Marvel Studios What If...? (Season 3)
(Disney+)

Marvel’s What If…? (Season 3) 💥

“Even in an endless universe, there’s no place like home.”

And what’s felt like home for the last four years has been the consistent exploration of the sea of possibilities in Marvels animated What If…? series, where fans get to see their favorite heroes in situations they never would’ve imagined.

Whether it be a Gundam-esque Avengers story where the Hulk becomes a Kaiju, seeing the goddess Storm wield Thor’s hammer, or even something as random as Howard the Duck getting married, this series has continuously provided audiences with some of the most unique and creatively compelling stories to come out of the Marvel universe.

As someone who loves anime (and Gundam) and hates westerns, I was surprised at how much more I enjoyed the team-up of Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop (Hawkeye) in 1872 than I did anything about that Mech episode.

That’s been the fun part of this anthology series: each story is like its own thirty-minute cinematic experience, so if one doesn’t work for you, there’s plenty more to choose from.

The one I judged the harshest before even watching it was the Howard the Duck getting hitched episode. Marvel has built up so much goodwill that at times it feels like they’re reaching on some of these characters they’re trying to push. Boy, was I wrong.
No one would ever greenlight this as a movie, but Howard the Duck being paired with a fan-favorite familiar face in Darcy made for an incredibly ridiculous premise that was relentlessly absurd in the best way possible.

Using a goose chase to balance the cataclysmic, world-ending events where hope is lost allows the lighthearted episodes to feel like palate cleansers rather than a steady eight-episode onslaught of repetitive save-the-world affairs this could have easily just been.

Marvels What If…? has been a refreshing change of pace for an overly connected universe that's been in dire need of freedom.
I’m bummed out this is the final season, but I’m hopeful that this isn’t the last we’ll see of this new cast of characters.

Episode Rankings:

1. What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched? (Ep. 4)

2. What If… What If? (Ep. 8)

3. What If… 1872? (Ep. 6)

4. What If… The Watched Disappeared? (Ep. 7)

5. What If… The Emergence Destroyed the Earth? (Ep. 5)

6. What If… Agatha Went to Hollywood? (Ep. 2)

7. What If… The Red Guardian Stopped the Winter Solider? (Ep. 3)

8. What If… The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers? (Ep. 1) 

Enjoy!

8/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 30mins

Episodes: 8

Where: All 8 Episodes are Now Streaming on Disney +

Marvel Studios What If...? Season 3 Review (2024) The Richmond Reviewer - January 7th, 2025.

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