Marvel's What If...? comics have taken readers into unexplored corners of the Marvel Universe
for decades, and with a Disney+ animated series in the works, audiences will soon see some
of these intriguing scenarios explored onscreen.
Here's a look at some of the most highly anticipated options.
One of the most thought-provoking issues of the What If...? comic series is "What If Captain
America Hadn't Vanished During World War Two?"
In that alternate reality, Cap and Bucky continued their heroic adventures well into the 1960s,
until Bucky takes up the stars and stripes so Rogers can become the first director of
SHIELD.
The thought of Cap and Bucky returning to fight crime in a post-WWII America has some
very appealing Batman and Robin-esque vibes, but the real draw is seeing how those two
might have interacted with the various MCU characters of that era.
Having Steve Rogers visit Howard and Maria Stark in the hospital to congratulate them
on the birth of their first son would be just one of a few intriguing twists.
"I tell ya, that kid's not even here yet, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him."
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealed that Yondu originally abducted Peter Quill from
Earth so he could return him to his father, Ego the Living Planet.
Fortunately for the young space pirate, Yondu grew attached to the lad, raising him to become
a Ravager.
Had Yondu made good on his assignment and returned Quill to Ego, the MCU would've been
majorly affected.
Ego would've been able to harness Quill's ultra-powerful energy to consume the universe
with the planetary seeds he'd planted, and he might even have achieved his goal of galactic
domination.
Had Ego's plan gone off without a hitch, who could've stopped it?
We know Quill was abducted in 1988, so most of the current members of Earth's Mightiest
Heroes wouldn't be around yet.
Captain America would still be frozen, Tony Stark wouldn't be Iron Man yet, and Bruce
Banner would still just be a scientist.
However, at least one potential power could stand in Ego's way: Captain Marvel.
Carol Danvers, a member of the intergalactic Kree force around the time of Quill's abduction,
would be the most logical first line of defense.
Getting to see the most powerful Avenger battle a living planet sounds like just the sort
of thing What If…? should be doing, especially since it's animated and can thus pull off
these sorts of big action scenes.
Speaking of Yondu abducting young Earthlings, what if the blue alien had taken another child
entirely?
Speaking to Discussing Film, What If...? showrunner Ashley Bradley teased an episode of the series
featuring T'Challa as Star-Lord:
"We wanted to see what if the worlds of Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy collided
[...] It's super exciting to work on because, again, it's seeing these characters and seeing
the combination of character interactions."
In this reality, was T'Challa taken as a child instead of Peter Quill, leaving him to eventually
become Star-Lord and assemble the galaxy's favorite ragtag crew of heroes?
If so, does that leave Shuri to rule Wakanda as queen as well as Black Panther?
How would Killmonger play into all this?
At the end of Thor: The Dark World, Thor is given the opportunity to take up his birthright
and become King of Asgard.
Instead, he chooses to live on Midgard with Jane Foster, leaving the door open for the
reign of Loki impersonating Odin.
This also leaves Thor free to assist the Avengers on various missions before heading back home
in Thor: Ragnarok.
How different would things have been had Thor decided to rule Asgard and protect the nine
realms instead?
For one, you could argue that an observant King Thor would've really complicated Thanos'
plans.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thor, Groot and Rocket travel to Nidavellir in hopes of forging
a new "Thanos-killing" weapon, only to find it devastated by the Mad Titan.
Had the real King of Asgard been watching, this kind of planetary destruction would've
surely sparked Asgard's involvement.
You could even argue that many of the events of Thor: Ragnarok would've been entirely avoided
had a dutiful king been in charge, including the death of Odin and subsequent return of
Hela.
Loki's rule, although brief, had far-reaching implications.
The Battle of New York was the first time the original six Avengers teamed up, but the
collaboration wasn't exactly a smooth transition.
What would've happened had one or two of the heroes simply not been up to the task?
Every member's contribution was crucial to the victory, and without the full team assembled,
Loki and the Chitauri could've conceivably won.
What then?
Since Loki was working for Thanos, the Mad Titan could've done to Earth exactly what
he did to Gamora's home planet.
After wiping out half of Earth's population, he might even have made good on his word and
left Loki in charge of the planet.
It would be interesting to see what a decimated Earth would look like with Loki as king.
Which heroes would rise to challenge his rule?
Whatever happened to Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. Abomination in The Incredible Hulk?
Aside from a throwaway mention in an episode of ABC's Agents of SHIELD, the souped-up Marine-turned-monstrosity
has seemingly been on ice longer than Captain America.
You have to wonder how a character that powerful has existed in the MCU for so long without
making a second appearance.
What if, when assembling his vision of the Avengers, Nick Fury decided to recruit Abomination
for the team's muscle instead of the Hulk?
Blonsky sort of makes more sense, due to his military background.
Plus, he's apparently been in a special prison since the events of The Incredible Hulk, whereas
Banner was a fugitive; it would've been a lot easier to recruit someone who had a definite
location.
With a lot of training and an attitude adjustment, Blonsky could've conceivably worked as an
Avenger.
After all, it's not like the team is opposed to adding members who were initially foes,
like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Iron Man nearly lost his life while trying to defeat the Chitauri in The Avengers.
What would the future of the MCU have looked like had Tony Stark's Iron Man died in the
Battle of New York?
Stark certainly left his mark on the Marvel universe, and a lot of his contributions took
place after The Avengers.
So many things would be different if the Iron Avenger had kicked the bucket early.
Would Ultron still have been invented?
How would Peter Parker's Spider-Man have been recruited to the team?
Would he at all?
Perhaps most importantly, who would've sacrificed themselves to defeat Thanos at the end of
Avengers: Endgame?
The MCU without Tony Stark would be a bleak place indeed.
In Captain America: Civil War, Stark is tasked with bringing in Captain America after an
incident involving a brainwashed Bucky Barnes.
Although Stark and his team manage to capture Cap's compatriots, Rogers and Barnes end up
besting him in a final, friendship-severing brawl in Siberia.
Cap then goes on to free Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Scarlet Witch and the Falcon.
It's interesting to wonder what would've happened had Stark won the Siberian showdown, arresting
Captain America and potentially revenge-killing Winter Soldier for murdering his parents years
ago.
Cap probably would've been sent to prison with the rest of his team, and they would've
conceivably been stuck there until the events of Infinity War.
Unless, of course, they managed to break out.
Hulk chose to fly away in a Quinjet after the events of Age of Ultron, leaving his friends
behind.
He somehow arrived on Sakaar, where he became the Grandmaster's champion until he joined
up with Thor in Thor: Ragnarok.
Although Banner eventually returned to Earth, a lot happened during his extended leave of
absence.
Perhaps the most notable conflict was the superhero Civil War, which pitted Captain
America against Iron Man.
What would've happened if Hulk had been around when that went down?
During Civil War, Stark mentioned that he wished Banner was on Earth, assuming he would
take his side.
"Be great if we had a Hulk right about now.
Any shot?"
"You really think he'd be on our side?"
Despite Natasha's concerns, it's not hard to imagine Hulk siding with Iron Man, which
could have drastically tilted the scales toward Team Stark.
Seeing Hulk's inclusion in Civil War would undoubtedly make for an action-packed episode
of What If...?
If you think Erik Killmonger is the best villain in the MCU to date, you aren't alone.
The Black Panther baddie was a force to be reckoned with, even besting T'Challa in combat
and claiming the Wakandan throne.
Fortunately for the rest of the world, T'Challa lived and was able to defeat his long-lost
cousin.
But what if he hadn't?
“Is this your king?
Huh?
Is this your king?"
Killmonger's main plan was to send advanced Wakandan weaponry to groups that would incite
anarchy and overthrow governments around the world.
T'Challa and his allies just barely managed to destroy the cargo ships before they could
reach their targets, but it's interesting to think about what would've happened if they
had failed.
For starters, this kind of widespread attack on society would undoubtedly catch the attention
of the Avengers.
Although the team would still be divided after the events of Civil War, it's easy to imagine
both squads putting their differences aside to deal with Killmonger, especially considering
T'Challa's solid relationships with both Captain America and Iron Man.
If the Avengers had attacked a Killmonger-led Wakanda, they'd surely be in for a tough fight,
which would make for one undeniably entertaining episode of What If...?
Earning the Soul Stone, arguably the most complex of the six Infinity Stones, is a bit
of a lose-lose scenario.
In order to claim it, you have to sacrifice the thing you love most.
In Infinity War, Thanos killed Gamora, his "favorite daughter," on Vormir as the means
to add the gem to his gauntlet.
In Endgame's time heist, longtime pals Black Widow and Hawkeye traveled to the gloomy planet
in the past in order to claim a past version of the stone.
Although both tried to sacrifice their own lives for the cause, it was ultimately Widow
who made the jump.
How would things have been different had Black Widow lived and Hawkeye died instead?
It would've been tough for her to have to break the news to Clint's family after Hulk
snapped them back into existence, but her presence means more to the future of the Avengers.
After all, she seemed to be in charge of the team after Thanos' snap, while Captain America
led group therapy sessions and Tony Stark started a family with Pepper.
How would the future of the MCU change if she had lived?
Despite its slow decline in popularity over the past few years, AMC's The Walking Dead
is still firmly marching on in the network's schedule and the ratings.
How would you feel about another zombie show, only this time, it takes place in the MCU?
It turns out, Robert Kirkman, co-creator of The Walking Dead comic book series, also wrote
a five-issue miniseries about zombies invading the Marvel universe in the early 2000s.
Since then, the concept has been impossible to put to rest.
Astute fans of the MCU have noticed that if you look closely enough at the What If...?
logo, you can make out a zombified Captain America "hidden" behind the font.
This subtle clue led many to believe that one episode of the animated series would play
with the Marvel Zombies comics storyline, which takes place on Earth-2149 in the Marvel
multiverse.
That theory turned out to be accurate, as a preview has confirmed that zombies will
be invading the MCU.
The only question is how?
Perhaps Thanos, whose primary goal centered around population control, might choose a
more creative way to eliminate half of the universe's population by snapping zombies
into existence.
Or, given the obvious supernatural theme of the undead, maybe a foe of Doctor Strange
has something to do with it.
Regardless, hopefully Thor remembers the one important rule when it comes to dealing with
zombies.
"You should've gone for the head."
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