“I observe all that transpires here, but I do not, cannot, will not interfere,” is the iconic introduction of The Watcher who instills Marvel fans with excitement in each episode. What If..? is the new anthology series based on Marvel Comics and is the fourth television show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced by Marvel Studios.
Marvel fans are raging over What If…? because it touches on monumental events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, warping them into different outcomes in alternate timelines of the multiverse. What’s groundbreaking about this series is that a different event is explored each episode leaving the audience eager to know what situation will be tackled next. Everyone has that thought in the back of their minds when watching a film or TV show that goes, “I wonder what would’ve happened if this character made a different choice?”
Originally, the What If…? comics made their debut in 1977. In April of 2019, Disney and Marvel officially announced it would be a series. In the past, Marvel Studios discussed potentially producing something involving the What If…? comics, but decided not to do so until after the Infinity Saga wrapped up so they would have enough storylines to create alternate outcomes for.
The writers behind the masterpiece examined each and every one of the MCU heroes to determine “what makes them tick.” The writers wanted to make sure a build up of story potential was behind each episode and storyline to truly unravel who is the hero behind each “shield.”
A.C Bradley said, “The first question was never ‘what if’— the first question was, ‘where is the heart in the hero?’ Where’s the humanity in these iconic characters that we’ve all spent so many years watching on screen and growing up reading comic books about? How do we get beyond the shield? So, with Peggy Carter it was as simple as, “she was a woman in the 1940s who said I’m staying in the room,how is that going to change the world?”
I interviewed Hermino Mendez, a Radio Television and Film major at UT to get the inside scoop on what UT students think of the series..
“I love when Marvel changes up the game,”Mendez said. “Morally grey characters are intriguing to me. What I really love about What If…? is that it strays away from the ‘expected’ Marvel formula that a lot of viewers are used to.”
Mendez’s answer makes it clear that Marvel fans were yearning for this all along.
“What I find really cool is that there is an existing curated universe that the directors and writers of the episodes can do an alternate take on. I found myself pondering different scenarios in shows. I feel like all fans make up these concepts inside their head. It almost feels like an alternate take on history itself since there is so much rich lore and history existing in the MCU.”
What If…? is a series everyone should take the time to watch or even just know about! It’s a revolutionary take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a great way to get people invested in what has been 10 years of movies and decades of comics. As Mendez said, “but what if a character did this instead of that is something that’s never been done before.”