When the Marvel Cinematic Universe became a cultural juggernaut and DC-themed properties found themselves unable to compete, many cited the consistency of the MCU’s singular vision as the primary reason for this. The only drawback to a singular vision is that it is so very… singular. Whether it’s seeing Tom Welling as Superman again on The CW or a new version of Cyborg in each TV show or movie, fans love having options. With the events of recent Disney+ series Loki rumored to affect the MCU from here on out, it seems like the perfect opportunity to give fans a look into Marvel’s long standing tradition of exploring alternate timelines.
And they deliver beautifully.
The animation is reminiscent of the Telltale video games that have adapted comic book properties such as The Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy. The voice casts seem to employ as much of the original cast from the movies as possible (including some posthumously). The full power of Marvel and “The Mouse” seems to be behind this project and, with 33 minutes of animation per episode, it would need to be in order to produce.
The first episode features a look at the (chronological) origin of the MCU, asking “What if Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?” With about two lines of effective dialogue, The Watcher (lent gravitas by the voice of Westworld’s Jeffery Wright) explains who he is and what we’re going to watch: a new story created by one tiny change to the ones we know. In this story, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) chooses to watch Steve Rogers’ transformation by way of super-soldier serum from a different vantage point. The experiment is sabotaged and Steve (voiced here by Josh Keaton, Voltron: Legendary Defender) is just as heroic (and frail) as we remember. After saving the injured Steve, Peggy saves the experiment too, by offering herself up as a healthy test subject.
Steve is taken by the taller, more Amazonian, Peggy as she was by a bigger, bulging Steve in the original timeline. As we’ll see, some things are constant no matter what. Some of the 1943 brass are less thrilled to see the serum “wasted” on a woman, though. Peggy puts her foot down for a promotion and a supportive Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) supplies the iconic shield. Both Captain Carter and her shield (both adorned with the Union Jack) tackle Nazis and secure The Tesseract before it can reach Berlin. Feeling that “fair is fair,” Stark uses the limitless energy of The Tesseract to power a massive suit of armor piloted by Steve.
Captain Carter and “The Hydra-Stomper” rescue the 107th (with Neal McDonough and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles as Dum Dum Dugan and Bucky Barnes). In between the still very palpable romantic tension between Peggy and Steve, the whole crew goes on a tear of punching Nazis and taking names. One of those names, The Red Skull (Ross Marquand), sets a trap that takes The Hydra-Stomper, Steve, and The Tesseract away and gives Captain Carter cause for vengeance.
At Red Skull’s castle, Carter and her Howling Commandos look to shut down Hydra, but they succeed in finding Steve and the armor. Red Skull uses The Tesseract to open a portal and a Lovecraftian horror emerges to destroy the world. The fate of the super-soldier is a constant. When Steve’s suit runs out of juice, Peggy has to muscle the mass of tentacles back through to the other side herself. When she re-emerges in the early 2010s, she’s just as wistful as we remember Steve being after he “won” the war.
The charm, depth, and feeling that director Bryan Andrews (Samurai Jack) brings to bear is every bit what we saw from the cast in live-action. The returning cast slips into their roles like a happy family reunion. If the premiere is any indication and the future episodes follow suit, What If…? could end up being a huge hit for Disney+.
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