By: Keilany Ligons
Like Star Wars, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally been given the animated show treatment. On August 11th and August 18th, Marvel’s What If…?, released its first and second episodes on Disney+, becoming the first animated show of the MCU.
Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, the show reimagines famous events from the movies with small twists that completely change what happened before. The viewer is guided through each episode by The Watcher, an omnipotent being who watches one single choice, branch out into a new story each episode, while unable to interfere.
With a unique and illustrative animation style, excitingly new stories, and Marvel alumni such as Haley Attwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, and Sebatian Stan, returning to reprise their roles, What If…? revives memorable events from the films while also maintaining a sense of originality.
Marvel’s What If…? airs a new episode every Wednesday on Disney+
Episode 1: What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?
The first episode of the show re-imagines the origin story of Steve Rogers or “Captain America ”. It questions how story would have gone if Steve was injured before he could take the serum, having Agent Peggy Carter take the serum instead.
Following the sequence of the original movie, this episode was a fast moving episode that jumped to different scenes quickly. Peggy’s experience would have included more judgement and doubt from her peers becoming the super soldier as a woman in the 1940’s, while also showing the significant difference in her actions and decisions compared to Steve’s. Several recognizable characters return to relive moments from the first Captain America movie while also including new memories.
Episode 2: What If… T’Challa Became Star-Lord
Unlike its predecessor, the second episode didn’t have much of a storyline to follow, allowing the episode to create an entirely brand new story. With the late Chadwick Boseman reprising his role as T’Challa or Black Panther, this story asks what would have happened if his character had been the one to be abducted by alien ravagers instead of Peter Quill, the original Star-Lord.
This episode had more flexibility than the first, which made for an entirely new story with almost complete changes on several well known characters. This made the episode feel more exciting as there was no longer an idea of what was going to happen. Once again, showing how T’Challa’s actions and decisions would have differed compared to Peter’s, the story shows Star-Lord, while still keeping some of Peter’s known characteristics.
beniciapaw.com 