Marvel’s What If…? has finally premiered on Disney+. Led by creator A.C Bradley, the animated series promises fans reimaginings of important MCU events with unexpected characters, such as T’Challa as Star-Lord and Loki as the King of Asgard. For its first episode, What If…? showed viewers a world where instead of Steve Rogers receiving the super serum, Agent Peggy Carter stepped in, becoming Captain Carter.
Fans of Hayley Atwell’s portrayal of the SSR member and co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D get another dose in the episode, along with appearances from characters like Steve Rogers and Hydra’s Red Skull. Viewers watch as Peggy learns the ropes of her new powers while battling pushback from her coworkers during World War II. Hayley Atwell brings an amazing performance, as well as Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark. The episode is packed with action and fun — but ends on a mysterious note.
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After Captain Carter fulfills her destiny and lands in the future with Nick Fury a la Captain America: The First Avenger, What If…? pulls away from the action. Before the episode can come to a close, The Watcher (voiced perfectly by Jeffrey Wright) lets viewers know that Captain Carter “gave the multiverse a new hero.” The imagery falls away from the Earth the episode took place on and swirls into the cosmos as The Watcher tells the audience that these are “his stories”, stories that he refuses to interfere with and only watch, as his name suggests. This ending begs a question that could change how What If…? continues its run — will each episode be set in its own corner of the multiverse, or are all these “stories” connected, each affecting the next?
It seems that using the multiverse to its fullest could be a smart move for the MCU. What If…? is the fourth show to premiere in the MCU’s Phase Four and the first piece of MCU media after the introduction of the multiverse in the finale of Loki. The multiverse was discovered and explained by Kang the Conquerer, a scientist turned time-keeper who is shaping up to be the next villain of the MCU, filling the hole left by Thanos. What If…? could do some of the heavy lifting for the MCU and show fans and viewers a sliver of what is possible with this new concept. It would also be easy for the show to do so. With its omnipotent narrator and its use of bird’s eye visuals, What If…? already is reminiscent of an anthology series like The Twilight Zone.
Keeping each episode in its own respective universe would benefit the creative aspects of the show as well. With no strings to tie up week by week, each episode is a blank slate, letting writers and creators run wild with their ideas. Writers have the potential to go back through Marvel’s decades of storytelling and use the source material like a sandbox, or even right some wrongs in the past. Combined with endless possibilities and no need to circle back to past characters, a true anthology series approach could put What If…? on track for as many seasons as Marvel and Disney+ will allow. The series could also be just the start for some of these stories, especially since Doctor Strange will no doubt be traveling through a few universes in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
That being said, the concept of every episode taking place in one shared universe within the multiverse also provides an interesting creative restraint. It could lead to Captain Carter and other characters with their own What If…? episodes making appearances in other episodes, even if they’re as small as cameos or easter eggs that hint at their existence. It could be interesting to have our favorite characters team up with each other in a new way to save their universe, maybe in a star-studded battle during the season’s final episode.
While it’s fun to speculate and dream of our own multiverses and the characters that could inhabit them, it’s ultimately too early to tell whether or not all the episodes in What If…? are connected in a shared universe or stand on their own. Though, with the pivotal addition of the multiverse in Loki and the films and shows to come in MCU’s Phase Four, it would be shocking if the animated series didn’t use this new development to create fresher and more expansive stories. Whatever route What If…? turns out to take, it seems like the multiverse will be involved one way or another — and if the first episode is any indicator — it will be done in usual Marvel flair and style.
The first episode of What If…? is now streaming on Disney+.
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