Marvel’s What If…? was nothing more than a slew of missed opportunities

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

One of Marvel Comics’ oldest traditions has been the What If title, a series that aims to take the Marvel universe as we know it and ponder what said universe would be like if something (whether it be a small, seemingly insignificant detail or the absence of entire superteams) was different. So when Marvel Studios announced in 2019 that one of its marquee titles for the then-upcoming Disney Plus would be an animated series akin to the classic comics, the possibilities seemed endless.

But, five years and three seasons after that original announcement, it’s clear that Disney Plus’ What If…? was at best a series of missed opportunities — and at worst an all-around waste of time. But how did it go so wrong? How did Marvel Studios look at its gigantic sandbox and still only play just around the edges of its existing teams, universes, and outcomes, stuck within the safety of the immediate radius of its theatrical and TV offerings? The answer isn’t just one looming factor, but many moving pieces that ensured What If…? would remain nothing more than a Disney Plus catalog-filler when it could’ve been so much more. From the restrictions of streaming to the reluctant fear of insinuating a misstep in the MCU’s complicated architecture, What If…? never really stood a chance in Marvel’s current form. 

Upon its initial announcement, What If…? had a clear, undeniably interesting selling point: “Each episode will explore a pivotal moment from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turn it on its head, leading the audience into uncharted territory.” But, in practice, the series only seldomly used the existing “pivotal” moments from the long-winded cinematic universe as inspiration, instead swapping superteam leaders (“What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?”), giving the Hulk’s power to just about anyone (“What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”), or making Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) birth a literal duck egg for some reason (“What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched?”), rather than engaging with the actual, widely accepted cornerstones of the MCU. 

While I don’t believe it’s conducive to retroactively complain about what a show could’ve been while engaging in scathing criticism of the final product, What If…?’s reluctance to shake up moments that truly define the MCU (What if Clint had sacrificed himself on Vormir? What if the other half got snapped away in Infinity War?) betrays the series’ reluctance to insinuate that anything within the MCU was done poorly the first time around or that there was a better story hidden within both the MCU’s greatest successes and greatest flops. 

Because retooling that moment in Endgame, for example, would change so much about Marvel’s trajectory since Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) sacrificed herself, but it would also provide sufficient ammunition for those that believe Marvel made the wrong choice in killing her off the first time around. In an effort to avoid inadvertently critiquing the MCU’s final product, What If…? instead remains committed to playing in the safest worlds, with the heroes coming out on top each and every time. With friendship stopping Kaiju Hulk from destroying the world to The Watcher intervening when he deems necessary to avoid repeat tragedy, the series’ refusal to play in the darkness and drama of the MCU makes this supposed expansion of the universe feel small and limited in comparison. For a show that should have made the MCU feel all the more vibrant and unexplored, What If…? cowered when faced with the untapped potential waiting just beyond its comfortable reach. That hesitance is why What If…? steers clear of anything remotely interesting or world-shattering when engaging with its own past. 

So when the series is actually brave enough to offer up an interesting idea — like season 3’s third episode, “What If… the Red Guardian Stopped the Winter Soldier?” which sees Alexi (David Harbour) stop Bucky (Sebastian Stan) from killing Tony Stark’s parents that fateful night — the episode never mentions how that single change would impact the events of Civil War. Instead, it’s another goofy, borderline boring, buddy-cop road chase between an uber-Communist Red Guardian and a surprisingly personable Winter Soldier. What could’ve been a thoughtful reexamination of the relationship between Tony and Bucky is instead, as per usual, played for laughs, starkly contradicting each episode’s deathly serious, Jeffrey Wright-voiced intro. 

But even more so, What If…? cannot engage in meaningful examinations of past events because the series is just as guilty of the MCU’s greatest pitfalls and overdone beats. In the final episode, the serialized nature of the show comes back in full swing, with the new Guardians of the Multiverse — Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Kahori (Devery Jacobs), Asgardian Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), and Byrdie the Duck (Natasha Lyonne) — fighting the Watchers’ council to free their friend Uatu (Wright). To save the multiverse, Peggy sacrifices herself, joining a long line of female characters to meet their end within the MCU. From Agatha’s (Kathryn Hahn) recent sacrifice at the end of Agatha All Along to Natasha’s infamous jump, this beat is overplayed and tired, resulting in an overabundance of dead female characters lost to the MCU’s apparent lack of creativity. How can What If…? claim to be a paragon of creativity and disruption within this cinematic universe if it remains shackled to the MCU’s basest, most uninspired choices? 

By being tied to the MCU, What If…? was immediately set up for failure. Beyond the ways the series refuses to play in this sprawling sandbox in any meaningful way, its status as a streaming show turned it into a kind of Frankenstein’s monster in execution. What If…? attempts to fulfill its anthology promises and satisfy the expectations of hyperserialization of the streaming era, ultimately failing at both. When the series becomes laser-focused on a single concept, like in season 3’s “What If… 1872?” the potential shines through, offering a Western romp filled with tangible stakes and delightful reinterpretations of iconic characters. When the show reverts to its serialized narrative fully, like in season 3’s “What If… the Watcher Disappeared?” What If…? manages to maintain its fun as the found-family superhero girl gang at the center of this continuing story feels whole and realized despite the lack of proper exploration. But it’s the in between that makes the series as a whole suffer. Season 3, in particular, swings from goofy Hollywood adventures to deathly serious end-of-the-world stakes, unable to maintain a single tone. The result is a season that feels split down the center, with its sillier opening half delivering on its anthology promises and the more dour final four episodes reverting back to the serialization we’ve come to expect. By attempting to live in both worlds, What If…? succeeds at neither tone or format, buckling under its own confused ambition. 

In many ways, What If…? as a concept feels more suited to the Fox era of Marvel animation, where X-Men: The Animated Series was allowed nearly 20 episodes per season, and the one-off episodic adventures could have thrived in a television landscape that didn’t look down upon shows that favored a less-interconnected format. In comparison to its MCU peers — series that often feel more like movies chopped into messy parts rather than actual, proper TV shows — What If…? attempted to live within that world as well, always reverting back to the often out-of-place continuous thread running across its three seasons. But while season 2 at least featured a heavy dose of Peggy every few episodes to maintain interest in her overarching storyline, season 3 treats it like an afterthought, throwing Peggy, the Guardians of the Multiverse, and the Watcher’s plight into the final two episodes unprompted. 

It’s that complete confusion and disconnect that has made What If…? as frustrating to watch as it has been over the course of the past three seasons. By never living up to its fullest MCU potential and refusing to commit to a clear path, What If…? had the audacity to be… boring. The faint sparks of life in the series’ few standout episodes are drowned out by the nonsensical and uninspired choices made along the way, thus ensuring that What If…?, now complete and “unwrapped” after eight days, will fade into the MCU’s never-ending ether. For daring to be unremarkable, What If…? will likely be quickly forgotten, with its truly ludicrous cast and broken promises receding into the far recesses of Disney Plus as a failed MCU experiment never worth revisiting.