‘What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched’ is the type of stuff that works perfectly for Marvel.
Yes, plenty have complained about humor in the MCU before, but if you go through the world of the comic books, and even the animated series that aired before the films made their way into the cultural zeitgeist — Marvel always had its silly moments.
No character embodies this silliness more than Howard the Duck (Seth Green). While we only got glimpses of Howard in live action in the first and final Guardians films and that random 10 seconds in Endgame — Howard has not been an integral part of the MCU’s live action branch. And for arguments sake let’s forget that live action version of ol’ Howard. So it’s always a lot of fun to see the wisecracking duck in What If…?
Marvel found the perfect partner for Howard in Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). Normally, two comedic characters pairing up shouldn’t work, but the chemistry between the two is undeniable. Their dynamic is something you want to eat up like a second helping of Christmas cookies. These two match each other’s energy, ground each other when needed, and can play the straight person to the other’s manic energy when necessary.
So, of course putting them in Marvel’s version of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World — where a cavalcade of characters is chasing after a prize — makes all the sense. These two set the tone for an episode filled with everyone from The Grandmaster and Topaz to Zeus to Kaecilius and Dormmamu to Malekith and the Dark Elves to Frost Giants to Nick Fury and Phil Coulson to Yondu to Thanos and the Black Guard going after Howard and Darcy’s unborn child (in full egg shell) — who might be the most powerful being in the universe.
The constant and literal ping ponging of the egg from character to character is terrific. It embodies a madcap slapstick comedy vibe that we don’t see much these days. The chaos of the episode is a very refreshing take on the What If…? premise. It allows so many serious characters to let loose a bit — in particular Nick Fury and Loki. Obviously, both characters have had their moments of levity in the MCU, but seeing them in this absurd episode, shows a lighter, more fun side of the characters.
The running gag of the KISS’ song “I Was Made for Loving You” being a central and crucial theme to the episode will pop every member of the KISS army, and it just fits that our lead knuckleheads would have found love over this weird pseudo-disco anthem from a bunch of paint-wearing metal gods. Smartly, the song is just played for laughs as it is the song that brought Darcy and Howard together, so it should have power within the story. Maybe this reviewer (as a fan of the band) is making a little too much out of this plot point, but KISS rules and it’s Christmas, so let me have this win.
Overall, What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched is a fun romp through the MCU that anyone can easily get a good guffaw out of. It’ll be intriguing to see if the child of Howard and Darcy is brought into the MCU or the comics much like Kahorri was last season. Regardless of that outcome, definitely check this episode out for a nice fun hang.
