Was holding off writing this as I wanted to really understand the series to avoid any premature judgement of it. After all, this was initially a non-canonical spin off, which at launch became a canon in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
I was quite looking forward to it before its debut, as it will be very interesting to see Disney and Marvel’s own animated take on its properties, and the idea of it explores the crazy ‘What if’ scenarios of the movies in the last 10 years, was quite an interesting proposal.
As the series moved forward, there are hits and misses. The idea that every single episode is kind of a standalone while connected later along the way gave each episode a lot of options and creative licences. Some of the episodes were still based on certain comics, but it is good see a mix and match of things within the MCU as we knew it. It is like tasting a brand-new cocktail every week, and you never knew what the after taste would be.
The final verdict?
For me, as I said, it was a series of hits and misses. When it hit, it landed spectacularly. But when it missed, it was like, ‘meh’ and then you move on. The misses for me were not memorable. However, one thing the What If series did stick to their comic book origin was that, it was not afraid to portray a darker side of consequence for the stories. Whether you like this darker side of the MCU is another thing, but it certainly offered a point of difference from the rest of the MCU materials so far. I mean, WandaVision and Loki can’t be said as traditional MCU story telling, but maybe that is the power of streaming TV, you can try new ideas and new ways of story telling with less financial consequences as compared to single outings of movies.
I am not a person who always need a happy ending for stories. I was quite happy with WandaVision, though less so with Loki, as it was just too obvious trying to cash in for a season 2. As such, I did like a number of stories in the series, particularly the Dark Doctor Strange and Ultron story. I also liked the Captain Carter story and I found the Party Thor story extremely hilarious. T’Challa Star Lord for me is more commemorating the brilliant Chadwick Boseman, as I felt I missed that actor more than the episode. I am not saying it was not good, just that the feeling of loss was a bit too overwhelming when I watch this episode. While the Marvel Zombie episode was touted with excitement for fans, I was quite Zombie-out by the time this episode came out, so I couldn’t really get excited or into anything zombie at the moment.
Marvel…What If feels like a huge buffet placed before you. Everything is enticing and you wanted to try everything, but at the end of the day what food left an impression on your taste buds is really very individual.
However, for me, one of the major issues I could never look pass is the huge plot hole that it created during the series. Especially when you were fresh off from the Loki series.
I think at this point everyone knows what I am referring to – the usage of Infinity Stones in other universes.
It was established in Loki that; the Infinity Stones are only relevant in the universe they were created, hence they all became nothing but paper weights for the works at the Time Variant Authority (TVA). We are all at peace with it. However, in What If, this was completely demolished and contradicted in the finale. The fact that (SPOILER ALERT!) Ultron can wield the stones’ power in between universes and across universes was a huge contradiction against what was established a few months ago in Loki. Also, the fact that the Infinity Stone Crusher only worked with Infinity Stones within that universe (aligning with the rule Loki established) was a complete opposite to why Ultron’s stones work in other universes. Further, under the Loki logic, if Ultron is actually powered by the Mind Stone in his universe, the Stone should have been depowered as soon as he left his universe. For me, this is a huge plot hole that I could never look pass, if as Marvel said, this is a canonical entry into the MCU. I don’t know how they can recon it, but it certainly is not an issue that could be brushed aside and ignored, like Hela declaring the Infinity Gauntlet in Odin’s vault as a fake.
Marvel…What if is by no means a bad series. The animation was beautifully drawn and the characters were expertly voiced, by mostly the MCU live action actors. If Marvel hadn’t declared this as a canon for the MCU, I certainly would enjoy it with a less critical view, but the choice of canonising it did create a continuity issue that could spell more issues than the explosion of the multiverse itself.
Marvel…What if is now streaming all episodes on Disney+
