What If...? Season Two
Year: 2023
Created by: A.C. Bradley
Starring: Jeffrey Wright
Episodes: 9
BBFC: 12
Published: 17/01/24
Created by: A.C. Bradley
Starring: Jeffrey Wright
Episodes: 9
BBFC: 12
Published: 17/01/24
The first season of Marvel’s What If…? painted a bright future for the franchise as it explored alternate versions of the established MCU timeline, exploring the possibilities of the multiverse which the mainline MCU films were starting to dip their toes into. Whilst the films certainly didn’t follow suit with their handling of the multiverse, What If…? remained a refreshing break from the status quo for Marvel, and so the promise of a second season was certainly tantalising. But now that it’s here I can’t help but think, what if ‘What If…?’ had remained a single season?
We join the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) as he continues to observe various intriguing events in the different multiverses. But when a certain Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) is pulled from her own universe into another one he must debate whether to intervene in order to protect the future of all universes.
The design of What If…? Season Two remains the same as the first, an anthology style series of unconnected episodes…for the most part. Of the nine episodes, four of them are connected, and do actually continue the story of the same Captain Carter featured in Season One. This does break the anthology styling somewhat and that was one of What If…?’s greatest strengths, it’s isolation from everything else including itself. But here the episodes ‘What If Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper’, ‘What If Kahhori Reshaped the World’, ‘What If the Avengers Assembled in 1602’, and ‘What If Strange Supreme Intervened’ are all linked through Carter, Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch), and the MCU’s first original character, Kahhori (Devery Jacobs).
We join the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) as he continues to observe various intriguing events in the different multiverses. But when a certain Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) is pulled from her own universe into another one he must debate whether to intervene in order to protect the future of all universes.
The design of What If…? Season Two remains the same as the first, an anthology style series of unconnected episodes…for the most part. Of the nine episodes, four of them are connected, and do actually continue the story of the same Captain Carter featured in Season One. This does break the anthology styling somewhat and that was one of What If…?’s greatest strengths, it’s isolation from everything else including itself. But here the episodes ‘What If Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper’, ‘What If Kahhori Reshaped the World’, ‘What If the Avengers Assembled in 1602’, and ‘What If Strange Supreme Intervened’ are all linked through Carter, Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch), and the MCU’s first original character, Kahhori (Devery Jacobs).
It pains me to say that the majority of the episodes very dull and failed to capture my interest in the slightest. The first episode ‘What If nebula Joined the Nova Corps’ was good, reminded me a lot of Blade Runner 2049. Episode Three, ‘What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas’, was a fun comedy focused episode, the previously mentioned Hydra Stomper episode was reasonably strong, and the sixth episode which introduces us to Kahhori was definitely unique, although I can’t say it was particularly good. The rest were all extremely forgettable, lacking the creativity and ingenuity that the first season had in droves.
Kahhori is a good addition to the MCU, though I’d be surprised if she appeared in the live action shows or films. Her introductory episode is delivered entirely in the Native American language Mohawk. This definitely makes it stand out, and Kahhori is an interesting character, but it was basically just a Marvel spin on Pocahontas.
Visually it’s just as strong as the first season. 3D computer animation made to look like comic book panels, but it definitely lacks that same wow it had the first time around and I think that’s because there’s no visual improvement on what was established the first time around. I must also point out how the fourth episode, ‘What If Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster’, features a race sequence that is almost identical to the one seen in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. I’m not sure what the MCU’s recent obsession with replicating that film is (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania stole the visual design of that film), but it’s not a good look and they really need to stop.
It’s a shame to say that What If…? Season Two lacks almost everything that made the first season so refreshing. It relies too heavily on continuing narratives, the animation hasn’t progressed any further from two years ago, and most of the stories presented here are incredibly boring. A short, sharp fall from grace. A true shame.
Kahhori is a good addition to the MCU, though I’d be surprised if she appeared in the live action shows or films. Her introductory episode is delivered entirely in the Native American language Mohawk. This definitely makes it stand out, and Kahhori is an interesting character, but it was basically just a Marvel spin on Pocahontas.
Visually it’s just as strong as the first season. 3D computer animation made to look like comic book panels, but it definitely lacks that same wow it had the first time around and I think that’s because there’s no visual improvement on what was established the first time around. I must also point out how the fourth episode, ‘What If Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster’, features a race sequence that is almost identical to the one seen in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. I’m not sure what the MCU’s recent obsession with replicating that film is (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania stole the visual design of that film), but it’s not a good look and they really need to stop.
It’s a shame to say that What If…? Season Two lacks almost everything that made the first season so refreshing. It relies too heavily on continuing narratives, the animation hasn’t progressed any further from two years ago, and most of the stories presented here are incredibly boring. A short, sharp fall from grace. A true shame.