Despite only having had a year with Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s pretty well established at this point that the franchise's next venture after Thanos and the Infinity Stones is going to be the Multiverse. This opens up a whole can of worms of infinite possibilities, when every minor decision creates an alternate universe how do we know what’s even going on? But Marvel’s latest Disney+ series, What If…?, gives us a glimpse into how this concept could work going forward.
The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) is a being that lives outside of perceivable space and time as an observer of all that happens in every universe. It is our guide through alternative possibilities from what we know to be true in our universe. What if Peggy Carter received the super-serum instead of Steve Rogers? What if Tony Stark Never became Iron Man? These are the types of questions that The Watcher presents to us, and ultimately must face a threat capable of travelling between multiverses, calling upon who it determines to be strong enough to face this insurmountable threat from destroying every universe.
The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) is a being that lives outside of perceivable space and time as an observer of all that happens in every universe. It is our guide through alternative possibilities from what we know to be true in our universe. What if Peggy Carter received the super-serum instead of Steve Rogers? What if Tony Stark Never became Iron Man? These are the types of questions that The Watcher presents to us, and ultimately must face a threat capable of travelling between multiverses, calling upon who it determines to be strong enough to face this insurmountable threat from destroying every universe.
What works so well about What If…? is that it feels like an extremely condensed version of a three phase MCU in a single nine-episode mini-series. Because it presents us with characters we already know, but in circumstances that are totally alien to us, everything is both familiar yet fresh; and because the show takes on an anthology-esque format with each episode focusing on a different storyline it does make significant strides in its storytelling and worldbuilding in just a few hours.
What If…? relies on your understanding of everything that has happened so far in the MCU to present new possibilities, and whilst the concept is strange at first, it’s actually really easy to wrap your head around once you get used to the idea.
The fact that the show manages to build to a Thanos level threat in such a short time frame without it feeling rushed or undeserved is a testament to how well the format of the show works. Whilst more episodes certainly wouldn’t have been unwelcomed, What If…? uses your pre-existing knowledge to cut the chaff and get to the good stuff which is what makes it so enjoyable.
As an animated series it ultimately lives or dies on the quality of the animation and thankfully What If…? also thrives there. Whilst I did notice some moments of stiff animation or lip sync issues, for the most part What If…? provides highly detailed, slick looking 3D comic-book style animation that manages to blend the realism of the MCU films nicely with the more exaggerated nature of the Marvel Comics. The series looks fantastic in 4K HDR and even better in Dolby Vision which really gives the blacks significant depth and some major pop to the vibrant colours.
The vocal performances are also excellent with many of the MCU stars reprising their roles such as Hayley Atwell, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson and even Chadwick Boseman in what will undoubtably be his final performance as T’Challa. Whilst not everyone returns, no Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, or Robert Downey Jr. to be found, but those characters that miss their returning stars are replaced with suitably similar voice performances.
On the whole What If…? gives us a glimpse at a promising future for the MCU as well as being a tightly paced and interesting TV show in its own right. If Marvel can translate the Multiverse success from this series into the mainline MCU films then I think the next few years are going to be an incredible time to be a Marvel fan. But in the meantime, I hope that What If…? manages to return for future seasons to explore more corners of the Multiverse and provide more interesting storylines that simply wouldn’t work within the framework of the film series.
What If…? relies on your understanding of everything that has happened so far in the MCU to present new possibilities, and whilst the concept is strange at first, it’s actually really easy to wrap your head around once you get used to the idea.
The fact that the show manages to build to a Thanos level threat in such a short time frame without it feeling rushed or undeserved is a testament to how well the format of the show works. Whilst more episodes certainly wouldn’t have been unwelcomed, What If…? uses your pre-existing knowledge to cut the chaff and get to the good stuff which is what makes it so enjoyable.
As an animated series it ultimately lives or dies on the quality of the animation and thankfully What If…? also thrives there. Whilst I did notice some moments of stiff animation or lip sync issues, for the most part What If…? provides highly detailed, slick looking 3D comic-book style animation that manages to blend the realism of the MCU films nicely with the more exaggerated nature of the Marvel Comics. The series looks fantastic in 4K HDR and even better in Dolby Vision which really gives the blacks significant depth and some major pop to the vibrant colours.
The vocal performances are also excellent with many of the MCU stars reprising their roles such as Hayley Atwell, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson and even Chadwick Boseman in what will undoubtably be his final performance as T’Challa. Whilst not everyone returns, no Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, or Robert Downey Jr. to be found, but those characters that miss their returning stars are replaced with suitably similar voice performances.
On the whole What If…? gives us a glimpse at a promising future for the MCU as well as being a tightly paced and interesting TV show in its own right. If Marvel can translate the Multiverse success from this series into the mainline MCU films then I think the next few years are going to be an incredible time to be a Marvel fan. But in the meantime, I hope that What If…? manages to return for future seasons to explore more corners of the Multiverse and provide more interesting storylines that simply wouldn’t work within the framework of the film series.