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When Steve Rogers is seriously injured, Peggy Carter becomes the world's first super soldier. The rough-and-tumble space pirates known as the Ravagers abduct T’Challa instead of Peter Quill ...
- 8. What If Ultron Won
Branyan Towe Loud and Clear Reviews The rushed nature of...
- 6. What If Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark
Branyan Towe Loud and Clear Reviews Michael B. Jordan’s...
- 5. What If Zombies
Branyan Towe Loud and Clear Reviews If the episode’s writer...
- 4. What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands
Branyan Towe Loud and Clear Reviews Episode 4 of Marvel’s...
- 3. What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes
Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 26, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews...
- 9. What If The Watcher Broke His Oath
Branyan Towe Loud and Clear Reviews Despite the lackluster...
- 8. What If Ultron Won
44% Avg. Tomatometer 32 Reviews 56% Avg. Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings In this neo-noir social thriller, Oscar winner Renée Zelwegger stars as Anne Montgomery, a woman of extreme wealth who makes ...
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What If...?: Season 2 | Rotten Tomatoes. Season 2 – What If...? TRAILER. Disney+. Watch What If...? — Season 2 with a subscription on Disney+. In its superlative sophomore season, What If…?...
- (29)
- August 11, 2021
- Bryan Andrews, Stephan Franck
- Cracks in the multiverse.
- What was your favorite episode of What If?
- Marvel's What If...?: Every New and Returning MCU Actor
- Verdict
- What If...? Season 1 Review
- More Reviews by Tom Jorgensen
- IGN Recommends
By Tom Jorgensen
Updated: Oct 9, 2021 2:22 am
Posted: Oct 7, 2021 11:51 pm
Spoilers follow for Season 1 of What If...? For more, check out our reviews of each individual episode below.
What If...? Season 1, Episode 1 - Review
What If...? Season 1, Episode 2 - Review
What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?
What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?
What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?
What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?
What If... Zombies?!
What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?
While What If was marketed as an anthology series, really, it's a hybrid between anthology and the serialized storytelling that's the MCU's bread and butter. It only takes until Episode 2’s final scene between Ego and Quill for What If to start hinting that these aren’t going to be one-and-done visits to these vast new realities. After that, multiple episodes feature open endings, which takes the air out of the series in multiple ways. Not only do we not get a full resolution to the individual stories being told, but the continued “not quite finished” feeling overly telegraphs the tying together of these different pocket realities. The series uses its narrator, The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), as the primary connective tissue between episodes, continually reminding the viewer that the cosmic voyeur is definitely, absolutely, totally NOT going to interfere with the events that unfold… but, come on. You say “purple elephant” enough times and tell me not to think about a purple elephant, I’m gonna be thinking about that purple elephant.
This “will he, won’t he” first truly becomes a source of tension during Episode 4, when he ignores Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) pleas to undo his cataclysmic mistakes in reviving his lost love, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). This was an exciting moment in the context of his stated neutral stance, seeing The Watcher put his cosmic money where his mouth is and abandon Strange in a collapsing pocket universe. But of course, eventually The Watcher does enter the fray, battling an Infinity Stones-wielding Ultron across the multiverse with a power set that’s never really defined, leaving who has the upper hand a little confused at times. Though The Watcher is clearly benevolent, he doesn’t have much of a personality. Still, Jeffrey Wright manages to bring a lot of gravitas to the character, and even gets to crack a few jokes in the finale, which he handles with ease (no surprise if you’ve seen Game Night).
Unsurprisingly, the voice actors are the strongest performers in What If.
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Voice acting in What If isn’t always so strong, though. One of the huge selling points of What If was that MCU actors would be returning to voice their animated counterparts, which is only partially the case. While What If does manage to snag some of the MCU’s A-list, even surprising names like Kurt Russell and Michael Douglas, only about half of the MCU characters are voiced by their original actors. There’s no actor who fans were more excited to hear return to his role than Chadwick Boseman, who recorded his T’Challa dialogue prior to his passing, making this his final performance. Boseman delights in the levity T’Challa’s less-encumbered galactic lifestyle allows for, and his (thankfully) numerous appearances throughout the first season are bittersweet, but strong.
The rest of the MCU roles go to a mix of different actors and soundalike voice actors. Unsurprisingly, the voice actors are the strongest performers in What If, some taking on the unenviable task of recreating iconic performances like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans with surprising fidelity to the originals. But MCU actors have mixed success. There are some standouts, like Chris Hemsworth’s even dumber Thor and Benedict Cumberbatch’s corrupted Doctor Strange, but some actors just don’t put the same energy and enthusiasm into their animated characters as they do their live-action ones. Straddling the line between MCU actor, actor replacing MCU character, and voice actor is Ross Marquand, who first played the Hugo Weaving-originated Red Skull in Infinity War. Not only does Marquand return to play the character in What If’s premiere (complete with a Marquandesque redesign), he also takes on James Spader’s Ultron, and both performances are a perfect blend of Marquand’s knack for mimicry and his own take on the villains.
At its core, Marvel’s What If... ? is an entertaining remix of MCU canon that, when at its best, is able to mine worthwhile new stories out of established characters and settings. With a good foundation and a multiverse of stories at its disposal, there’s a lot of hope for What If’s future. But the show attempts to be both an anthology and a serial...
Review scoring
okay
What If…?’s first season features a few standout remixes of MCU canon, but inconsistency across the board leaves it with plenty to improve on for next season.
Tom Jorgensen
Aug 10, 2021 · “What If…?” might be the most Marvel Comics thing that Marvel Studios has done, translating the what-might-have-happened-if comic-book concept from page to screen, with all its geekiness intact.
Exploring pivotal moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turning them on their head, leading the audience into uncharted territory. Stars. Jeffrey Wright. Terri Douglas. Matthew Wood. See production info at IMDbPro. Add to Watchlist. Added by 150K users. 501 User reviews.
Aug 11, 2021 · What If's premiere is an entertaining remix of MCU canon, but uneven voice acting and animation threaten to dampen the series’ potential. Tom Jorgensen. Read Review.
