[Disney+] Marvel Studios What If...?

[Isgrimnur]

[disarm]

I watched the first episode and enjoyed it. If this episode is anything to go by for the rest of the series, it's really going to reward those who have a good memory of the movies...lots of little references and quite a few sneaky detail-oriented nods to events in the original timeline that could easily be missed. Captain Carter was fun, and I'm curious to see where they go next.

[msteelers]

I thought the first episode was just ok. My biggest complaint was that it felt rushed. They tried to cram a movie worth of developments into a 33 minute episode.

And the voice acting wasn’t getting it done for me, which is a surprise because most of the characters are voiced by the actual MCU actors.

Watching Captain Carter tear through a bunch of Hydra thugs was a bunch of fun though. I’ve heard that they plan to return to her character again in future seasons, which would be cool.

[hepcat]

What if...Paste Pot Pete had found the infinity gauntlet.

[Freyland]

What if...Paste Pot Pete had found the infinity gauntlet.

The entire fricking episode would be about his frustration at not being able to "snap it" because the fingers were stuck together.

[hepcat]

I need you to write up a spec script STAT!

[Zaxxon]

I watched the first episode and enjoyed it. If this episode is anything to go by for the rest of the series, it's really going to reward those who have a good memory of the movies...lots of little references and quite a few sneaky detail-oriented nods to events in the original timeline that could easily be missed. Captain Carter was fun, and I'm curious to see where they go next.

Ditto.

[Daveman]

I thought the production was fantastic and really liked Captain Carter, but didn't think a hyper condensed, ever so slightly different retelling of Captain America: The First Avenger was a great way to start.

Looking forward to what else they're going to do.

[JetFred]

I thought the production was fantastic and really liked Captain Carter, but didn't think a hyper condensed, ever so slightly different retelling of Captain America: The First Avenger was a great way to start.

Looking forward to what else they're going to do.

I agree with that. I also thought it was a bit forced to keep the romance between the two of them while she was struggling to be taken seriously as a woman anyway. And the "lucky to be in the room" line was painfully predictable. The animation was top-notch, but of course it better be. I'm hoping they started with simple and fun on purpose so there are mostly more interesting takes to come. I guess my worry is that I haven't been consistently impressed with the writing from episode to episode on the three series so far, so the speed-run approach here may make that worse. We'll see.

[El Guapo]

I thought the production was fantastic and really liked Captain Carter, but didn't think a hyper condensed, ever so slightly different retelling of Captain America: The First Avenger was a great way to start.

Looking forward to what else they're going to do.

I agree with that. I also thought it was a bit forced to keep the romance between the two of them while she was struggling to be taken seriously as a woman anyway. And the "lucky to be in the room" line was painfully predictable. The animation was top-notch, but of course it better be. I'm hoping they started with simple and fun on purpose so there are mostly more interesting takes to come. I guess my worry is that I haven't been consistently impressed with the writing from episode to episode on the three series so far, so the speed-run approach here may make that worse. We'll see.

I imagine this was the same logic that produced The Force Awakens. "Hmmm, what should we start this series with?" "Well, what do the fans want?" "Well, everyone liked Captain America." "Ok, let's just do Captain America again, but very slightly different."

[Zaxxon]

I read an interview where one of the folks in charge mentioned that they started with Cap to help ease people in before the show really goes off the deep end. Of course I can't find it, now.

[Smoove_B]

I liked it. I thought it hit all the highlights from the Captain America story and had enough little jokes/references to make it entertaining.

And yes, I think in terms of a "What if..." it's going to be one of the more straight-line ones to think about. I strongly suspect the weird is going to get really dialed up for a few...

[The Meal]

We made it three episodes into Loki (if you're going to do a time-travel show, you gotta keep the plotlines relatively easy to follow) before bailing, but What If looks super good. Love the art style. Future episodes definitely have room to grow in terms of scope, but I'm down with the relatively straight-forward stories as well.

[JetFred]

We made it three episodes into Loki...

Episode three of Loki was the absolute worst.

[Jeff V]

I don't have Disney+, but "What if...the Hulk's pants weren't made of some super-stretchy material more amazing than Spandex?" I might be interested enough to check it out.

[Freyland]

I don't have Disney+, but "What if...the Hulk's pants weren't made of some super-stretchy material more amazing than Spandex?" I might be interested enough to check it out.

I didn't buy a wide-screen TV just to have most of it blurred out, thankyouverymuch.

[hepcat]

I don't have Disney+, but "What if...the Hulk's pants weren't made of some super-stretchy material more amazing than Spandex?"

Thank god your bicycle shorts are or you would’ve put my goddamn eye out at that one Octocon.

[Jeff V]

I don't have Disney+, but "What if...the Hulk's pants weren't made of some super-stretchy material more amazing than Spandex?" I might be interested enough to check it out.

I didn't buy a wide-screen TV just to have most of it blurred out, thankyouverymuch.

Most of it? I'm thinking the steroid effect and the bigger the rest of him gets, the more like a Ken doll he becomes.

[Jeff V]

I don't have Disney+, but "What if...the Hulk's pants weren't made of some super-stretchy material more amazing than Spandex?"

Thank god your bicycle shorts are or you would’ve put my goddamn eye out at that one Octocon.

And here I'm just the Credible Bulk. So you see what I'm sayin'.

[hentzau]

Finally got to watch the first episode and I loved it. But I’m really on a Pulp bender these days, so it’s right in my wheelhouse. Favorite line: “I spent a weekend with Heddy LaMarr but we she didn’t spend it teaching me German!”

[msteelers]

I thought this latest episode with Black Panther as Star Lord was really well done. I saw an interview with a writer/producer/something and they said the important part of each episode isn't the "what if" it's the "then what". And the "then what" of this episode is really cool and shows how amazing T'Challa's character is.

[JetFred]

Okay, I liked that one a LOT more. Maybe it's just the colors of Guardians, but it had a Saturday morning vibe without being juvenile or brain-dead.

[msteelers]

That episode got dark, quick.

[Zaxxon]

That episode got dark, quick.

Too dark for kids? Asking for a friend, who is me, and is planning to watch with his kids in about 20 min.

[AWS260]

I don't think this episode is too dark for most kids. The story is basically a (genre spoiler)

Spoiler:

murder mystery

and you can always remind the kids that What If stories happen in alternate universes.

[msteelers]

I think it depends on the kid and how invested they are with the characters from the movies.

Visually there wasn’t anything really inappropriate, except for

Spoiler:

Hulk exploding like Lizzy Caplan in Cloverfield

[JetFred]

Not sure what I thought about the third one with the hero killer. Wasn't particularly fun, and it didn't end up as grave as I'd expected in that particular eventuality. Haven't watch the Dr. Strange episode yet.

[Victoria Raverna]

Dr Strange episode is darker.

[AWS260]

Jeez that was depressing. Pretty good, but depressing.

I wasn't a big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch's performance here. Not terrible, but voice acting requires more emphasis and energy than a physical performance, since animation can't convey the same nuance as a real body and face. Like a lot of stars without much voice acting experience, Cumberbatch didn't make the adjustment, and the performance felt flat at times as a result.

[Isgrimnur]

Like a lot of stars without much voice acting experience, Cumberbatch didn't make the adjustment, and the performance felt flat at times as a result.

You have no idea.

[msteelers]

Cumberbatch might have the most voice acting credits out of the main MCU actors. Smaug, Dormammu, and the Grinch…

I thought the voice acting in the Captain Carter episode was pretty weak overall, buts it’s been a big improvement since.

[AWS260]

I knew about Smaug, but not the others. I guess he's just not great at playing Dr. Strange?

[msteelers]

I knew about Smaug, but not the others. I guess he's just not great at playing Dr. Strange?

Maybe. I thought he did pretty good here, but even his accent for the live action Dr Strange gets criticized.

[JetFred]

I wasn't a big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch's performance here.

I didn't feel that way, but maybe when he's not being a sorcerer, Stephen Strange is just not a very good animated character. It was dark but I liked it, maybe even more than the Black Panther episode. The animation was fantastic.

One funny thought I had, though. I just started watching the 2000s anthology series Masters of Horror, and as premise and tone go, this could have been an episode of that. Well, if Christine got her boobies out for no apparent reason, anyway. For example, there's a John Carpenter episode called Pro-Life where Ron Perlman is trying to do God's will by getting his daughter out of an abortion clinic, but it turns out that she's the one

Spoiler:

doing God's will because she was raped by a demon.

Take that, Disney. Or, good job, Disney, depending on your point of view.

[JetFred]

Zombie idea was good, banter was bad.

[$iljanus]

Party Thor was fun to watch along with various cameos who joined the festivities!

[Smoove_B]

I've been kinda puzzled at the random use of the actual actors from the MCU for voices with various substitutions throughout the entire series What If....? series. I was not expecting Chadwick Boseman to be in so many episodes either.

The one about zombies was modified pretty heavily from the comics, but they maintained some key elements. It made sense as an episode from this show but I think I would like it more as an original series.

I also think Captain Carter and Star T'Challa were the best. I enjoyed them all, but not as much as those two.

[AWS260]

What If... has wrapped up. I enjoyed it overall, although

Spoiler:

I kind of wish they had let the stories stand alone, instead of concluding everything with a giant crossover. I know, comic books are going to comic book, but still.

[Smoove_B]

I had no idea there were two more episodes! I thought it ended with the Thor story.

[hepcat]

What If... has wrapped up. I enjoyed it overall, although

Spoiler:

I kind of wish they had let the stories stand alone, instead of concluding everything with a giant crossover. I know, comic books are going to comic book, but still.

I agree. It felt forced and contrived at the end.

Also

Spoiler:

Making Thor a complete buffoon was kind of annoying at times.

I also felt that most of the episodes were weak overall. The only ones I liked were the Doctor Strange Episode, Captain Carter and the episode with Hank Pym as the big bad. The others just felt like stories made for focus groups.