The first episode of What If…?, is now available for streaming on Disney+. What is the series exactly? A total of ten episodes, with an episode airing each week, What If…?, is an original animated series which explores the chaos of the multiverse. For example, what if Peggy Carter took the super serum instead of Steve Rogers? What if T’Challa was abducted by the Ravagers instead of Peter Quill? What if there was a serial killer targeting members of the Avengers? These are the hypotheticals raised in each of the first three episodes.
Photo from Marvel Studios.
What If…? is the MCU’s Latest Trip into the Multiverse
After watching the first 3 episodes of the new Disney+ anthology series, What If…?, I was reminded of the butterfly effect. The theory that a small, seemingly minor change in the past can change the present and the future in dramatic, unpredictable ways. What if you drive a different route to work one day? You may have avoided being in a terrible accident, but, in your place, someone else gets into that terrible accident. And that causes a ripple effect in more ways than one. For example, a member of that person’s family vows revenge on the responsible party and engages in vigilante justice. That person is subsequently sent to jail and their kid grows up without a parent. That kid vows to reform the criminal justice system and later becomes an iconic Supreme Court judge. And none of it would happen if you went to work the same way you always have done. Sounds crazy, right? Each consequence seems more and more absurd and unrealistic. But, under the theory of the butterfly effect, all kinds of chaos can occur if one small detail is changed.
As touched upon in Avengers: Endgame and formally introduced in the Disney+ series Loki, the multiverse is the application of the butterfly effect on steroids. For example, in some multiverses, Loki could be a woman, a Hulk, or… an alligator? The series What If…? embraces this absurdity and leans in whole heartedly into this MCU multiverse of madness.
Photo from Marvel Studios.
The animation in What If…? is smooth with a nice level of detail but the real stars of each episode are the stellar voice casts, with some of our favorite MCU stars like Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. Unfortunately, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson do not reprise their roles as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, or Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. Chadwick Boseman’s last appearance in the MCU, sadly, comes in the second episode of the What If…? series and, while it was great to hear him voice the unforgettable character of T’Challa/Star-Lord, it was also bittersweet knowing that we will not see this incredible actor going forward.
In the three episodes I viewed, it was interesting to see how certain MCU characters could develop if confronted with different outcomes of the butterfly effect. Would Steve Rogers still be a hero if he never took the super serum? Would T’Challa be a superior version of Star-Lord if he travelled outer space with the Ravagers? Could Loki actually get his act together and conquer the world? Could Thanos become … a good guy? The episode that I found the most disturbing was the third episode with a killer targeting the Avengers. Without a doubt, that episode was the darkest storyline of the MCU (yes, even more so than the end of Avengers: Infinity War) and shows that Marvel, in this series, is willing to take chances with the source material and freshen up the MCU with new and more compelling types of narratives.
For those with young children, each episode of What If…? (since it is an anthology series) needs to be evaluated separately for mature content. In the three episodes I watched, there was was foul language (d*mn, h*ll, and b*lls), sexual innuendo (for example, in the first episode, a character says “Hedy Lamar and I spent a weekend together but she wasn’t teaching me German”) and there is violence, even though it is not gratuitous. I would recommend being cautious with letting young children watch the 3rd episode because what takes place in that episode can be … distressing … for young children. Heck, I am an adult and it was distressing to me!
All in all, if you are a fan of the MCU, What If…? is definitely worth viewing with its fresh approach to the storyline, the appearance of iconic MCU actors, and fully fleshed, well developed plots.
About What If…? on Disney+
What If…?” flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles. The series is directed by Bryan Andrews; AC Bradley is head writer.
Sounds very interesting and want to watch it.