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Marvel What If…? Episode 7 Review

When I saw the premise of this week’s episode of Marvel What If…?, I thought that the show was joking. Having one based around Thor if he never had Loki as his brother? It was intriguing, but not the kind of thing that most people would want to watch. Especially when you consider how every episode of the show thus far has focused on big changes to the timeline. However, then we get to the ending, and we see that Marvel played us all with a bait-and-switch. The party god brings the thunder to Earth this week, people!

Party Hard With the Party God

In the main MCU, after fighting against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, Odin ended up adopting Loki, the infant son of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants. However, in this universe, Odin somehow convinced Laufey to keep Loki and treat him right. As a result, he grows up a Frost Giant, and Thor remains an only child (as far as he knows). Unfortunately, rather than grow up to be the boisterous but lovable warrior we know, Thor becomes a…party god.

I’m serious. Rather than spending his days fighting, Thor and his Asgardian friends throwing the biggest parties in the Galaxy. And while Odin’s asleep for a week and Frigga’s visiting friends, Thor decides to do just that. And the place he chooses to go to? Earth, which he turns into a party planet.

It’s an absolutely silly premise. The first time extraterrestrials come to Earth (that the public knows about), and they come to party like college students. And it’s not just Thor. We got Yondu; Drax; Rocket; Nebula; Korg; Surtur; and the Grandmaster as a DJ!

As for Loki? He shows up with his Frost Giant posse, and it’s clear that Loki and Thor have a better relationship than they initially did in the MCU. It’s nice to see that these two, for better or worse, were always meant to be brothers.

Frigga Is Coming

So, S.H.I.E.L.D. has a big problem with Thor showing up and turning Earth into a frat planet. And when Jane Foster (who’s already met Thor partying), won’t help, they call in Captain Marvel. And she is not happy with Thor ruining her homeworld.

Since Avenger: Endgame, I’m sure plenty of people have wondered who would win in a fight between Thor and Captain Marvel. Spoiler alert: Captain Marvel would probably win, and this episode proves it. The two clash in a fight around the world, and it looks like Captain Marvel will likely come out on top. Until, that is, Thor gets a call from his mother.

Jane managed to get in contact with Lady Frigga, and told her just what her son’s been up to. As a result, Frigga decides to come to Earth, leading Thor to panic. What follows is pure hilarity. Once Thor tells everyone that his Mom’s coming, they panic and proceed to fix all the damage they’ve done to Earth. It’s honestly like one of those teen party scenarios we see in sitcoms and movies, and I loved it.

But I think I loved what happened next even more.

A Multiversal Threat Emerges

In the episode’s closing moments, Thor, the audience, and even The Watcher are all surprised when an army of machines steps in through a portal. And at their head is what looks to be an Infinity Stone powered Ultron with the body of Vision. Uh-oh.

So, maybe the TVA was right about keeping the Multiverse down to a bare minimum to prevent the rise of threats like this. My current theory? In one universe, Tony and Bruce succeeded with Ultron as they meant to, only for him to go rogue and seize the Infinity Stones, leading him to becoming a universe-hopping conqueror. Or he succeeded in taking Vision’s body for himself, wiped out humanity, got the Stones, and did all of that. Either way, this is bad news for everyone.

The teaser for the second half of season one of What If…? has hinted at some sort of crossover between the different variations of characters we’ve seen thus far. Now, with the threat of a super Ultron to contend with, The Watcher may have no choice but to intervene for the sake of the Multiverse. Either way, I expect the next episode to set us up for the season finale, and the birth of a Multiverse-spanning Avengers.

Here’s hoping Party God Thor can be of some help.

Also, Darcy and Howard the Duck have a Vegas Wedding!

I Give “What If…Thor Was an Only Child?” a 3.5/5

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Marvel What If…? Episode 6 Review

Who’s the best villain in the MCU? Given how most of the MCU baddies are forgettable, there are only three real choices right now: Thanos, most versions of Loki, and Erik Killmonger. Erik Killmonger may not be a demi-god like Loki or a universe-altering warlord like Thanos, but he’s still one of the best villains in the franchise. His backstory elicits sympathy. His motives, while violent, are understandable given what he went through. And though he lost, he ended up changing the Black Panther’s view on the world. So, when I saw that Killmonger would be coming back for Marvel What if…?, I was excited to see how things would turn out for him in this part of the Multiverse.

Having seen the episode, though, I am…a little let down.

What If…Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?

In the latest alteration to the MCU timeline, the fateful attempt of the Ten Rings to capture or kill Tony Stark fails, thanks to the intervention of Erik Killmonger. According to him, he was in deep cover with the Ten Rings when he got word about the attack, and thus saves Tony from the events that make him Iron Man. Then, to further ingratiate himself (and show just how far above he is over most of the MCU villains), he ousts Stane as the mastermind behind the attack.

That is only step one of Killmonger’s master plan. From here, he orchestrates a Machiavellian chess game that would make Littlefinger and Tywin Lannister jealous. Firstly, he talks Tony into building mini Gundam drones (he likes anime, just like his actor). Then, he offs both Rhodey and T’Challa and frames both sides for the other’s deaths. Tony follows suit, along with Klaw (Andy Serkis was great as him), and uses it to get himself into Wakanda where he “heroically” saves the day from the drones he helped to create.

On the one hand, this just hammers home how dangerous Killmonger really was, rivaling even Loki in terms of manipulation. On the other hand, it feels like they wasted him this time around.

What the What If…? Should’ve Been

When I first saw the teaser for this episode, I hoped that things would take a far different turn than what they did. Saving Tony Stark could’ve been Killmonger’s start to a better life, one where he could actually do some good for the world. He could’ve turned his back on his violent past, become a better person, and become the Prince he could’ve been if T’Chaka hadn’t left him behind. If he did that, then he could’ve entered Wakanda under much happier circumstances.

Instead, they wasted one of the MCU’s best villains just to hammer home how dangerous he really is by playing everyone like a fiddle. Almost everyone, really; Pepper and Shuri team up at the end to stop his plans for good; that seems like even more of a cop-out than it did when Hank Pym killed the Avengers. Even the Watcher disapproved of how things turned out.

The Watcher May Not Watch for Much Longer

Speaking of the Watcher, this episode dropped a subtle, yet important, clue about his role as the show continues. When we started out, we never saw the Watcher; only his silhouette. Then, we saw him cloaked in shadow. The story with Dr. Strange had him directly interact with events in the show. And this week, we see him in full view as he watches everything with disgust.

Those who read the comics will know the Watcher’s history, and that despite his oath to not interfere, he ends up breaking it many times for the greater good. My guess is that as these alternate timelines in the MCU continue to grow worse, it gets to the point where the Watcher says “Screw it. I need to fix this mess!”

I would not blame it. There’s a time to observe and a time to take action. And something tells me the Watcher will take action soon. Until then, Disney should go back and use an alternate Killmonger better.

They did, however, hit home with this scene of T’Challa’s funeral.

I Give “What If…Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?” a 2/5

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Marvel What If…? Episode 5 Review

Ahh, the zombie apocalypse. It’s a classic horror film scenario, or the premise behind a long-running show like The Walking Dead. For superhero comics that use the concept of the multiverse theory, though, it’s all but mandatory to have one universe filled with zombies. Case in point, in 2005, Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead wrote a mini-series titled Marvel Zombies. In this alternate universe, a zombie apocalypse occurs and threatens to kill everyone in that universe. So, with the MCU now tapping into its own Multiverse, it was inevitable that What If…? would cover this. It ends up being one of the goriest things the MCU’s shown us; and that includes the Netflix series!

What If…? Zombies!?!

In the MCU film Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hanky Pym traveled to the Quantum Realm to find his long-lost wife, Janet. However, in this timeline, Janet got infected by a quantum virus that turned her into a zombie. Hank got infected, and when he got back, he spread it to the entire west coast of the US. The Avengers reunite to stop it, but…you can guess what happens.

Fighting a zombie apocalypse is already a terrifying prospect, but Marvel cranks it up to 11. While the MCU zombies are mindless beings driven only to multiply, they retain all the skills and abilities they had in life. Dr. Strange and Wong can use magic; Tony Stark’s got his armor. And Wanda? You don’t want to face her!

Considering how the last two episodes of the show have shown us universes where things don’t end well, this episode ups the ante. However, it stops short of being as dark as the story with Dr. Strange, as that episode ended with the entire universe being destroyed. Additionally, the story with the alternate Strange hit harder as it felt far more tragic with almost no humor. In contrast, Marvel balances out the horror with their trademark humor. It works, but a little too well at times.

Spider-Man Is the Smartest Survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse

In world-ending events like this, usually it falls on the oldest and most experienced to help everyone survive. However, in this zombie apocalypse, it’s the youngest member of the surviving heroes who proves to be the smartest: Spider-Man.

MCU Spidey’s repeatedly proven to be very pop-culture savvy, and while some may find it annoying, that knowledge has proven invaluable on numerous occasions. In this case, watching enough zombie films taught him how best to survive the undead. Which only makes it more frustrating to see the adults ignore his advice, which leads to several of them dying.

Spider-Man’s really the MVP of this entire episode (along with the Cloak of Levitation), giving the team sound advice that even Okoye admits she should’ve listened to. Moreover, his optimism in such a bleak scenario makes him all the more endearing. There’s a reason why he’s Marvel’s greatest hero, and this is why.

I’d Bail On this World, Too, Watcher!

Unlike last week, which saw the Watcher indirectly interact with that universe, here he maintains his distance. And you know what? I don’t blame him. While he could end up helping the heroes (if he could), he probably knows that it’s best not to make things worse. If he got infected, it would spread to other universes, and then the Multiverse would be screwed!

While by the end of the episode, the survivors have a ray of hope for a potential cure, the Watcher makes it clear that their odds aren’t great. A threat just as big has just made its way to Earth, only to get infected. As a result, this whole universe looks to be screwed. If they can’t cure the virus, then it’s best to get out of that universe quick!

This episode doesn’t reach the emotional highs as last week’s, and gets hampered at times by it’s own need to balance out the bleakness with comedy. However, it also makes up for it by being fun to watch. Also, it gave us this:

And this.

I Give “What If…Zombies?!?” a 3.9/5

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Marvel What If…? Episode 4Review

It finally happened. After four episodes, our trip into the new MCU Multiverse has taken viewers to a Universe where there’s no happy ending. No light at the end of the tunnel! Everything that can go wrong does go wrong! And this week, the Watcher shows us a reality where Doctor Strange loses it, and everyone suffers as a result.

Doctor Strange, Minus the Dose of Humility

Whereas every episode of What If…? has started out following the main MCU only to branch off, this week’s Universe sees it having branched off before hand. In this universe, Doctor Strange and his colleague, Christine, are dating and going to an award show together. Then comes the car crash that changes his life. However, instead of losing his hands, Strange loses Christine instead. And somehow, this still motivates him to learn magic and become the next Sorcerer Supreme. The real problem comes afterwards, where his inability to accept Christine’s death leads to horrific consequences.

While I think the concept of the episode is hampered by the fact that no explanation is given as to why Strange and Christine were dating, I quickly ignored that in lieu of how this affected the plot of the episode. Having kept his hands intact, Doctor Strange never gets that dose of humility that he needed to become the hero he was meant to be. As a result, he arrogantly tries to use the Time Stone to try and prevent Christine’s death, only for the universe to keep willing it to happen.

And, being Strange, he doesn’t accept this, and tries to undo this event anyway. And this leads him down the path to becoming a monster.

Strange Supreme

Using the Time Stone, Strange spends centuries learning magic to bring Christine back. More terrrifying, though, is the fact that he spends that time absorbing all manner of supernatural creatures to increase his power. As a result, he gradually becomes less human and more of a humanoid abomination.

Doctor Strange is one of my favorite characters in the MCU, and Benedict Cumberbatch brings so much life to him. Needless to say, seeing the snarky but good-natured Doctor fall down this dark path was hard to watch. Even more so when an alternate, good version of him created by the Ancient One tries, and fails, to defeat his dark counterpart. By the time the episode ends, he’s barely even human anymore!

And he does bring Christine back, but as Mordo would say, the bill comes due. With Christine now alive, Strange had no reason to study magic. The resulting paradox then causes the entire universe to implode, killing Christine again and leaving only Strange himself, alone in the void.

The Watcher Begins to Interact

As heart-breaking as that ending was, it’s nothing compared to the Watcher’s role in this episode.

Until now, the Watcher has kept to his role, merely observing events as they happened, like a stand in for the audience. However, at one point in the episode, Strange seems to become aware of the entity’s presence when he remarks how he’s tempted to intervene and warn him about the folly of his actions. Yet the Watcher decides to keep to his decision to not intervene, as he knows that that will only make things worse.

This then comes to a head in the episode’s final moments when the Watcher confronts Strange directly, with the maddened sorcerer pleading for help. While a part of us wants to fix Strange’s mistake, the Watcher rightfully calls him out on his decisions, and leaves him to face the consequences. It may seem terrible to abandon an entire universe, but this was the result of what Doctor Strange did. His hubris destroyed his entire universe.

Regardless, this marks a notable shift for the Watcher. Fans of the comics know that he has repeatedly intervened in universe-threatening events in the comics. Given the threats that this new multiverse may unleash, the MCU Watcher may soon have no choice but to intervene. Either way, it’s likely that these one-off episodes are building up to something bigger.

This was the darkest episode of the series thus far, and it’s only a fraction of what the series can give us. Definitely a step up from last week’s story.

I Give “What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” a 4.5/5

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