Editor's note: The below contains mild spoilers for What If...? Season 2.
The Big Picture
- What If...? should embrace the weirdness and strangeness of the comic books to reach its full potential.
- The second season of What If...? shows improvement in exploring the multiverse by combining elements from different MCU movies.
- Marvel Studios is working on a third season of What If...?, indicating its importance as their flagship animated series.
The What If...? animated series has just released its second season, allowing audiences to explore timelines where major events from the Marvel Cinematic Universetook a different direction than the ones seen in the live-action movies. The show has introduced versions of the classic MCU heroes who are different from the ones played by Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans,and Scarlett Johansson on the big screen, among others, but the concept of an open multiverse isn't as thoroughly explored as in the title's comic book counterpart. What If...? should embrace more of the strangeness from the comic books, allowing the main characters of the franchise to deviate from what audiences expect.
What If...?
TV-14SuperheroBased on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, this animated anthology looks at alternate timelines in the multiverse that would happen if specific moments in the MCU occurred differently.
- Release Date
- August 11, 2021
- Creator
- A. C. Bradley
- Cast
- Jeffrey Wright
- Main Genre
- Superhero
- Seasons
- 2
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
'What If...?' Struggled to Find an Identity in Its First Season
What If...? is the first animated series set in the MCU, and since it was announced in 2019, it was established that the show would follow The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) as he observed different Earths within the multiverse, analyzing how different history was in these worlds compared to the one viewers have been following in the franchise's films. While the concept sounds like it could allow Marvel Studios to stretch their legs, the company didn't know what to do with such a big premise once the show started, as made obvious by the first season of the series.
The first season of What If...? introduces characters such as Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) and a version of T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who was taken from Wakanda into outer space when he was a child, but the show fails to expand the franchise's multiverse. The premises seen in the first season were mostly animated summaries of previous MCU films, with a detail or two changed to justify The Watcher's presence. Fortunately, it looks like the team behind the show has gotten the hang of it for the second installment, with the new season of the series showing a much-needed improvement when it comes to multiversal exploration.
The second season of What If...? takes a different approach to The Watcher's adventures, opting for combining the premise of two seemingly unrelated MCU movies to create new stories. For example, an episode mixes characters and elements from Thor and Thor: Ragnarok with the setting of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While the new strategy has allowed What If...? to deliver better episodes this time around, if the show really wants to reach its full potential, it should adopt more of the weird elements the comic book series is known for.
'What If...?' Needs to Embrace the Madness of the Comic Books
The What If...? comic book series was first published in 1977, with its first tale depicting Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland in the MCU) joining the Fantastic Four instead of simply fighting against them shortly after his heroic debut. The title has been launched time and time again in the form of fourteen volumes, with the most recent one depicting a world where Gwen Stacy becomes Spider-Gwen after Peter Parker loses his life, just like she did in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. But the comic series has dared to go places the animated show hasn't even approached yet.
Across its multiple decades of history, the What If...? comic book series has explored timelines where Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman in live-action) became lord of the vampires, and one where Thanos became an official member of the Avengers. These ideas are very different from what has been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the fact that What If...? is animated could allow it to depict battles, crossovers, and worlds that would be hard to work into a live-action production. And the audience is more than ready for the brand to become weird too, as seen with some recent stories.
Films such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home have proven that viewers don't mind the confusing and unusual premises of multiversal adventures, as long as they're interested in the story. The What If...? comic books have followed plots where Mr. Sinister forms the X-Men and Venom (played by Tom Hardy in the live-action movies) takes over the Punisher's body. These are ideas audiences could get behind at some point in the future — instead of another depiction of Ant-Man and the Wasp, but with a secondary character as the lead.
What's Next for the Future of Marvel Animation?
Marvel Studios is currently working on a third season of What If...?, with a recent sneak peek revealing a story where Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) are forced to work together. While this seems to depart from the narrative depicted in Black Widow, it still isn't as outlandish as some of the universes seen in the comic books, such as the one where Vision conquers the planet and the X-Men live in Asgard. But before Marvel Studios can figure out what to do with the future of What If...?, there are other stories the company has to focus on first.
Marvel Studios will have a busy year in 2024, releasing animated projects such as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and X-Men '97. In addition to the adventures of heroes from other realities, the studio is also working on Eyes of Wakanda, an anthology about different adventures the Black Panther had over the years, considering how multiple kings have taken up the mantle that Shuri (Letitia Wright) currently holds. But The Watcher's mission is Marvel's animated crown jewel, and the fact that a clip from the third season is already out there hints at a near return for the series.
What If...? was the first animated series Marvel Studios worked on, and even if they focus on projects such as Marvel Zombies going forward, it looks like The Watcher's adventures will be their flagship animated outing. If they manage to dive deep into what made the comic book series bizarre and unique, the series will reach the potential that was teased when it was first announced. Time will tell if The Watcher will reach darker universes, or if the show will continue to follow a path of small deviations.
What If...? is available to stream on Disney+.
