Marvel What If…? Episode 9 Review

For nine weeks, Marvel’s given us our first look at the new MCU Multiverse with their animated series, What If…? At first, it looked like this show would be an anthology series. We’d look at an alternate version of the MCU every episode, then move on. However, all that changed when Marvel threw us a universe-sized curveball. In one universe, Ultron beat the Avengers, got the Infinity Stones, and killed almost everyone. Worse, he learned how to travel to other universes and stood poised to wipe out all life in the multiverse. Not even the Watcher could sit back and do nothing. It was time for him to step in and save the multiverse. But first, he was going to need a team.

Multiversal Avengers, Assemble!

The first few minutes of the episode pick up where we last left off: the Watcher and Strange Supreme need to assemble a team to stop Infinite Ultron. Thus, they recruit heroes from several of the worlds we’ve seen throughout the season. The exceptions being the universe where the Avengers all died, and the zombie universe. The latter for obvious reasons.

However, there’s one member coming from a universe we never got to see: one where Gamora somehow beat Thanos. Rumor has it that that story was supposed to be in the first season, but got pushed back, leaving fans left in the dark for the moment. After catching everyone up to speed, the Watcher dubs his new team…the Guardians of the Multiverse.

While I can understand why he’d give them that name, I don’t like it. It seems better to have something with the Avengers in it. Considering that this is the multiverse equivalent of the Avengers first assembling, it would be appropriate. Alas, there’s no time to worry about that, as the threat of Ultron comes knocking.

The Final Battle For the Multiverse Was…Okay.

The team’s fight against Infinite Ultron ends up taking them back to his original universe, where they’re joined by Black Widow, who’s now the last sentient being left on Earth. With her help, they come close to beating Ultron, but fail to destroy the Stones. Turns out, the MCU’s Infinity Stones don’t just work outside their universe; they’re unique, meaning any attempts to destroy them with another universe’s tech won’t work!

In the end, it doesn’t matter: Natasha fires a well placed arrow into Ultron, uploading Zola into him and ending Ultron for good. Then Killmonger pulls the classic double-cross, and he and Zola get sealed away in a pocket of reality, forever engaged in a tug of war for the Stones. Justice!

As far as battles go, this one met all the basic tenets of the MCU. Strange Supreme showcased how magically jacked he was several times, even opening a portal to the zombie universe! However, the overall final battle felt…meh. Considering how it’s supposed to be for the fate of the multiverse, we shouldn’t feel like that. Yet, the final battle of Avengers: Endgame carries more emotional weight. Marvel could’ve gotten a lot more creative with it, if you ask me.

What’s Next for the Multiverse?

With the battle over, the Watcher sends everyone back to their respective realities while Strange Supreme guards Killmonger and Zola. However, he gives Natasha a well-deserved reward. Rather than send her to her dead universe, he lets her move to the one where the Avengers never rose, letting her reunite with some of her old friends. As for Captain Carter? The post-credits scene teases that an old friend might be waiting for her.

Speaking of friends, a big highlight of the episode was the relationship Captain Carter and Natasha had. They were firm BFF’s in their universe, and certainly acted like it. However, there was also some romantic subtext going on between them that I think a lot of people will pick up on. I don’t know if we’ll see Captain Carter again, but if we do, I think I now ship her and Nat together.

As for T’Challa, this marks the final time we may see him in the MCU, due to Chadwick’s passing. The worst part is that there could’ve been a Star Lord T’Challa spin-off series, were he still alive. Maybe in another universe, they’re enjoying that right now. For the rest of us, though, we have to wait for season two to travel the multiverse some more.

As far as season finale’s go, I think the action could’ve been a lot better. Still, at least the show tied everything together, so I have to give it credit for that.

I Give “What If…The Watcher Broke His Oath?” A 3/5

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Thanks to COVID-19, it’s been more than two years since the MCU graced movie theaters. And while that problem was somewhat alleviated by the string of MCU shows on Disney+, it’s no substitute for sitting in theaters and waiting for the post-credits scene with your friends and family. This weekend, though, that drought came to an end with the arrival of Black Widow. This was a film that was long overdue for the titular hero in more ways than one.

Black Widow’s Past

Set in between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Black Widow, first and foremost, sheds light on what Natasha Romanoff did while on the run. At first, she tried to hide from everyone, but with a past as checkered as hers, hiding isn’t possible for the Black Widow. When an old enemy that she thought to be dead returns, Natasha’s forced on a globe-trotting adventure to put the demons of her past behind her for good. And without the Avengers to help her, she’s got to rely on allies from her Red Room days.

If the Red Room sounds familiar to anyone, then there’s a reason for it. It’s the official name for what’s been dubbed as the Black Widow Program. While flashbacks and Natasha’s own accounts of the program have hinted at what it was like, the MCU gave us our best look back in the short-lived Agent Carter series on ABC. Essentially, it was a Soviet black ops program that spent decades brainwashing young girls and turning them into master assassins. And Natasha was one of those unfortunate girls subjected to it. While she managed to get out thanks to the help of Hawkeye, it’s clear that she’s still haunted by what she went through. And whether she wants to or not, the film sees her confront her past.

A Family Story

The thing that’s most surprising about Black Widow is the central theme. Under the James Bond meets Jason Bourne meets Mission Impossible action, Black Widow is a family story. Granted, it’s a story about a very dysfunctional found family.

When she was a kid, Natasha was raised alongside another Black Widow trainee, Yelena Belova. The two were raised by a Black Widow veteran and the Russian supersoldier known as the Red Guardian. They acted as a family unit in deep cover, and much of the film’s emotional arc comes from Yelena still seeing them as such. Albeit, they’re a broken and dysfunctional one. 

Firstly, while Yelena still sees Natasha as a foster sister, she can’t hide her resentment that Nat indirectly left her behind in the Red Room, or that she went on to become a celebrated member of the Avengers. In addition, there’s Red Guardian, who’s the Russian equivalent to Captain America if Captain America were a drunk wash-up. That is what Red acts like in much of the film. He alternates between genuinely caring about his former charges and lamenting about his lost glory days. Then, we have Melina, the Black Widow veteran and scientist who trained Nat and Yelena. She acts like she doesn’t care about the girls and seems to have a lack of empathy at times. In one scene, she shows how she trained a pig to stop breathing for several seconds, much to Nat and Yelena’s discomfort. That was pretty messed up!

In other words, the four are a very unlikely family with strained relationships. And much of the film’s drama stems from them having to work out their many problems. But once they do, the four end up kicking ass.

The Big Bad is Such a Jerk

Then, we have the main villain of the film, Dreykov. If Red Guardian is the washed-up alcoholic father that wants to be better, then Dreykov is the abusive dad. He spends all of his time onscreen berating, beating, and mentally abusing the girls in his Black Widow Program. He doesn’t even see his Black Widows as people, but just resources he can replace. In other words, he’s an abusive, violent, oppressive misogynist with no redeeming values whatsoever. 

While the MCU’s been known to give us both flat and three-dimensional, realistic villains, Dreykov’s one of the flattest out there. He’s a hate sink that makes everyone around him miserable, and the kind of person everyone can easily root against. That’s not a bad thing, though. The MCU doesn’t have to make each of its villain’s as great as Thanos, Loki, or Killmonger. 

The MCU Has Returned

After spending almost two years without any MCU films, it felt really great to be able to sit in theaters again alongside my fellow fans. Black Widow offers us a return to the franchise that, for better or for worse, has dominated our culture for the last decade or so. Black Widow’s fans have wanted to see her get her own movie for years, and Black Widow delivered. 

However, the film also emphasized that, as of Phase 4, the MCU’s not just going to be about the films. It’s investing more into its TV shows and miniseries. Case in point, rather than tee us up for a sequel film, the post-credits scene connects the film to the upcoming Hawkeye series on Disney+. It’s the first time the MCU’s done that, and represents a shift in how it will continue in the future. Here’s hoping the next decade continues the franchise’s success.

I Give “Black Widow” a 4/5

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In 2008, few could have imagined what would come out of the film Iron Man. That one movie about a superhero that a lot of people might not even know of became the seed for one of the most ambitious undertakings in film history. Eleven years and more than twenty-one films later, that one film has blossomed into a franchise that has changed the way we see superhero movies. Bit by bit, the films build upon each other, creating a shared universe of interconnected stories that rivaled the comics. DC had done something similar in the 1990s and 2000s with the DC Animated Universe, but this was the first time it was ever done in film.

Now, Marvel has become more popular that it has ever been, and every film seems to get better than the last. Then came Avengers: Infinity War, and for the first time on the big screen, our heroes tasted defeat. I’ve heard stories of children and adults crying at the end. Shoot, I quietly howled in grief when I saw Spider-Man turn to dust. We’ve waited a year to see the second part, and now Avengers: Endgame is upon us.

The ending is a part of every story, and oftentimes, it leaves us with a bittersweet feeling. We know that the MCU will be continuing for years to come, but Endgame is going to bring an end to the story arc that’s been building since the beginning, so it’s going to be an emotional ride.

I have tickets to see Avengers: Endgame on opening day, but I thought that I would do something special for the films that mean so much to me. So, from now until Friday, I will be counting down my five favorite moments from the MCU so far. And since there’s no time like the present, here’s my pick for number five!

#5- Iron Man’s Grand Entrance, Iron Man 2

I’m ashamed to say it, but I never saw the first two Iron Man films in theaters, but I so wish I did. I’ve seen them in the time since then, and some of my favorite moments in the MCU have been from the Iron Man trilogy. It was a tough choice between this, Tony using the Mark I armor for the first time, or the Iron Legion scene from Iron Man 3, but I had to go with this one.

Six months after the events of the original film, the whole world knows that Tony Stark’s Iron Man. With the decision to restart his late father’s Stark Expo, what better way for Tony to make an entrance than with his signature suit. Jumping out of a plane in his armor, Tony lands in the Expo amidst a cheering crowd, dancing girls, and Shoot to Thrill playing in the background.

I like this scene so much because it sums up Tony Stark’s entire personality in one amazing moment. He’s flamboyant, arrogant as hell, and loves being in the spotlight as much as possible. Luckily, he has the charisma needed to keep the spotlight, and underneath that exterior, we know he’s a good person. Plus, the fact he enters to the music of AC/DC shows us that he has good taste in music.