SERIES REVIEW: WHAT IF...?

 

SERIES REVIEW:  WHAT IF...?

One of the Marvel Studios television shows offered to us in 2021 was based on the companies' classic comic What If...?, which gave us stories about our favorite characters from the Marvel Universe in new and diverse ways.  The series featured Uatu the Watcher...a cosmic being that was an observer of these many alternate realities.  In this series, he is our guide along the way through this 9 episode arc, and provides us the perspective from these alternate realities of the multiverse....but then things go awry---as they tend to do in the MCU---and we end up with a VERY interesting end to the first season of this series.

It was fascinating to see how they used Uatu the Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright ....VERY WELL, I might add), as he introduced us into every single episode, just like the comics.  What we saw was, essentially, HIS perspective on events that happen in the various worlds that we visited in this 9 episode run.  As anyone knows of the Watchers---they are only there to observe...NEVER to interfere.  To see, as the series progressed towards it's end--that he had to violate that one rule because of a mishap to happen in the multiverse. and Ultron had become all-too powerful, and wanted to control ALL of the multiverse, and thus he had to interfere in order to try and stop Ultron from controlling ALL of reality. Wright brought a weight and perfect diction of the character, and it was even better when he was allowed to truly EMOTE as the crisis involving Ultron threatened him AND reality. So much that he had to cull from different universes in order to battle the robotic menace.  

We did get some cool takes on some of our familiar stories from the 616, as we got to see what it would be like had Peggy Carter had taken the Super Soldier Formula and been Captain Carter, (with Steve Rogers inheriting something close to the original Iron Man armor, but designed by Howard Stark).  Peggy's story follows as close to Steve's, only she ends up getting sucked into a different dimension of decades fighting some beast that was coming through the portal opened up by the Tesseract.  She ends up playing a big role towards the end of the season, as the Watcher plucks her for his team to battle the Ultimate Ultron.   

We got Chadwick Boseman in what became HIS final performance of his career, as he reprises the role of T'Challa, only as HE becomes Star-Lord, and forms his own renegade thieves' guild with Yondu and some of the other Guardians of the Galaxy.  He ends up getting guys like Thanos to even join his group.  T'Challa is also one of the many that Uatu draws for his team to stop Ultron in the season finale. 

We see what happens when Nick Fury and the Black Widow find out that members of the Avengers they're trying to put together start mysteriously dying due to mysterious circumstances.  Natasha is accused of killing Tony Stark, The Hulk explodes, and Thor is killed off, which draws the ire of Asgard, and Loki---who comes to Earth seeking revenge for his brother's death.  Fury, Natasha, and Loki work together to uncover the REAL culprit behind the killings:  Hank Pym.  Hank was pissed off at Fury, because his daughter Hope---as SHIELD Agent---had been killed in the line of duty.  So, he killed off Fury's Avengers recruits to gain revenge.  However...Fury begins again, when they uncover the body of Captain America. 

The one episode that WASN'T my favorite (but I felt they did for fan service reasons), was the Zombies episode, where Janet Van Dyne had infected Hank Pym in the Quantum Realm, and the infection spreads across the globe, and a small band of heroes:  Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Wasp, and many others try to find a way to get past the barrage of Deadites in order to grab a nearly completed Infinity Gauntlet from a zombified Thanos.  Never been big on zombie movies or TV shows...so, this episode did nothing for me.  

Killmonger was the focus of the next episode, as he rescues Tony Stark from his Middle Eastern captivity from the Ten Rings, and they work together to create an army of robots to help secure the world, but Killmonger has an ulterior motive, as he stages T'Challa and James Rhodes' deaths by having them kill each other, then kills Stark in order to take over Wakanda, and build his army for world domination.  Siri and Pepper Potts form a secret alliance to try and take him down.  Killmonger will eventually play a big role towards the end of the season as, Uatu nabs HIM in order to battle Ultron later on.

We also got an espisode (and I'm remiss for NOT mentioning this earlier), is when Dr. Strange tried to use the Time Stone to fix history in order to save his lady love, Dr. Christine Palmer, and wasn't getting the scenario he wanted...so he went out to accrue the power of the Dark Dimension to save Christine, but her death is a set point in time in his universe, and cannot be changed.  Undaunted, he also battles the good Doctor Strange, and absorbs HIM as well, but he still cannot save Christine, as the universe shatters, and he begs the Watcher for him....but Uatu cannot interfere.  

We get a bit of comedy thrown in, as we see what it would've been like had Thor been an only child...and he's an insipid, spoiled brat.  Just a party kid with super powers who nearly destroys the Earth with his rager.  This brings Captain Marvel into the mix to try and stop him, and say that they've told his mother Frigga, and he decides to clean Earth up before she arrives, only to find out that Ultron---now with the Vision's body---is looking for the Infinity Stones for his conquest of the multiverse.  

This leads into the story arc of the final two episodes, as Ultron has taken notice of Uatu, and discovers the multiverse, and sees the potential to cleanse ALL of the multiverse of humans.  Despite Uatu having to observe, he beings to be pulled into the direction of action, and when Ultron has seemingly gotten control of every reality, it's what forces Uatu to finally take action by grabbing Natasha Romanov, Captain Carter, Killmonger, Doctor Strange, and a few others to battle the Ultimate Ultron, and stop him from controlling and destroying the multiverse.  They manage to find Arnim Zola, as a computer virus, and shoot it into Ultron to distrupt his system and shut him down. Killmonger decides HE wants the power, and they go to fight.  As the Watcher returns the other members of their "Guardians of the Universe" to their respective times (save for Natasha, whom he returns to a different time where she's needed), He and the Strange Supreme help seal Killmonger and Ultron in an orb, where he will watch over them, as they battle into Infinity.  Natasha and Carter then return to Carter's universe, where they discover Howard Stark's armor from HER World War II...with someone inside.  

Overall, it was a fun series to watch, and I know some people were not pleased that some of the main characters were NOT voiced the the actual actors that portray them ON SCREEN, it is NOT the end of the world.  The people that filled in I felt did a great job, and lent homage to the actors/actresses who portray them on the big screen.  Most of the stories were entertaining, and the final arc was interesting.  What's in store for Season 2 will be interesting, and I wonder IF they'll have Uatu break his oath yet again?  It would be a tired trope to do again...since they did it THIS season.  So, not sure if they're going to have something that connects all these separate stories together for next season, but we'll have to see.  I just hope they don't do anymore zombie episodes---one was enough.  

What did YOU all think of this series?  Go ahead and drop me a line, and subscribe to the blog while you're at it?  

Until next time....