What a fun way to kick off the third season of What If…?
What If…? The Hulk Fought The Mech Avengers was definitely written for folks like me — fans of mecha and monsters. In a universe where the Avengers fight enormous kaiju, they must fight back with giant ‘bots. The story goes that Bruce Banner and Sam Wilson become friends in this universe, with Wilson trying to help Banner on a more human level, with counseling and group therapy. Unfortunately, things take a turn later on with Hulk inevitably taking control and in this universe, causes a massive Gamma event which then creates monsters, giant monsters who set out on a path of destruction.
Much like the story of Godzilla, heroes rise and fall, ultimately with the good guys prevailing.
However, like any good big city battle, the monsters do not stay dormant for long, and a new generation of Gamma Monsters from underneath the oceans as an invading force. Sam and his team of Gundam-like Avengers once again try to stop this unchecked rampage. Unfortunately, the efforts of the team are not enough, so an attempt is made to bring Banner back to the fold.
Failure after failure, it seems all is lost, until a moment where one man with the key to stopping this invasion arrives, sacrificing himself in a way most gruesome, but manages to be the turning point to victory.
But at what cost?
The inner child was thrilled to see mechs based on Mazinger and Shogun Warriors, as well as the modern updates into more Gundam-styled designs. They even threw in a nod to either Voltron or Super Sentai with an action packed combination. Features in this universe as Avengers are Red Guardian, Bucky, White Widow, Moon Knight, Shang Chi, Nakia, and Monica Rambeau led by Sam Wilson round out the team.
It’s a nod to last year’s Mech Avengers but with a kaiju twist. Fun kick off to the series, and I can only wonder how the “sacrifice” I mentioned earlier will come into play at the end of the season, if the pattern of team-building from the previous two seasons will remain the same. We’re talking Godzilla-level here.
