Tag Archives: What If…?

May 2 2022

The Superhero Multiversal Crossover Events Are Among Us

The biggest and latest thing now with live-action superhero films and TV shows are the crossover events that feature previous versions of superheroes and supervillains showing up to lend a hand or imperil the current heroes. The most recent and one of the best examples was seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home where the Spider-Man (Tom Holland) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) met two older versions of Spider-Man (both played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) that appeared in their own films.

Of course, fans will be in for a treat this week as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuts and promises to deliver a the mother of all crossover events as the worlds of the MCU, previous Marvel films and more will interact. But that’s not all, next year The Flash will be about its own crossover event as the title hero’s (Ezra Miller) time travel antics will create alternate timelines and have him meet previous film versions of DC’s superheroes; notably Batman, reprised by Michael Keaton.

There have been other examples of multiverses in superhero films and TV shows. The TV series Loki, heavily dealt with this theme as the title villain (Tom Hiddleston) was a Loki from an alternate timeline that ultimately did not die as he escaped the events that led to his death in Avengers: Infinity War. This Loki grappled with knowledge about his potential fate, time travel and bizarre variants of his being, which included an alligator version of Loki (!). The events of the TV show probably led to the multiversal crisis befalling the MCU.

The Disney+ animated series What If…? exclusively explores other versions of the MCU, such as one where T’Challa never became Black Panther but instead became Star-Lord, or a world where zombies have overrun the MCU. More importantly at least two characters introduced in the What If…? series will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They are a dark version of Doctor Strange and a Peggy Carter who recieved the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers. In one segment when a superpowered Ultron and the Watcher fought, their battle raged across different universes, including what may be the Star Wars universe. This series is inspired by the Marvel Comics title What If…? which explored different outcomes and events of the Marvel Universe, only the animated series focused on the MCU and for the most part the series was fun to watch.

Another terrific animated presentation from Marvel was the masterpiece Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which took place in an alternate world where a blond Peter Parker died as Spider-Man and Miles Morales took his place as a new Spider-Man. In his adventures he met alternate versions of Spider-Man including an older, jaded version of Peter Parker, Peter’s old girlfriend, Gwen Stacy and a cartoon pig. The film won the Oscar for best animated film and two sequels will be coming out starting next year.

Marvel is not the only one dealing with animated alternate worlds. DC has released several animated films based on their Elseworlds imprint, which is their own take of alternate universes. We’ve witnessed adaptations of popular Elseworld tales such as Superman: Red Son, Gotham Under Gaslight, and The Dark Knight Returns. These films were excellent adaptations of the source material or were inspired by the original premise.

DC has already had its live-action forays into alternate worlds. Crisis on Infinite Earths was a television crossover event that took place across DC’s Arrowverse TV shows. The event was a very loose adaptation of the classic comic book mini-series about multiple timelines and universes in DC being combined into one. The highlight of that event was, of course, the cameos, Easter eggs and appearances of DC heroes and villains from various live DC films and TV shows that were not part of the Arrowverse. For instance, we got to see Burt Ward reprise his role as Dick Grayson from the 1960s Batman TV show, we revisited the world of Smallville, and Brandon Routh appeared as Superman in a combination sequel to Superman Returns and loose adaptation of the classic comic book mini-series Kingdom Come. But the biggest surprise was that the TV version of the Flash (Grant Gustin) briefly met the film version played by Ezra Miller.

As to the rest of the crossover event, it was acceptable. Being these were Arrowverse shows with limited budgets, the result was what one would expect. Still, it was often entertaining and seeing the concept of a multiverse realized was fun, especially the end of the event which gave us tanatlizing glimpses into other worlds and stories.

These stories about multiverses and alternate characters and situations seemed unheard of fairly recently. Aside from the logistical hurdles of clearing rights and enticing actors to return to roles, the film and TV executives also feared that such stories would be too confusing. Sure, comic book readers and fans would understand the concept of alternate timelines and situations but the average person might not. Fortunately, as we have seen lately, these live-action presentations have been very successful, especially Spider-Man: No Way Home, which became one of the highest grossing films of all time. Still, the writers and showrunners have to be able to thread the needle carefully and tell a compelling and clear story. Otherwise, the result will be a confusing and unsatisfying film or TV show. The important thing to remember is that these are fun and fascinating explorations of our favorite characters. So for now, let’s enjoy and celebrate. these crossovers and multiverses for what they are.

Aug 20 2021

Possible MCU What If…? Episodes To Consider

The new animated Disney+ TV show What If…? is a dream come true for fans of the Marvel Comics and especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as it explores alternate timelines in the MCU. The possibilites are endless over what the show can cover based on the many ways events could have played out in the MCU films. Here are ten possible What If…? episodes for the showrunners of What If…? to consider at some point, in no particular order.

What if Iron Man formed the Guardians of the Galaxy?

At the end of The Avengers, Iron Man/Tony Stark was nearly stranded and left for dead in outer space when he used the wormhole over New York City to divert the nuclear missle launched at the city. Luckily, he fell back to Earth before the wormhole closed, but what would have happened if he was a second too late? Sure, he would have been killed in the explosion, but let’s imagine he survived. What would Stark do in outer space, stranded light years from home? Well, he could have gone on to form allies, possibly Peter Quill or Yondu, and create an earlier version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. As the recent episode of What If…? that showed what would have happened if T’Challa became Star-Lord, the outer space events could have radically changed thanks to Tony Stark’s presence. Imagine the endless quips and putdowns between Iron Man and Star-Lord as we saw in Avengers: Infinity War!

What if Spider-Man did not join Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War?

Spider-Man/Peter Parker made his scene-stealing MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War when Tony Stark recruited him to join his side against Captain America. But what would have happened if Stark never approached Peter? Or Peter turned him down? For one, he would still be in his homemade spider costume and his demeanor would be less of an Iron Man, Jr. as many rightfully complain about. Spider-Man’s personna would have more accurately matched his comic book personna where he operates as a sarcastic loner. Imagine if he joined Captain America instead. How would he have dealt with the Sokovia Accords? Such an episode would show Spider-Man being pursued and hunted by law enforcement as in the earler Spider-Man comics and be more mistrusted by the public.

What if Star-Lord did not lash out at Thanos?

There are many fans who berated Star-Lord/Peter Quill for ruining the heroes’ chance to disarm Thanos on the planet Titan during Avengers: Infinity War. The Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man had Thanos on the ropes and were trying to yank off the Infinity Guantlet from Thanos’ hand. But after Quill learned that Thanos killed his beloved Gamora, he lashed out at Thanos and this led to the Thanos recovering and ultimately defeating the heroes. Some griped that Star-Lord ruined the best chance to defeat Thanos, but was it? Remember that earlier in the film, Doctor Strange observed several million future possibilites and noted they would lose except for one occasion. So, even if the heroes managed to yank the Infinity Guantlet from Thanos, it does not necessarily mean they would have ultimately prevail against Thanos.

What if the Hulk never left Earth after Avengers: Age of Ultron?

Following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron a despondent Hulk left the team in an Avengers Quinjet and apparently disappeared. It turned out the Quinjet fell into a wormhole and was deposited in the distant planet Sakaar where the Hulk became a gladiator hero. But what would have happened if the Hulk never left Earth? Who would Thor have faced in Thor: Ragnarok? Beta Ray Bill? Korg? How would that film have turned out if there was no Hulk? Then there is the fact that Hulk would be still be around this world during the events of Captain America: Civil War. Which side would he be on and would he be a catalyst for the war? It’s a given one rampage too many could have led to the Sokovia Accords happening sooner. Then again, he may have adopted the Professor Hulk identity at an earlier date and had a positive impact in the Civl War. There is also his romantic relationship with Black Widow, would they still be an item?

What if Ant-Man was not stranded in the Quantum Realm?

Ant-Man/Scott Lang was very pivotal to the plot of Avengers: Endgame. When he was stranded in the Quantum Realm at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, he probably avoided being a victim of the Snap. When he re-emerged five years later and realized time passed differently for him in the realm, he gave the surviving Avengers the idea to use time travel to create their own Infinity Gauntlet and undo the Snap. If he emerged from the Quantum Realm seconds before the Snap would he too have been erased? If not, how would he have factored into the storyline of Avengers: Endgame and how would the heroes gone on to undo the Snap? If anything a What If…? episode about this premise would demonstrate Scott’s importance to the MCU.

What if the survivors of Avengers: Infinity War were Snapped instead?

If Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, most of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wasp, the second generation Avengers, and others were not Snapped and the OG Avengers, Captain Marvel, Rocket, Valkyrie and Nebula were instead, how would that situation have played out after Avengers: Infinity War? Could the alternate rag tag Avengers have taken on Thanos? Perhaps they would have reached Thanos’ farm planet sooner before he could destroy the Infinity Stones and defeated him. Or there still could have been a five-year time jump as the heroes concocted a scheme based on mysticism (thanks to Doctor Strange) to defeat the Mad Titan and undo the Snap. Clearly, this alternate take of Avengers: Endgame would be wildly different. There are tons of YouTube videos imagining this premise and it can go in so many ways. Check out one of them below.

What if Project: Insight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier succeeded?

The nefarious plot by Hydra to preemptively wipe out their current and future threats using S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers was nearly pulled off in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon and their allies did not stop them the consequences would have been terrible as many MCU heroes like Iron Man and Doctor Strange would have been killed along with millions of victims. How could Captain America and his friends recover and avenge the fallen? That is if they even survived. This What If…? episode could see the birth of a new team of Avengers featuring other heores like the Eternals or Black Panther to take on Hydra and help rebuild the world.

What if Thor became King of Asgard in the first Thor film?

As the saying goes, timing is everything. In Thor, the arrogant title character was about to ascend to the throne of Asgard in a ceremony but then a group of Frost Giants attacked his father Odin’s Vault, which stopped the ceremony. Thor was so headstrong that he led an attack against the Frost Giants in their world that led to his being banished to Earth by Odin. But what if he was crowned the king before the attack? As the ruler of Asgard how would Thor react to the Frost Giants? Would Odin stand by as the new ruler of Asgard waged all-out war against the Frost Giants? And what would Loki be doing? Given his scheming nature, he would be trying to undermine his brother Thor and even attempt to assassinate him so he could take the throne. Also, would Thor’s preoccupation with the throne prevent him from helping to form the Avengers? There are so many intriguing ways this alternate MCU timeline could develop.

What if T’Challa was actually killed in Black Panther?

Black Panther/T’Challa was defeated by Eric Killmonger in ritual combat during the Black Panther film and Killmonger briefly became the ruler of the African kingdom, Wakanda. In the fight, Killmonger threw T’Challa over a waterfall and left him for dead, but T’Challa was later found and revived. What if this did not happen? Killmonger would have carried out his mad plan to attack the outside world for conquest. Could he have succeeded? Yes, he did have the advanced Wakandan technology, but the outside world by this time had considerable sources including superheroes. At the time of the film, the Avengers had broken up, but Killmonger’s war could be the catalyst to get them to reunite and just in time to face Thanos’ forces in Avengers: Infinity War. Or if they failed, how would the world face the Mad Titan when he finally arrived?

What if Baron Mordo became the Sorcerer Supreme instead of Doctor Strange?

The original What if…? comic book series explored a similar premise in issue #40, What if Doctor Strange had not become the Master of the Mystic Arts? The What if…? episode could follow this idea with its own take. Conceited neurosurgeon Stephen Strange never gets involved in the car accident that mangles his hands and leads him to change his ways and become a sorcerer. Or he dies in the accident. Strange is taken out of the equation, and Baron Mordo remains the Ancient One’s best disciple. Would he takeover for the Ancient One after she dies and how would he fare against Kaecilius? Could he defeat him or be clever enough to trick Dormammu as Strange did? Is he worthy enough to be the Sorcerer Supreme? Perhaps he could have and it would be interesting to see Mordo being the hero in the episode.

These are just some ideas for future episodes of the MCU What If…? Anyone else have other ideas for possible episodes? Be sure to leave a comment and share your thoughts!

José Soto