One of my favorite Marvel series dropped a second season, and this one digs in deeper to Captain Peggy Carter: Super Hero.
What if Nebula Joined the Nova Corps? Is a scifi take on noir that reminds me of the Marvel graphic novel Noir series, at least in spirit. It also gives a nod to an overlooked villain, Ronan the Destroyer who, in the cinematic universe, lives in Thanos’ shadow.
What if Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Explores a setting where saving the world means saving a child rather than defeating an enemy. While we love our giant destruction battle scenes, this is a reminder that good world building looks at the little details too.
What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas? was my favorite of this season. Yeah, I like the serious stuff, but I like the Marvel levity too, and Christmas joy is a perfect juxtaposition for that.
What if Iron Man Crashed into the Grandmaster? Was my second favorite episode. The Grandmaster is a favorite secondary character of mine. Goldblum’s take on an immortal who lives in a superhero multiverse is a gem in the expanded universe.
What If Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper? Is a more traditional twist on the the story as we know it so far, putting Steve in the role of Bucky Barnes. My favorite part of this episode is that the writers gave a starring villain role to the Red Room rather than Hydra.
What If Kahhori Reshaped the World? features a new Marvel superhero a Mohawk woman named Kahhori. The care the writers took to include historical accuracy in this What If is on full display, and no doubt we’ll be seeing more of Kahhori in the future.
What If Hela Found the Ten Rings? gives Hela a nice little redemption arc while also reinforcing that Odin held some responsibility for the plot of Ragnarok.
What If The Avengers Assembled in 1602? is a nod to the limited run Marvel 1602 written by Neil Gaiman. It’s nice to see Marvel allowing Wanda to be a good guy again. *dirty look at Multiverse of Madness*
What if Strange Supreme Intervened? Brings the other episodes together. Apparently the Goddess of Death gets a redemption arc, but Strange’s hubris keeps him a prisoner of his grief.
What If is still probably my favorite work of this Marvel Phase, though I have to admit I’ve seen a fairly dramatic dulling of my Marvel endazzlement over the last two Phases. Sadly, a part of me was just happy the season wasn’t disappointing. Perhaps I can dare to hope it might get good again.