The Watcher returns to explore the endless possibilities of the Marvel multiverse in season 2 of “What If…?” Is the trip worth it the second time around?
Once again we see some alternative universes and how simple changes can adjust a reality.
The series is made up of 8 episodes, many of which interlock with a climax for the final one. But the storytelling is overall uninteresting. Some highlights include the first episode, “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”. This episode looks and feels like Blade Runner or some type of Cyberpunk story.
My biggest problem is since the first season, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded, but we mainly see characters like the Avengers or Captain Carter. No She-Hulk. No Shang-Chi. No Photon. There are endless possibilities, but the creator, A. C. Bradley, is too scared to go further. He even plays it safe to create a character designed just for this show.
When I review something that is based on an existing comic book, I try not to compare it, because it is an adaptation. But I’ve loved the comic series of What If and this show falls flat and uninteresting. The comic series explored endless possibilities. Things like What If Spider-Man Had Never Become a Crimefighter?, What If…the Avengers Had Never Been?, What If…Captain America Had Survived World War II?. Instead, Bradley gives us weak stories and bad adaptations of good comics like Marvel 1602.
It’s an animated show, so you can do more and have a smaller budget. And speaking of animation, I’m still not a fan of the style of animation in What If. Something about it that didn’t seem right. I think it has to do with how it was shaded. Just looked weird.
One nice thing is some of the actors who played the characters in the films and TV shows, come back to voice these characters. There are some exceptions, like Mick Wingert trying too hard to sound like Robert Dowey Jr that it comes across as just horrible.
I’m sorry but seeing how deep in the MCU we are now, they could have done a better job.
“What If…?” season 2 begins streaming on Disney+ on Dec. 22—with a new episode debuting nightly for
nine nights.
Newsdesk