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[InfiniteCombo]

Yup, as practically everyone here has said, the second episode is miles better than the first.

Of course it was centered around T'Challa/"alt" Star-Lord, but it was great to see Yondu again, and yo, Nebula really shines in this episode. She was awesome. Which makes me ask the (potentially dumb) question: Does she serve the same role that Gamora serves to OG Star-Lord? The way Nebula flirts with T'Challa (even down to calling him "Cha-Cha") gave them a cool dynamic.

"Good" Thanos was goofy AF, I'll just pretend that didn't happen. So I'll just have to wash that off with whatever episode is coming in which Gamora is the "Thanos" of this universe. I have high hopes for that one...

 

[ManaByte]

So I'll just have to wash that off with whatever episode is coming in which Gamora is the "Thanos" of this universe.

That's a different universe where Thanos is on the Chitauri ship that was destroyed by the nuke Tony threw at it in The Avengers.

 

[Burning Blade]

Well I must be in the minority because I really liked the first episode. I dig the animation style they use, and the action was top fucking notch! This is as of one episode in, my favorite Disney Marvel show thus far. Hopefully they deliver the goods throughout the whole season.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

That's a different universe where Thanos is on the Chitauri ship that was destroyed by the nuke Tony threw at it in The Avengers.

Cool, thanks for the context, didn't know that. All I saw was a (promotional?) picture of Gamora with the Thanos armor and the Thanos spinny sword, looking baller as hell. And I like Gamora as a character. Hell, I like all the Guardians. I didn't really grow up reading comics much at all, so I had no clue who the Guardians were until the first MCU movie. But I like a lot of things about them.


As for the first episode in this "What If..." series -- it was kind of weak. I like Hayley Atwell but she didn't have a great script to work with here. And she's rocking the Union Jack on both her uniform and the shield but... what did British people think about it? Did they give a damn? Maybe they showed something but I missed it..

Also, was that Shuma-Gorath? She can just easily shove him like that? I thought Shuma-Gorath was like a higher, Dr. Strange- level cosmic villain -- not someone that can get so easily punked by a "Captain" character. But then again, the Capcom video game Marvel Super Heroes does have this bit in the intro....

.... which shows Cap punking Shuma-Gorath. So it might be easier than I initially thought. Maybe Shuma-Gorath is a scrub/noob at the end of the day

And yea, we get it, Carter is a woman in the 40s and she was disrespected. Nobody wants to go back to the 40s, that sucked. But the episode executed that poorly; at every turn, a semi-forced "eh you're a chick, who cares?" would be uttered or acted on by someone. And even when she did end up being a baller, the episode didn't do a great job of showing that she finally got the respect she deserved. Bleh.

 

[DeafTourette]

Well I must be in the minority because I really liked the first episode. I dig the animation style they use, and the action was top fucking notch! This is as of one episode in, my favorite Disney Marvel show thus far. Hopefully they deliver the goods throughout the whole season.

You're not alone. These stories are DOPE! And the CG/Cel shaded animation is hot!

 

[evolvaer]

If they don't follow up the last two episodes with another famous character swapped by a protected class I am going to lose my mind.

 

[jason10mm]

I wonder if they would do one with Captain Marvel's powers going to a cocky male pilot with deep seated insecurities who just cocks things up.

And the implication of ep2 is that Quill is successfully recruited by Ego and all life ends, thus T'challa being picked up and defusing Captain Genocide ultimately was the "wrong" outcome?

 

[QuantumZebra]

Well I must be in the minority because I really liked the first episode. I dig the animation style they use, and the action was top fucking notch! This is as of one episode in, my favorite Disney Marvel show thus far. Hopefully they deliver the goods throughout the whole season.

I wouldn't be surprised some folks here didn't like the first episode. Wimmenz are scary, after all.

I thought both were fantastic. Having Steve as the first Iron Man (Hydra Stomper is a great name, too), and Captain Britain being Agent Carter was fire.

The 2nd one was a mind-fuck with all the changes in character arcs/behaviors, but they stuck the landing.

Excited to see what they can come up with after this.

 

[jason10mm]

Ep3 is the weakest BY FAR, but that first scene had my whole family so flabbergasted it is totally worth it just to see the MCU allow their characters to be done so dirty. Alas, the tone is off quite a bit because this is still a kids show but is showing what ought to be the most traumatic things imaginable. READ NOTHING about this ep, the shock value it has is so delicious it makes up for the incredibly bad final act.

 

[Little Mac]

I've liked all the episodes thus far and thought episode 3 was good aswell. Going in completely blind probably helped enjoy it more. Didn't see the the main bad coming tbh ... 8/10. There hasn't been an episode to knock it out of the park yet but they all have been rather enjoyable and I love the animation and nostalgia factor.

 

[Ownage]

LMFAO, they all got rekt.

Thanos wins.

 

[DeafTourette]

LMFAO, they all got rekt.

Thanos wins.

How does Thanos win, given the ending?

 

[BadBurger]

If you've read about Norton's antics, there is no way in this universe he would have lasted with Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige given the way they became very hands-on with the creative process starting with Iron Man. He would have either left or been fired.

Spider-Man deal: without it we would have just had another Sony Spider-Man - maybe good, maybe bad. I don't think Spider-Man's absence in the MCU proper would have made much a difference. Starting with his appearance in Civil War he felt very much written-in and used sparingly compared to the rest of the major characters afterwards. I think a few Iron Man scenes would have been either more boring or had less emotional impact, though.

Without COVID-19 we certainly would have seen more content by now. How much - who knows? Like a good multiverse story, in the absence of COVID-19 there could have been other issues that came during production or post production with any given film or TV show.

 

[sol_bad]

I really enjoyed the 3rd episode, loved the mystery element of it and had no idea who the murderer would be. I felt slightly cheated because this realities history was different to the MCU we know.

 

[Ownage]

How does Thanos win, given the ending?

Who's gonna stop Papi T if nobody is around? Jackson already used his one time get out of jail card.

 

[ManaByte]

Without COVID-19 we certainly would have seen more content by now. How much - who knows? Like a good multiverse story, in the absence of COVID-19 there could have been other issues that came during production or post production with any given film or TV show.

The plans for Doctor Strange 2 before COVID were insanely awesome. I hope COVID didn't put a stop to some of the cameos they wanted to do.

 

[evolvaer]

Ep3 is the weakest BY FAR, but that first scene had my whole family so flabbergasted it is totally worth it just to see the MCU allow their characters to be done so dirty. Alas, the tone is off quite a bit because this is still a kids show but is showing what ought to be the most traumatic things imaginable. READ NOTHING about this ep, the shock value it has is so delicious it makes up for the incredibly bad final act.

Who ever said this was a kid's show? Just because it's animated doesn't mean it's strictly for children.

 

[jason10mm]

Who ever said this was a kid's show? Just because it's animated doesn't mean it's strictly for children.

Well, it's rated TV-14 and on Disney+ for starters. Call me when they do the level of violence, swearing, and (implied) sex of the Harley Quinn cartoon.

 

[TimFL]

…

- Sony and Marvel's deal with Spider-Man
This one is huge because the MCU would be completely different now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Civil War was announced before any deal with Spider-Man was on the table. So they already had a different vision for the movie and was changed because of the deal. Also, Infinity War and Endgame would've been very different (which I believe they were announced at the same time, too.)

…

The Russos confirmed that the movie we got was their preferred version (with Spidey included), but they had a backup plan where Black Panther would‘ve had a more prominent role (whatever that means).

But yes, you could‘ve pretty much scrapped all Spidey scenes and it wouldn‘t change the story at all other than remove a few jokes.

 

[Lunarorbit]

I think I enjoyed this last episode more than most people. Right before the reveal of the bad I was able to catch on.

Plus the ending leaves it open for another episode to continue the story just like the Star Panther one.

 

[DeafTourette]

Who's gonna stop Papi T if nobody is around? Jackson already used his one time get out of jail card.

Captain Marvel, Captain America both at the end... And Thanos can't beat Danvers without the power Stone ... Plus Thanos was scared of Odin... Different chain of events happening now

 

[jason10mm]

I think I enjoyed this last episode more than most people. Right before the reveal of the bad I was able to catch on.

Plus the ending leaves it open for another episode to continue the story just like the Star Panther one.

There was no way to figure it out, they never give you the backstory necessary. So for me it was more of a cheap "see who we are gonna kill" rather than a silent stalker or grieving father story.

That first death is a good meme for pro and antivaxxers though

 

[ManaByte]

The Russos confirmed that the movie we got was their preferred version (with Spidey included), but they had a backup plan where Black Panther would‘ve had a more prominent role (whatever that means).

The writers confirmed that wasn't the backup. If the Sony deal fell through, Tony would've recruited Scott Lang, The scene they wrote is Scott Lang at his daughter's soccer game or something and Tony recruits him there.

Time stamped:

 

[Ownage]

Captain Marvel, Captain America both at the end... And Thanos can't beat Danvers without the power Stone ... Plus Thanos was scared of Odin... Different chain of events happening now

IMO, if Thanos has some of the stones, he can soul crush Danvers and Hulk smash on the OG Capt. Almost a flawless victory for Thanos.

 

[DeafTourette]

IMO, if Thanos has some of the stones, he can soul crush Danvers and Hulk smash on the OG Capt. Almost a flawless victory for Thanos.

Those aren't and wouldn't be the only heroes for Fury to recruit. Dr. Strange is still coming (in that universe), as are Shang-Chi, Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver (no Tony Stark to create Ultron), etc. You forgot, that's 2011 or 2012 ... Thanos doesn't come until 2019. Fury has time.

 

[AJUMP23]

This last one with ant man sucked.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Iron Man 1-3 showed you about everything you could ask from a super hero franchise than along the way they only progressed.

 

[DeafTourette]

This last one with ant man sucked.

Wasn't meant to be a good feeling episode. The bad guy won, the original heroes fell. It was a murder mystery.

 

[Ownage]

Those aren't and wouldn't be the only heroes for Fury to recruit. Dr. Strange is still coming (in that universe), as are Shang-Chi, Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver (no Tony Stark to create Ultron), etc. You forgot, that's 2011 or 2012 ... Thanos doesn't come until 2019. Fury has time.

Not a chance. This time, Thanos wins.

 

[RCU005]

But yes, you could‘ve pretty much scrapped all Spidey scenes and it wouldn‘t change the story at all other than remove a few jokes.

Many people believe that removing a character would not change/affect the movie, but the truth in most cases is that it's not just about removing the scenes, like the example you gave from Spider-Man, but it would change the entire movie because the writers would be thinking it in a different way.

In the case of Spider-Man for example, it could be possible that they already had the entire movie written (which in reality I think they didn't) and adding Spider-Man scenes would've been not much problem (specially since it happened in independent scenes and the only real change would've happened in the airport fight).

But in most cases it would be completely different. For instance, Phase 4 is completely different that they had planned it because they got fox's characters. It will also be completely different due to Chadwick's passing. There are many things happening that are creating completely different scenarios in how the MCU is and going to be.

In fact it would be awesome if they did season of What if...? about real life MCU changes that have happened due to many circumstances, so they would give us a look about what happens behind scenes at Marvel Studios. There's probably many things about changing plots, characters, scripts, etc that should be completely different from what we got.

 

[AJUMP23]

Wasn't meant to be a good feeling episode. The bad guy won, the original heroes fell. It was a murder mystery.

I am not expecting it to feel good, I just didn't think it was interesting.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

Is Colson gay? Because episode 2 seem to strongly hint at it. I know it was mostly played for laughs, but he did strongly suggest his affection for Steve and he said Thor looked fabulous.

Then again I’m super straight and I am pretty sure I can make that observation.

 

[Robot Carnival]

I enjoyed the eps so far. as long as it's not taken too seriously, it's a good idea to just have some fun. thou kinda see the twist on this latest one as soon as BW looked at the tip of the needle. thou the way this Hulk dies is pretty mess up.

Is Colson gay? Because episode 2 seem to strongly hint at it. I know it was mostly played for laughs, but he did strongly suggest his affection for Steve and he said Thor looked fabulous.

Then again I’m super straight and I am pretty sure I can make that observation.

I think Colson is just a super big fan/nerd of Cap. if you can recall, when he met Cap in the first Avenger movie, he was asking Cap to sign his Cap card collection and fangirling over him whenever shit isn't going down. as for the comment on Thor's hair, I mean Barton also said it, so it's just being play for laughs I feel.

 

[ManaByte]

Holy SHIT the Strange episode is good.

 

[DeafTourette]

Holy SHIT the Strange episode is good.

It had the most cinematic feel of the series so far! And the end? Dude!

 

[Little Mac]

Dr Strange episode set the bar. Easily the best episode they've done so far ... 9.25/10. It hits hard and this coming from someone who doesn't like Dr Strange.

 

[SafeOrAlone]

Cool. I didn't love episode 2 but maybe I'll check this one out, if it's a step up.

 

[Mossybrew]

Am I correct that each episode is a standalone, so can be watched in any order? I might have to check this out.

 

[Nobody_Important]

I haven't been feeling well enough this past week to sit down and binge these yet, but I apparently need to. My timeline is awash in praise for the Doctor Strange episode. I'll need to do it soon I guess.

 

[ManaByte]

Am I correct that each episode is a standalone, so can be watched in any order? I might have to check this out.

Kind of. You need to see all of them before the final episode though.

 

[Kraz]

Powerful episode.

I've liked them all so far.

 

[SidViscous]

I knew Dr Strange was OP.

Bit of a shame he didn't suck any interesting souls, those all looked like throw-away villains. Wanted to see him go up against a celestial or something.

 

[ManaByte]

I knew Dr Strange was OP.

Bit of a shame he didn't suck any interesting souls, those all looked like throw-away villains. Wanted to see him go up against a celestial or something.

Shuma Gorath

 

[Nobody_Important]

Are the episodes isolated stories or do they follow a timeline?

 

[ManaByte]

Are the episodes isolated stories or do they follow a timeline?

Isolated stories but:

Spoiler: Final episode spoiler

The characters (Captain Carter, T'Challa Star-Lord, Supreme Doctor Strange, Party Thor, etc) all come together in the final episode.

 

[SidViscous]

Shuma Gorath

But I wanted weirder, we already saw Gorath in the first episode didn't we?

 

[Nobody_Important]

Isolated stories but:

Spoiler: Final episode spoiler

The characters (Captain Carter, T'Challa Star-Lord, Supreme Doctor Strange, Party Thor, etc) all come together in the final episode.

I ain't clicking that lol


but thank you

 

[sol_bad]

That was an absolutely amazing episode. Easily the best by far, perfect!
I want more like this please.

Doctor Strange vs Doctor Strange is pretty damn incredible.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Yea this episode was pretty damn good, and probably the best of the "What If...?" episodes so far.

Scarlet Witch: "For the events of WandaVision, I'm so grief-stricken that I'm gonna hold a town hostage with my mind and play cutesy time period sitcoms."

Dr. Strange: "Hold my beer."

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Doctor Strange vs Doctor Strange is pretty damn incredible.

Agreed. This was indeed pretty awesome.

I'm still trying to decide if I prefer this to the other MCU mirror match (the Captain America one from Endgame).