Stream It Or Skip It: ‘What If…?’ On Disney+, An Animated Series Where Marvel Characters Live Alternate Existences

The new Marvel Studios animated series What If…? ponders the possibility of what might have happened if characters from the MCU made slightly different decisions, and the “butterfly effect” those decisions may have ended up creating. The Watcher serves as an observer; he says during his narration that he won’t interfere in the goings on of these alternate realities.

WHAT IF…?: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Flashes of Marvel characters, and we hear a voice from someone called The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) says, “Time, space, reality: It’s more than a linear path. It’s a prism of endless possibility, where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities.”

The Gist: First up is the idea of what might have happened if Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) decided to stay in the lab where Steve Rogers (Josh Keaton) was going to get the “super soldier” serum developed by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper). She’s there to thwart the attack on the lab, and, when Steve is injured, she decides to save the project by getting the serum herself. So, instead of Rogers becoming Captain America, we get Captain Carter instead.

Of course, this being 1943, the idea of a woman being on the front lines was absurd to Gen. John Flynn (Bradley Whitford), who is in charge of the project. Stark believes in her, so he modifies a costume she was going to use on a USO assignment and develops a vibranium shield for her, complete with the Union Jack in the middle.

Johan Schmidt (Ross Marquand), the leader of Nazi offshoot HYDRA, as found a Tesseract in Odin’s tomb and wants it in order to control time and space. Captain Carter singlehandedly defeats the Nazi motorcade and captures their lead scientist, Armin Zola (Toby Jones), who has the Tesseract. Stark uses the cube to power what he calls the “Hydra Stomper,” and puts Rogers inside.

Captain Carter and Rogers — accompanied by the Howling Commandos and Rogers’ buddy “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan) — make for an effective war machine for the Allies. But when a decoy blows up a train and Rogers in the Hydra Stomper suit, Carter and the Howling Commandos are determined to go after Schmidt, especially because he now has the Tesseract.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? What If…? evokes most of the MCU simply by having the actors who portray the various characters in the films, lend their voices to the series. The animation is detailed and moves smoothly, which also gives viewers the feeling of being in the middle of a live-action MCU film.

Our Take: What If…? is the brainchild of A.C. Bradley, who was a writer for two of the Tales Of Arcadia series. It’s an interesting concept, putting characters that are so familiar to fans in different situations, created by one tiny change in a decision.

It felt like Bradley and her writers were able to tell a fairly complete story in a short 34 minutes, from Carter getting the serum to Flynn’s doubts about a woman in combat to the beginnings of a romance with Rogers to the ultimate question: “What If Captain Carter Became The First Avenger?” Usually anything involving the Avengers means an appearance by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), but if you’re wondering whether he not shows up here, you’re gonna have to investigate yourself — we won’t be spoiling anything here.

The animation, as we mentioned above, was well done, allowing lots of action — and lots of killing — without having to put the actors through yet another rigorous MCU shoot. And the tone of the movies is there, combining a light amount of comedy with the action and personal drama.

Of course, the conundrum that Bradley and her writers will always face on this series is where to end each story, and if there’s any reason to interconnect them. If they’re not interconnected, which is what we suspect, then the key is finding a place to bring a story to a reasonable conclusion even though the implications to that version of the cinematic universe are left unexplored. The Captain Carter episode ended in a good spot, even though it was more the beginning of another story than anything else.

Given the nature of the MCU, we don’t expect the stories on What If…? to have neatly-tied-up endings. What it does do is make us want to see more, not only of the alternate-universe stories overseen by The Watcher, but the continuations of each episode’s story.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: The Watcher says “I observe all that transpires, but I cannot, do not, will not interfere, for I am… The Watcher.” We then see a silhouette of The Watcher, eyes aglow.

Sleeper Star: Bradley Whitford is always good as the not-super-bright John Flynn, and he’s the highlight here, too.

Most Pilot-y Line: When Captain Carter rescues the Howling Commandos, Bucky says, “Who are you supposed to be? The Queen of England?”

Our Call: STREAM IT. What If…? is a fun exploration of alternate versions of the MCU, with animation that does a good job of conveying the action that’s baked into the MCU recipe.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream What If...? On Disney+