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What If...? may not add much to the larger MCU narrative, but surprising takes on beloved characters and some of the best action sequences in the entire franchise make for engaging viewing....
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- August 11, 2021
- Bryan Andrews
Aug 10, 2021 · Disney+’s ‘What If…’: TV Review. Marvel reimagines familiar storylines in an animated anthology series, presenting a world with a different roster of original Avengers. By Angie Han ...
- Angie Han
Aug 11, 2021 · Parents need to know that What If ... ? is an animated anthology series that tells alternate stories based on Marvel universe storylines. The series often focuses on side characters from Marvel movies, and subjects are notably more diverse than their cinematic counterparts -- e.g., a female soldier gets the…
- Joyce Slaton
- 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\r 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...
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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 · Here, as the Watcher notes, the possibilities are indeed endless. “What If…?” premieres Aug. 11 on Disney+. “What If…?” might be the most Marvel Comics thing that Marvel Studios has ...
Aug 11, 2021 · All Critics. Top Critics. All Audience. Jennifer Bisset CNET. Infinity War is the only movie that ended on a downer, but in Marvel's What If, it happened again and again as a reminder that we're...
Aug 10, 2021 · Review: Marvel's TV Universe Expands on Disney+. TV & Movies. ‘What If…’. Marvel’s TV Universe Kept Expanding? The latest Disney+ offering from the comics giant taps the alternate-history...
