What if Captain America became Captain Britain? What if Black Panther went to space? What if the Avengers were never even formed?
The new series “What If…” marks Marvel Studios’ first fully-animated series on Disney+.
“What If…” explores the many possible realities of the Marvel multiverse, where each episode chronicles how one change to a pivotal moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) can totally change a superhero’s entire character arc.
For example, in the first episode set during the events of the film “Captain America: The First Avenger,” Steve Rogers is about to take the Super-Soldier Serum, a serum that would increase his athleticism by 200% and allow him to eventually become Captain America.
Before he enters, Peggy Carter makes the simple yet crucial choice of watching the experiment from the ground floor instead of from the booth. When the experiment is about to start, a H.Y.D.R.A. spy shoots Steve, leaving him too wounded to take the serum.
In a last-minute decision, Peggy takes his place and becomes the first Super Soldier instead of Steve.
The rest of the episode plays out just like “Captain America: The First Avenger,” except that Peggy as the newly-named Captain Carter must face the great foe known as sexism.
U.S. officials put her off, saying that a women could never be on the front lines. Captain Carter proves her abilities and finally gets her chance, eventually doing what Captain America also did, stopping the Red Skull and H.Y.D.R.A from causing global destruction.
A cosmic being known as The Watcher (played by Jeffrey Wright) narrates each episode, pointing out how each slight change causes major consequences.
Most of the animated versions of these MCU characters are played by their original actors from the films, i.e., Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Josh Brolin as Thanos.
“What If…” also marks Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as T’Challa/Black Panther, since Marvel Studios was fortunate enough to have recorded his lines before his untimely death in 2020.
The animation resembles the MCU in the way its action is very vibrant and fast-paced like the films. Each iconic Marvel location is enhanced by the animation and a lot more stylistically pleasing to watch.
Some may think that because this piece of Marvel media is animated, that it is just meant for children. On the contrary, each episode holds the same amount of language and violence seen in the films.
With the fourth phase of the MCU putting a heavy focus on the multiverse, “What If…” is an essential watch for Marvel fans, that shows many interesting realities for these beloved characters in a nuanced, animated style. All episodes will be available on October 6 on Disney+.