won’t be as over-the-top (or one-note) as the version that many comic book readers may remember. This incarnation of MODOK is more grounded and serious about his overall goal, which, as he sees it, is to save humanity.

Newsweek asked Shaun Escayg, storyline director for Marvel’s Avengers, in an online media-only Q&A session Wednesday about the game’s characterization of MODOK and whether there will be elements of comic book silliness that oftentimes made the villain seem like a “parody” of himself, to paraphrase Escayg.

“I would say this MODOK, because of the narrative need and the seriousness of the discussion, is a bit more of the sincere MODOK and less of the parody,” Escayg said. “He is more determined and truly motivated to save humanity, from his perspective. And in order to capture that, we lean more on a grounded version of MODOK. He still has all the beautiful bells and whistles that you know that the comics gave him, and we built on it and put our spin on it to fit this particular story. What you’re going to see is our take on this villain and why he’s menacing, and how passionate he feels about saving humanity.”

Escayg explained that, in the game’s universe, Tarleton was in San Francisco when the Avengers opened up their West Coast branch—the same day that a terrigen bomb detonates and kills many innocent civilians. In the game, that day becomes known as A-Day, and Tarleton is one of a few people that transforms because of the bomb. This transformation imbues him with techno-kineses, the ability to control machines, and eventually changes him physically.

Before the events of A-Day, Tarleton was skeptical of the Avengers and superheroes in general. Escayg said that Tarleton believed that superheroes, like regular people, are flawed, emotional and can be quite destructive.

“We wanted to pose a question to ourselves and the audience. Are these superheroes super-dangerous beings?” Escayg said, when asked why MODOK was chosen as the game’s villain. “[Superheroes] use subjectivity and are uncontrollable and can wreak havoc on humanity. After the events of A-Day, that view is compounded. It’s more solidified and [MODOK’s] absolutely convinced that without science to control and harness this power, we will always be at their mercy.”

Escayg said that every good villain has a noble cause or a cause that begins as noble. But as Tarleton evolves into MODOK, he and his methods become dangerous, making him one of the greatest threats the Avengers will face.

The conflict of Marvel’s Avengers is essentially science vs superheroes, and the Crystal Dynamics team wanted a villain who could pull that out in the story, which is why they landed on MODOK as the big bad.

Tarleton isn’t the only character in the game transformed by the terrigen bomb. Kamala Khan (AKA Ms. Marvel) was also at A-Day and develops her superpowers as a result of the explosion. But instead of ostracizing herself or blaming the Avengers for what happened, she learns to forgive and understands that everyone makes mistakes, even superheroes. She turns out to be the catalyst that brings the team back together.

Marvel’s Avengers is scheduled to be released September 4 on PS4 and Xbox One.