Marvel’s What If…? season 2 review: A fun, familiar return
The Watcher, Captain Carter, and the multiverse make a comfortable return in Disney+'s animated "anthology"
TV Reviews What If
Season one of Disney+’s What If…? was a somewhat rare bit of general joy from Marvel Studios—not much more than good times and Easter eggs for MCU fans who like the idea of seeing familiar characters and storylines remixed into something fresh. So it’s fitting the show’s second season is airing around the holidays (premiering on December 22, new episodes drop through December 30). It features a Die Hard-inspired Christmas episode in which Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan turns into a Hulk, and yes, they do call him Hulk Hogan, because this series remains a nice little gift for the Marvel zombies out there…though the actual Marvel Zombies from season one only get a little cameo this time.
There is a little sticking point, though, and it’s one that was also present in What If…?’s debut run: This animated “anthology” of one-off Marvel stories, about what would’ve happened if things had worked out differently, is still not proper. Near the end of season one, a version of Ultron managed to collect the Infinity Stones and tried to take over the entire multiverse, forcing various alternate-universe heroes from previous installments to team up and defeat him as The Guardians Of The Multiverse (even though they were clearly modeled after The Avengers, with a Thor, a Black Widow, a Doctor Strange, and a Captain America, but we’ll get to her later).
The same sort of thing happens this year, but it’s a little more character-based and not as obvious as “a new villain shows up.” It’s still not necessarily a bad thing, but it does stick in your teeth. It’s a cool idea on paper, and consistent with the ongoing structure of the MCU (individual stories eventually meshing for a team-up story), but it’s hard not to wonder if it would be more fun without that constraint. On the other hand, some stories and characters you can’t let go of, as acknowledged by Jeffrey Wright’s The Watcher in episode one. The all-seeing observer of the multiverse narrates he “doesn’t like sequels,” but he simply has no choice but to make an exception for one woman: Season one GOAT and secret all-time great MCU character Captain Peggy Carter.
Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter was introduced in in an episode that took on Captain America: The First Avenger, asking “What if…?” the super-soldier serum had been given to Peggy instead of Steve Rogers. The episode, naturally, ended with her being transported from World War II to the present day, and, also naturally, this season’s sequel outing offers a new take on Captain America: The Winter Soldier that is a lot of fun for people who believe that to be the MCU’s high point (also, Peggy and Black Widow kind of flirt a lot, so…).
Captain Carter is the star of the show, appearing in three of the nine episodes, but What If…? also makes the bold choice of introducing a new character created for the show with only a tangential connection to anything from the movies. Named Kahhori, she’s a young Mohawk woman who gets cosmic superpowers. The episode she debuts in is solid, so it’s clear What If…? is proud of and wants her to be a big deal on par with Captain Carter. However, it’s going to be a little weird if she never appears in any other stories, inside or outside this show. Reminiscent of how absurdly super-powerful Emilia Clarke’s character became at the end of Secret Invasion. It’ll be weird if we never see her again and equally weird if we do. (And this is something that might not even be worth questioning if these were all self-contained stories, by the way.)
In season two, most of the episodes are all alright, save for one that is a carryover from season one and feels a little overdone because of it. The season premiere is a real highlight, with Nebula joining the Nova Corps. (the space cops from Guardians Of The Galaxy) for a heavily Blade Runner-inspired noir adventure, and the second episode ponders what would happen if the world needed an Avengers team in the ‘80s (so you get younger versions of people like Hank Pym, T’Chaka, Mar-Vell, and a still-brainwashed Winter Soldier).
The voice acting can still be a little stiff sometimes, mostly from actors reprising their roles from the movies who don’t seem particularly well-suited to this gig, but others seem born for it (Jon Favreau has tons of fun here). The writing is stronger than before, with solid quips throughout the season—assuming that’s a thing you like, and if you like Marvel then it probably is—and a couple of sweet nods to MCU canon. Wright’s Watcher is also used to pretty great comedic effect, losing his mind when he fails to foresee something happening or getting embarrassed when a character can hear his pessimistic narration.
What If…? hasn’t lost any of its sense of fun, and its bizarre MCU mash-ups are cleverer than before. But the show’s gradual reveal of an overarching storyline is starting to become too predictable. After two seasons, the structure of pairing unexpected characters and drawing out a fun conclusion seems well-established. It’s a good format, but it can end up making things feel a little rote. It’s nothing that a Marvel fan should turn their nose up at just yet, but it is more of a “try to act surprised” holiday gift than a “how did you know?!” holiday gift.
What If…? season two releases episodes on Disney+ from December 22 to December 30
33 Comments
Kahhori is just alternate timeline Carol. It’s even a version of her name in that language, Kanyen’keha doesn’t use L. She has tesseract powers and is a brash natural leader. It won’t be that weird if she doesn’t show up anywhere else, the whole point of What If is that these are alternate worlds out of a myriad infinite possibilities.
This.Far be it for us to expect any different but the raging contradiction of this review crying out for the stories to feel more standalone and then saying it would be weird for this character to just be a standalone is… well it’s sign someone didn’t read their own first draft.
My single regret in cutting Disney+ loose is missing out on this show, which honestly feels like the best thing Marvel has made since Endgame (maybe alongside Werewolf By Night).
I agree wholeheartedly that this series would be stronger as a true anthology, and wish they had the courage to just do that.
I think this is true for the live action stuff too, and they are moving in the direction of having fun, one-off adventures not tied to the “true” MCU, I believe. And then if those one-offs really blow up and the cast/creatives are on board, you could eventually fold it in through multiverse stuff.
If they could wave their magic Disney wand and do it all again, I would imagine they’d spend the next phase (current phase, whatever) doing a lot of one-offs, see what sticks, and then bring the more popular stuff back in for the multiverse/timey-wimey shit later on. At least, that’s how I’d do it.
That’s really smart actually
Isn’t that exactly what they did?Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, She-Hulk, Werewolf by Night, eternals, Ms marvel, even Hawkeye, black panther and arguably ant man all stood alone from the rest of the universe, obviously excepting the returning main characters
“I think this is true for the live action stuff too, and they are moving
in the direction of having fun, one-off adventures not tied to the
“true” MCU, I believe. And then if those one-offs really blow up and the
cast/creatives are on board, you could eventually fold it in through
multiverse stuff.”I honestly believed this was the actual strategy Marvel was using from the get go, but the last few years have disabused me of that notion.
I think this is true for the live action stuff too, and they are moving in the direction of having fun, one-off adventures not tied to the “true” MCU, I believe. And then if those one-offs really blow up and the cast/creatives are on board, you could eventually fold it in through multiverse stuff. I hope so. It needs to pivot back into that direction, and I’m hoping the Majors stuff nudges them that way. Good individual stories *first*, crossover considerations *second*.
It’s been especially fun watching people try not to sound like they just hate female superheroes as they insist following up on the first season’s most popular character means she’s being “shoved down our throats.”
I feel sorry for people who don’t want more Haley Atwell.
After I saw her in Dead Reckoning this summer I’m in love.
Loved her since Cap 1.
There’s an alternate timeline where Marvel didn’t botch the ‘Agent Carter’ series and it’s currently in its ninth glorious season.
*CRIES FOR AGENT CARTER*
Those ‘people’ want more Atwell, they just want her as Captain America’s sex prize instead of a strong MC in her own right. These are also the sorts of people who have a canary about a woman being larger and having muscles.
“GO WOKE GO BROKE”*checks Disney+ subscriber numbers*Hmm..it’s almost as if, more women and POC representation matter to more people than only seeing white dudes in their media..
Love female superheroes, can’t understand the love for Peggy Carter. Found her character eye-rollingly bad.Besides, we all know who Cap’s true love is, was & forever shall be.
There is a little sticking point, though, and it’s one that was also present in What If…?’s debut run: This animated “anthology” of one-off Marvel stories, about what would’ve happened if things had worked out differently, is still not proper.Huh? It’s not proper?
It isn’t proper until MC Hammer says it is.
MC Justin Hammer?
Watching this now too, it’s…fine, for the most part. The animation alternates between looking clunky and chunky (like when people stiffly run) but there are some sequences that use comic-book-color schemes spectacularly. The voice acting range remains pretty impressive, even if they got soundalikes for the biggest stars, but I wish the did more comic-book sort of What If scenarios (like Zombies, or Hela getting the 10 Rings) rather than just “Happy gets his own episode for some reason”.
Of the 6 episodes I’ve seen so far, the Die Hard homage and Sakaar Wacky Racers are definitely the weakest of the bunch. Not necessarily bad, but they feel like the kind of thing that would be a 2-4 page backup story in a comic book.
I mean I have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum so I liked the Sakaar episode when I caught it last night. Great use of alternate Gamora too.
I’m enjoying this season overall, but I really miss the downer endings from the What If…? comics. I’m jonesing for an episode that is an unmitigated tragedy.
If you want an unmitigated tragedy, there’s always ‘Secret Invasion’.
Hyoh!
Episode #3 is the Highlight of the season ! A Christmas classic! It Should have been a movie ,it fits in film continuity sans the What If concept , place it right before Age of Ultron .
My big qualm this season is that they weren’t brave enough to even attempt to make Valkyrie’s face look like the very uniquely attractive face of Tessa Thompson. They did the same thing to a lesser extent to RDJ’s Tony in this.
I mostly agree and appreciate this review. Though I think it’s problematic to say that captain Carter and black Widow “flirt a lot.” It’s so clear that they’re super platonic and this mindset only reiterates the issue with fan-shipping and the (typically patriarchal) concept that two friends of the same sex can’t be close friends without subtle (or overt) sexual/romantic dynamics.
I’d watch a whole series of slightly lower-tech, Cold War era Avengers.
Nothing happens when I click “load more comments” on any of the articles now. I think I’m done with this fucking site.
“I think I’m done with this fucking site.”- The AV Club
By exploring time periods & secondary characters the MCU previously gave short shrift, it’s felt bolder this season. Now it’s easier to focus on the stories themselves instead of how they don’t match the movies. They contain their own plot holes that don’t need to be upstaged by potential continuity errors! https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com/2023/12/30/what-if-season-two-closed-out-2023/