Marvel’s What If…? Season One!
I love comic book stories like this, where you can take a moment and take it on a different route, how that one moment can change the outcome of the future, creating a different universe of untold possibilities. In the past, Marvel has done a lot of “What If?” which gives the imagination freedom of spreading like wildfire!
Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?
In the first episode, we are briefly introduced to The Watcher. Now the Watchers, which are more than one, are cosmic beings with the abilities to achieve any desires. The episode did not focus on him though, as the title tells us, the focus is more on a moment that changed everything! A moment where Peggy Carter change the course of history, that lead her to become the first superhero. The episode was more like a short story of the first Captain America film, showings us the difference between Rogers’ story and Peggy’s, with a different twist. Steve become the Hydra Stomper, with a very familiar suit of armor, which was then again designed and built by a Stark. Bucky’s story also was altered, as he was never captured by Hydra and turned into the Winter Soldier, as far as we know. The episode ended somewhat familiar with a mix of two films, the end of the first Captain America. Nick Fury telling Captain Carter that the war ended almost 70 years ago, in a very familiar place, like the door that brought us Loki in the first Avengers film. It is a tremendous first episode, love the artwork, the animation, and of course the story, or more like the beginning of a new universe with untold possibilities that will unfold as with each new episode that I can not wait to see!
T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?
The second episode rolls in, and this time is about what if the Ravagers had picked up the wrong kid for Ego. T’Challa gets kidnapped by some of the Ravagers sent by Yondu, like Peter, he will have somewhat of similar life, the only difference, not a galaxy criminal. T’Challa becomes the legendary Star-Lord, which I have a problem with. Peter, when he was a child, he comes up with that name, even his mom called him that on the letter she left him after she died, so the fact that somehow the prince of Wakanda would end up with that name did not make any sense. After that, the story is very interesting, the type of person he is, changed a lot of lives of a lot of people, and that included Thanos himself. That’s right, Thanos is a good guy now, or at least he is in this new universe. A lot of bad people had turned good, which means what happened to the rest of the guardians, except for Drax who become a bartender, since his family was never killed. The episode showed us that no matter where you placed a hero, no matter the environment, no matter how much you change their past, in the end, they will always make the right choice, to be a hero! T’Challa was placed in a different path of a hero, he made it around the circle, putting him back where he belonged, home in Wakanda to fulfill his true destiny. At the end of the episode, Peter Quill showed up, since he was never kidnapped, he got to grow up on earth and Ego found him. The future seems uncertain, now Ego may be able to fulfill his destiny, will Ego and Peter be the future villains for our new heroes? How will this all connect? I can not wait for the next episode, hopefully, step by step everything will be connected in this amazing new Universe!
The World Lost its Mightiest Heroes?
Episode three is a different one, a very interesting one that what if all our beloved original avengers had died. One by one, our Avengers were killed before they were even summoned, and ironically were killed during Fury’s famous busy week. Iron Man 2, Thor, and the incredible Hulk movies happened the same week. Thor’s journey becoming worthy, Bruce dealing with his secret, and Tony dealing with his inner demons happened during the same week. That’s where the episode focused on, starting where Tony was eating a donut inside a bigger donut, Mjolnir falls in New Mexico, and as for Bruce hiding from General Ross. One by one were killed and as for the plot of the episode. As Fury’s busy week becomes hell week as he is trying to figure out who killed every single one of them, including Hawkeye and Black Widow. To top it all Asgard fall onto Earth following the death of their prince, lead by their king Loki. King Loki threatens to freeze earth as punishment unless the killer is brought to Asgardian justice. Black widow, a moment before her death, found a name, very interesting name who we did not get to meet until 2015 with the release of Ant-Man. Hope Van Dyne, who in this new universe had joined Shield, and died in action. This will bring us to the person who killed the Avengers, without any spoilers I will let you figure out, and with enough research, you’ll figure out why that person was wearing that suit. The story ends with Loki king of Midgard, and Fury summing not one but two Captains save the Earth. The story was extremely thought out, a very interesting way of getting to see the outcomes of what if, and with ponder, like what happened to Whiplash and the Abomination. The question is now, are these multiple universes, or one, as so far it seems like the possibilities of multiple separate universes. Or are they all connected, we will have to wait to find out as the episodes roll out week after week!
Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead Of His Hands?
Episode four was incredible, so far one of the best ones when it comes down to not only the animation but the action and the story. So much happened in thirty minutes. The fourth episode focuses on Doctor Strange, in his motivation in the search for the mystic arts, and becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. In this new universe, Stephen got into the same accident, the only difference is Christine was in the car, and she dies in the accident. Setting up a different chain of a path that Strange will take upon, just like in the film he will fight Dormammu and saving the universe. The only difference is that now, after saving the world and becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, the only thing he is missing is Christine. Which will lead him on a dark path, a path of destruction, all to save Christine from that one moment. With the power of time, he will try to change the outcome of that horrible accident, but no matter the situation the outcome will always come, remind me of the film “The Time Machine”, death will always come. Because of it, Stephen chooses the search to beat that outcome, without realizing the effect that it will have on the universe. This episode even shows us that even the strongest heroes can fall so deep that can lead them into such a tragic path of evil. The Watcher himself, even comments on the fact that even as powerful as he, can not change the outcome of any situation. For the first time, our Protagonist, Doctor Strange, and the Watcher knowledge each other. I truly enjoyed the fourth episode, the animation was the best yet, the action was spectacular, and at last the story of how deep our heroes can fall.
Zombies!?
Episode five is one of the episodes that I have been waiting for, Zombies. Zombies are not something new to Marvel, there has been a bunch of issues regarding zombies. Part of me, did wish that the Mutants were in this episode, let’s be honest Zombie Wolverine and Deadpool would have been awesome. At least we did get one mutant. The episode circles around, after Thanos, attacks the remaining Asgardians right at the beginning of Infinity War. Bruce lands in New York, screaming that Thanos is coming, but no one is there to hear his warning. Bruce just landed in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse and gets attack by none other than the Zombie Avengers, Iron man, and Doctor Strange, the best part is, Tony had a suit on and Stephen was casting spells as Zombies! This was some special type of zombie virus, that allowed our beloved heroes to be able to use their powers as zombies. Not to worry, few of them survive the apocalypse and rescued Banner, and they explain how it all went down, with the rescue of someone’s mom. The story continues, like all zombies movies, with finding the cure that leads them to find the Vision, who has been working on the cure. Remember when I said mutant, well technically she is a mutant, and Vision has kept Zombie Scarlet locked up. This episode was just crazy good, they are killing it with the animations, and the action was crazy and the best part, which I should remind you, this episode is based on Infinity War, and Bruce warned us, that’s right Zombie Thanos!
Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?
Episode Six it’s a combination of two films, the first Iron Man and the Black Panther. As you know, the reason behind the Iron Age beginnings in a cave in Afghanistan after Tony was kidnapped by the Ten Rings, but in this new universe that never happened. Erik Killmonger, the cousin to T’challa, rescues Tony Stark right at the moment where he would have been kidnapped, leading to a different alternative universe without giving birth to Iron Man. Killmonger, the high skilled training navy seal, is still deep down the same villain from the film Black Panther, but in this universe, he will use Tony to take revenge for the death of his father. Leading him to kill T’challa and starting a war between Wakanda and the United States. Tony of course figures out Killmonger’s plot, leaving Killmonger with one option, after killing Tony and blaming it on Wakanda, General Ross commands an attack on Wakanda. Erik uses the conflict to infiltrate Wakanda, to help them fight off the United States and earning his place in Wakanda. As his reward for loyalty, he earns the power of the Black Panther. This episode was not the best, not the worse, just a bit stale! The story was interesting, the action was cool but truly just a dull episode.
Thor Were an Only Child?
Episode Seven hits us differently, on what if Thor was an only child, not having that brotherly rivalry with Loki. Without does challenges, Thor is obviously raised differently, giving him a whole different personality. Even then, you would think that parents like his, would turn him into this “Party Prince” I mean have you guys not meet Odin? and the fact that Frigga becomes the disciplining parent is just crazy. Now the episode focuses around the first Thor film, but very different, Odin goes into odinsleep, leaving Thor somewhat in charge. Now Thor has always wanted to be a great warrior, but I do not believe that it had to do with the fact that he had a brother, it’s more down to the culture. After all, Thor is a Norse god, in other words, Viking, and let us not forget who his father is. So for Thor to be raise into this spoiled party prince is just crazy. Now, during the episode, Thor leads a Party invasion, inviting all the Nine Realms down to Midgard. I felt like there was a lot of confusion about the effects of Thor parting, and what could happen to earth that lead Shield to call for backup. Captain Marvel makes her second appearance in What If, and this time she shows up to stop Thor which leads to a confrontation between each other. Now we could debate all day long on who is the strongest, I still believe even if this inexperience Thor was a bit more serious, I would argue that Captain Marvel never had a chance. It all ends with someone’s mother crashing the party, finish up with Thor asking Jane out on a date. Right at the end, someone else showed up, a very interesting enemy that looks like it will set up a chain of events in this new vast multiverse.
Ultron Won?
Episode eight was unpredictably awesome! The episode focuses on the film Age of Ultron, but this time, the Avengers did not steal the body of the Vision. Meaning, that Ultron was able to transfer his mind into a new body, a stronger and more powerful body that infused with the mind stone. Ultron now has unlimited power which will win him the earth, and achieving peace. Out of nowhere, Thanos shows up with all five infinity stones already in his position, and let’s just say he lasted about 2 seconds! Where the Vision failed in Infinity War, Ultron killed Thanos in a matter of seconds. Ultron with the power of six infinity stones will bring chaos and destruction to the entire universe, or as he calls it Peace. The only surviving Avengers are on a mission to find a different type of AI, that will bring down Ultron. Ultron becomes aware of the Watcher and invades his home, and realizes that they are multiple universes that he needs to bring peace. We finally see the Watcher in action, and boy is he powerful! The Watcher went toe to toe with Ultron, let us not forget Ultron has six infinity stones, and yet he could not beat the Watcher! Their fight was glorious, the action and the animation were spectacular, they were fighting on and through the multiverse. After all that, they both ended in a draw, leaving the Watcher with concern for the Multiverse. Doctor Strange from episode four, survived the destruction of his universe, and told the Watcher is time to break his oath, and is time to intervene. It’s truly an astonishing episode, that I watched twice back to back and I can not wait for the next episode of What If!
The Watcher Broke His Oath?
The final episode of season one of What If…? The Watcher broke his oath, he intervene, and he gather the greatest warriors in the multiverse, powerful enough that together could defeat Ultron. The Guardians of the Multiverse, lead by Supreme Doctor Strange, Captain Carter, Party Thor, Star-Lord T’Challa, Killmonger, and from a new universe Gamora. In this new universe, we get to see a glimpse of it, where she defeated Thanos and destroyed the infinity stones with the help of Tony Stark, a universe that I hope we get to see in the future. The Watcher has gathered them, so their combined experience and power can stop Ultron once and for all. The Watcher explains that they need to stop Ultron, not to just save one universe but the entire multiverse. The action was brilliant, Ultron using all the stones against the Guardians, and Doctor Strange able to summon all the evil in him to stop him. Truly amazing, the animation was fantastic all around, the sound effect of each stone and combined was just pure gold. Stephen by far was my favorite Guardian, not only his animation was awesome, but his endless power from every evil creature in him, truly made him one badass Sorcerer Supreme. During the fight between Guardians against Ultron, its last member joined Black Widow from the previous episode, with the last hope to end the age of Ultron. Without any spoilers, to conclude this episode let just say some people will always be bad, even if they do it for the right reasons. Been the final episode, and this is Marvel, after all, we do have the end of credit with Captain Carter finding something or someone special locked away.
Marvel’s What If…? Season One was marvelous, with some truly incredible episodes to some boring ones. The stories, the animation, the action, and the multiverse were astonishing. I loved how each individual episode eventually connected to one big bad android, with a completely different set of heroes combined to create the Guardians of the Multiverse.
I do wish that each universe were numbered, not by episode, but like they do in the comics. Like the most popular one Universe-616, that way we can easily identify from which universe each hero and villain come from, or are they even in the same one. I have always loved the idea of what if, and Marvel has put a nail on it, not just in the comics but also now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What one different outcome or choice can affect not just a single person but the entire universe as we saw in episode four. Season one pushed the limits of the imagination and hopefully, season two will push the bounders even more!
