Thanks to Loki opening up and preparing audiences for the canonization of MCU having a multiverse, What If…? utilizes animation to explore the possibilities about their various movies having key plot points take a different direction and let them lead to varying outcomes or results.
Alternate realities aren’t terribly new as they’re a common story device in all Science Fiction/Fantasy: Star Trek‘s Mirror Universe; DC’s Earth-2 with the Golden Age Heroes being middle-aged and Earth-3 with the JLA being villains; and then the disappointing The Man in the High Castle that Amazon failed to make interesting and plausible. What separates Marvel Comics slightly is its past since What If…? was an ongoing monthly series they started in the late Seventies; I recently bought a trade paperback of the very first 12 issues and could’ve sworn they did this in the late Sixties. Every comic focused on the MCU’s Silver Age origin stories: the Fantastic Four getting different powers, Spider-Man going the F4, The Avengers forming in the Fifties, Jane Foster finding Mjollnir, thus becoming Thor; and even a silly one, the original Marvel Bullpen (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) becoming the F4. It would be cool if they could explore the originals or Marvel’s second attempt in the late Eighties yet I’m realistic, Disney+ requires Marvel to stick to stuff the masses recognize.
Overall, the show was entertaining, especially whenever they managed to land the movie actors’ voices for the characters, namely Chadwick Bozeman, a trooper to the end of his life. He will be greatly missed and I hope his successor in the next Black Panther movie the best of luck. Not every episode sticks the landing as a couple stories weren’t interesting enough to ponder; I’m rather sick of zombies and Killmonger’s credentials could never be plausible enough to be on Dr. Doom’s level. It’s also been long enough to be past the no spoiler zone, What If…? culminates into a ninth and final episode as key players from all the other eight weeks join in battle to save the multi-verse since the show’s narrator, The Watcher, screws up and attracts the attention of the Ultron who succeeded in the second Avengers flick. Kang the Conqueror would’ve been a better choice unless he’s watching the Watcher himself from his fortress at the end of time.
Either way, I’m confident the Dr. Strange episode will be a critical component in the upcoming movie this May and this did well enough to get a second season. Will they continue to toy with the movie plots or will they be brave enough to be more daring.