@@stopstaringatmewtf7651 maybe they need to stop announcing things way ahead, only for it to get delayed,they need to focus more on their current projects, maybe then we coul have better what if stories, actual WHAT if stories, I hope marvel dies DC hopefully makes a comeback with Superman cuz I'm tired of marvel pulling this shit and getting half assed content
I probably would have liked it if theyd go full anime reference, but I appreciate trying to worldbuild that amount in just one episode aint gonna cut it. So its less a mecha homage and more "the avengers but they happen to be riding robots here"
I love the contrast between Steve in the main mcu continuity trying to restore Bucky's old memories vs Red Guardian helping Bucky forge new memories and a new identity.
@shader23 he was funnier in black widow even after being in prison he's still funnier than the younger one, I feel like they over did it with the jokes
My girlfriend said something about the eternal not being there in the emergence episode and I said "well, if the emergence happened early, the other eternals didn't find out about their origins, so after the emergence arishem would have showed up, wiped their memories, and took them to another planet.
I was honestly expecting the first turn with Mysterio, where she wasn't in the control center, but the "You never left the field's" absolutely came out of nowhere for me.
I get the feeling the original version of the field reveal was more bloody and implied that she was the one who killed them. Disney probably told them to pull that back a bit and we got extreme close ups and quick cuts of the violence.
@wa495 that was my immediate thought when the field was revealed, that she was killing them instead of the drones, I really hope that's what they had planned but I can totally see why Disney would ask them to tone that down. It feels like it was still at least somewhat implied.
I believe What If s3 was supposed to come out after IronHeart, with the Riri focused episode and the emphasis on "the hood" and his powers in the wild west episode, which we knew nothing about. We'll probably get more context about her and the Hood after her show comes out
Once Staine was killed it dawned on me that in Episode 3, Tony Stark probably has a great life. Parents alive, no evil guy trying to steal his father’s company, interesting they included the bit at the end with the Avengers sequence, I’d like to know the logistics of this. Did Tony go through the same events just a different way? Does he not have the arc reactor, and instead just a suit?
I like the idea of Tony destined to become a hero and Iron Man despite having or not a tragic past, maybe after the incident Howard rethinks how to manage his company and stops developing weapons, for instead focus on energy and the arc reactor, Tony grows up and they both are able to create the Iron Man suit and chest reactor before the alien invasion happens on New York You could honestly do a whole What If episode focused on this lol
yeah, I've seen a lot of people say "Tony wouldn't be Iron Man in 2012 after this episode, Staine was IMPORTANT to his MCU origin" and criticize the show for not having better ideas (which, don't get me wrong, is fair) while also not coming up themselves with their own ideas on how Tony could've become Iron Man in this specific timeline and then proceed to suggest the same ideas every one else had for possible What If... episodes
after watching episode 3, it made me create my own au based on the events of episode where the avengers would've still assembled but without tony and instead be made from team members, red guardian takes place of captain america , yelena takes the place of black widow, war machine takes the place of iron man, antman and the wasp takes place of hulk, thor and hawkeye stays the same . red guardian taking mantle of captain america makes the more sense than him still using his old superhero identity, the super solider serum gets delivered so that leaves us with no hulk, tony still exists so stark industries. the events of iron man 1 would never happen but Rhodey taking mantle of war machine is still possible just under very different circumstances. things like thor visiting earth and hawkeye becoming shield agent are unchangeable.
If we were to have any sort of continuation, this should be one the episodes like with What If Howard The Duck got Hitched being a continuation of the Thor episode
The only explanation that makes sense to me about why they’re ending so soon is that they’re gonna pull a Crisis on Infinite Earths and destroy the multiverse when this saga’s over except for a mashed up version of the MCU, the XCU and the F4 universe and a few separate universes which are Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s universe and maybe the Zombies universe.
IMHO They won't. Its not in Marvel's nature to do big reboots especially compared to DC, and especially as the DC *movies* are pretty much doing this right now. Hell knows how else theyre gonna handle it tho.
I think they’ll reboot the universe. Combing the X-Men and Fantastic Four. But, not the entire multiverse. The multiverse will exist. But, in a state akin to He Who Remains original version. Each exists in their own seperate timeline. That won’t be connected, or entangled, to the MCU. It allows Marvel to keep certain projects continuing, without having to tie it into the MCU. X-Men 97’, Marvel Zombie etc.
@@oshkeetnot necessarily a full reboot. But a soft one. Everyone is complaining how the MCU has become long due to its natural longevity. Which makes either getting into it, or getting back into it difficult. And while Marvel doesn’t really do reboots like DC, they have done soft reboots as well. The 616 universe from the 90s is the the same as modern 616. IF they do a soft reboot, it allows them to retain actors and the stories they’ve developed, but basically make a new point where anyone can join in.
I think the Red Guardians run was meant to parody how Chris Evans runs as Cap. Apparently people have analyzed footage of him running and determined that while kinda weird looking it is technically perfect form. So Red Guardian having a running style that almost looks like someone with bad form attempting to copy how Cap runs is absolutely perfect and matches the character to a tee.
The emergence episode should’ve been like a doomsday clock, with the eternals, avengers, and other heroes trying to find a way to stop the emergence in real time, but possibly ending in their efforts being ineffective, primarily because there should be more episodes with bad endings
While The Red Guardian is kind of annoying, but he's so earnest about sticking up for the little guy, which is part of the essence of Captain America, that it makes it hard to hate him.
Yeah, my character read on Red Guardian is 1. Exactly Steve Rogers, _but_ 2. he earnestly believes in the Soviet ideals in the same way Steve believes in the American ideals (even when realities sometimes fall short of those ideals), and 3. he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about how often this does not work out, and he's not taken seriously, which makes him a bit more comical in result.
Mysterio would have killed off all the Iron Man side characters first, assume he killed Peter first, to get the Edith glasses just like in Far From Home. After that he goes after all the known people, that's why Riri (who is a total unknown until BP2) was safe until she made herself a target.
15:40 I know I said I wasn’t a big fan of episode 5, but I’m actually gonna disagree on Riri. Specifically I think that “Hamburger” line you mentioned reflects her character well, because more than indicating that she’s “quippy”, it indicates that she’s *stressed.* What makes the idea of Riri vs Mysterio fun to me is that they’re both very openly tense people- they tend to complain and panic a lot, even when they’ve got the situation in hand. It’s a similarity that then highlights their differences- Riri is down dirty and practical, Mysterio is showy and fake. It’s like the one thing that really grabbed me about that episode.
I think she should’ve said something more unique to her. The burger line sound like a quip Tony stark would make. “Red blooded American” making a burger joke. Riri should’ve said something that sounded like where she comes from. Or something to do with mechanics.
@@ayyocoolI’d agree if that line were all she said in that scene, but we’re constantly cutting in that moment from Vision to her muttering to herself about the unfairness of the situation. All accumulated I think it amounts to a moment of unique “voice” for the character. Tony could gripe, but he actually tended to talk or complain *less* the higher the pressure was.
RiRi sounded like a girl from Chicago reaction to crazy ISH to me. I found her relatable but then I'm a Black guy with family from Chicago so I'm familiar with the type.
Yeah. Black guy with sisters(and a wife and daughters)here and RiRi's character was pretty clear to me despite never reading Ironheart and only knowing her from BP2. I actually really enjoyed the character and the fact that her tech was so thrown together. I hope Ironheart is as scrappy as she is in this episode. It adds to the tension and really makes you feel for her in a way that's kinda lost when she's introduced as a scrappy underdog and immediately given unlimited resources from 5 minutes in
I love the premise of it. Nando says that we've seen other worlds like this before, but it didn't strike me that way. It gave me more of an alternate setting like Age of Apocalypse , I wish they could do a whole series set there.
Ep 5 was definitely weaker but the plot of the universe was only the backdrop for the Watcher. I found it interesting that it confirmed that each universe contains their own variants. That there isn't *one* Riri is the last hope timeline, just that she always fails. I also found it interesting that this is the first one the Watcher breaks his oath simply because he *wants* to. There's no event that threatens the multiverse, he just doesn't want to see this again.
Of the three talked about, 5 was the only one I made it all the way though with a shred of enjoyment 😂 3 and 4 made me want to KMS lol red guardian is unbearable to listen to and every time marvel finds a new reason to bring Darcy to screen, I check out.
@@SkullMutant down to my very core I kept hoping WS would murder red guardian after every brain dead quip😂 and out of everyone in the MCU, youre telling me I need to care about beastiality from the two most forgotten characters imaginable? I skipped the episode ten minutes in. I almost checked out of ep5 cuz it starred riri Williams, but I held out and an evil vision who was finally taken as a threat was interesting to me
11:16 it’s because it’s 2 different people from 2 different worlds making a baby. Starcrossed lovers sorta deal. I think they mentioned it in the show as a “convergence of love from 2 worlds” idk something like that
0:25 Problem is that Bucky did not worked for Soviet goverment but for Hydra, while Red Guardian was KGB eqivalent of Captain America but was dropped after Hydra introduced Winter Soldier to Soviet goverment as more efficient.
I’ll say this about the Howard the Duck episode is… We all owe Lea Thompson a huge apology! For nearly 40 years she’s been getting crap from everyone over a scene where she flirts and teases Howard and that’s all. But Darcy full on has a baby with him, and everything else that implies and everyone seems totally okay with it. Seriously slut shaming Lea over some cheeky banter, I think we can finally give her a break, especially since she still has to deal with that time she tried to seduce her kid. 😜
I did like the Darcy and Howard episode more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed their first time parents drama thrown into the crazy world of superheroes. Could've done less with the army of mcu villains coming after them though. More crazy stuff like the grandmaster trying to turn their baby into an omelette.
Kat Dennings and Seth Green took an ep that was already fun and elevated it to incendiary for me *just* on the strength of the line reads. You’re right, the writers really have an incredible feel for Seth’s cadence and timbre, and Dennings and Green’s chemistry is simply top notch. It’s just great.
The only question remains is why it's taken so long to get Seth Green in to the MCU! He's fantastic, and his rapport with Kat feels like something that we already experienced!
@@RickCarleton well I mean, in fairness, this is the 8th time (7th speaking) that Seth Green’s Howard the Duck has appeared in an MCU/MCU adjacent property. He was in all 3 guardians of the galaxy movies, has 4 different speaking appearances in these 3 seasons of What If, and has a small unspeaking cameo fighting against Thanos and the Black Order at the end of Endgame. There are probably other appearances too, but those are the ones that leap to mind
I kinda hope that this season does to the "all-the-protagonists-team-up" at the end, just for the utter ridiculousness of Kaiju Hulk fighting alongside Baby Birdie the Duck
WHAT IF Disney released this season week by week, would we still like this season?? I actually think most would NOT!! The Daily release model was actually brilliant
One of my favorites so far was What If Howard The Duck Got Hitched Because it’s one of the biggest examples of how underutilized some of the side characters are, especially when a side character from one franchise meets another from another franchise. Howard and Darcy could’ve even been a couple in the sacred timeline since we don’t know anything about their lives beyond their seconds-long appearances post-Endgame. Not to mention Darcy’s an MCU OC so they’re free to do anything they want with her. I’ve watched this one pitch video about how a Valkyrie spin-off would work, developing her character in a way they never did in the Thor movies! Or, if you want go back to the leads, a Star-Lord spin-off where he re-learns what Earth is now since he left. All of the potential in the sacred timeline are right there!
I dunno, I think the "hitching" of Howard the Duck is kind of weird, since he's pretty often a comedy playboy. It can work fine for a one-off What If? episode, although the Birdie child character does infuriate me to no end, but not really as a "canon" thing to the MCU or comics, in which it seems like a stunt on the level of Emma Frost marrying Tony Stark. And as for a Valkyrie or Star-Lord spin-off, I think those are kind of silly. Star-Lord mainly works with the GOTG, removing from that really dulls him down, as Valkyrie imo isn't really a character worth a spin-off, her main arc was done in Ragnarok and her as Asgardian KIng would just highlight Thor's wasted potential. I'd rather see adaptations of characters like Tigra and Whizzer.
How under utilized side characters are?!?! I feel like the MCU has been nothing BUT side characters since Endgame. We’ve had Spider-Man (2 movies), Thor, Guardians, Dr. Strange,Deadpool & Wolverine but aside from that, it’s been all side characters: Eternals She-Hulk Moon Knight Ms. Marvel Hawkeye Echo Agatha On and on. Thank GOD Iger stepped in and has said established IP going forward.
@@westcoastavenger How tf are Eternals, Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel side characters? They all debuted in their own comics, not in any spin-off Hell, even Hawkeye, Agatha and Echo are longtime established comics characters for more than 20 years, WAY more for the first two Before their introduction in the MCU, The Guardians were less well known than any of them
@@westcoastavenger The MCU was built by Marvels' B and C Listers. The Guardians were pretty much Z Listers and the MCU made them A List. There's nothing wrong with wanting to give spotlight to the "lesser" characters when it's been shown that they can succeed when effort is put in.
I can’t lie, I’m one of those people that absolutely hated the duck and Darcy episode. But the Red Guardian and Bucky episode was absolute perfection to me. It might even be my favorite episode of the show. I’ll have to rewatch it to make sure. This is coming from a huge fan of the first two seasons with many favorites
The other concepts are bangers, ESPECIALLY the cameos in the finale, but Episode 3 is EXACTLY what I'd like to see more of: Scenarios that ACTUALLY CHANGE events from the main MCU & show the results! Like what the comics did
Fair! I think while the show is fun and has cool ideas, the problem to me is no one asked for these, it’d be easy to make the episodes people want but they choose to make episodes that most people don’t care for
@equinox6690 Exactly. But the thing is imo they could've made these wacky eps if they first made the ones that were highly requested. Could've done wtv they wanted later.
@@directorjake Maybe? We still could've seen how that reality panned out. Also I'm pretty sure Dr Strange only saw 14 mill cuz he was in a hurry so who knows.
Funny that the Darcy and Howard episode features aliens and magic beings interacting and yet we never saw Krugarr, that red snake alien from Sylvester Stallone's Guardians team who IS established to practice sorcery.
I LITERALLY need Episode 3 to act as the pilot for their next show. I don't care if these version of these characters never interact with the mainline mcu, I just need this show greenlit
I was looking up voice actors for this season and saw the cast list for the final two episodes, apparently Byrdie will return voiced by Natasha Lyonne, amazing choice, what's better than a superbeing with a thick jersey accent
Only episode that was kinda weak was the first one and ideally I thought the second one would be the worst and ended up liking that , I love the winter soldier episode the most so far and riri
I wonder if Red Guardian’s funny run is also a deep-cut reference to Evans’ unique “dancer’s run” I remember the Russos talking about in behind-the-scenes commentary. edit: I also hope the Howard episode works as a proof of concept for future Howard content
I think the concept of iron heart vs emperor mysterio on a destroyed earth with white vision as an evil bodyguard, but yea a lot of the actual stuff is not assembled greatly. Riri’s suit looks boring and the rebels are a boring group. The illusions are fun and the idea of building an alt riri is cool. I like the use of Sharon too. But man, that execution kinda fell flat.
I like that this season is just going for some really off the wall premises and the pacing feels very much like a comic book where things can change wildly within a few pages. I also like that they are elevating some of the newer and more minor characters and also giving characters who haven't been done justice in live action yet a chance to show why they are really cool.
I mean nothing much really? It’s a little interesting but they literally made him to be a disposable character, so you’d have to stretch the story a little.
@@rudequartz yeah but you could easily pull from his comic history, its not like he's a movie original hero designed to die, they honest had to less to work with for Wanda.
Nando, the whole RedGaurdian and Bucky being a gay couple is a stretch. Not everyone who spends time together in high stakes situations are romantically linked.
Kat Dennings is the main reason that I like Thor: The Dark World a lot more than most people do. Her experience as a sitcom actor really makes the fun and ridiculous comic relief bits shine in that movie, and she's also great here in episode 4.
Hulk episode: meh Episode 2: SO. MUCH. FUN. Episode 3: it was good, Bucky had charisma that meshed with red gaurdian very well. Was sad at the ending to that episode. But liked it through and through. Epsidoe 4: very strange but good episode. If they would have continued to see what would happen with “spoiler ahead” Dormamu and what he would have done with the story that would have been better. But continuing to have the whole universe trying to get one thing was a bit much. Episode 5: it surprised me, wasn’t amazing, but was pretty good.
18:59 ok on second .. you do realize that the world literally exploded ...😆 and they still have gravity and power and everyone is living in houses and the windows are not even broken i think there would be WAY more issues that some guy trying to control the world? and mysterio seems to be half dead .. so that situation would have resolved it self pretty quick 😆
the duck and darcy episode was also a complete retelling of the birth of baby Jesus. kinda wild they pulled that off lol, unlikely pregnancy, tales of an immense power born of a miracle, countless beings from across the galaxy seeking to destroy it, and an unlikely place of refuge.
@@RickCarleton oh I’m a dad joke fan, but it was just his energy I wasn’t vibing with. Maybe on a rewatch one day I’ll be more ready for his vibe and like it more.
I agree that the Howard the Duck episode is incredibly dumb in the best way possible. And the whole theme about how becoming a parent blindsides you with this seemingly impossible task that becomes the most important thing in the world to you and is simultaneously incredibly rewarding really came through in the end and even made me come close to tearing up a little bit.
The best part about the Emergence episode was The Vision. The animators did an excellent job displaying The Vision's level of power in contrast to everyone else's abilities. White Vision should come across like a Terminator on steroids:a nigh-invulnerable, seemingly unstoppable nightmare.
Regarding Howard and Convergence, in the original comics, Howard was from another universe, so that would be another even more unique factor compared to other children born at that time.
It’s fascinating to hear your perspective as someone who actually have not enjoy any of the episodes this season at all 😅😅 Always fun to hear someone with the complete opposite opinion and glad to hear the reasons why this season has been working for you
My annoyance with the Emergence episode is that the world needed a little more exposition about at least 2 things: where in the timeline did this happen? We know Toni died in the emergence, so before Endgame, but Valkyrie is on earth so it’s after Ragnarok, that leads directly to infinity war, a weird timeframe of when it could have been, and points of development of the characters. The other is the mechanics of the ruined earth. Mainly atmosphere and water.
My estimation would be 2018-2019, since we know the emergence was delayed by the snap and given how it was about to get going a year after Endgame. So as you pointed out in your next comment we can assume in this universe Thanos was stopped, but it lead to the end of the world since he wasn't able to snap half of humanity.
I'm glad that they are addressing the watcher interference. Because that makes what would have become a trope or cliche and give it consequence. Like probably the most interesting part of the episode to be honest. Also I know if this were a screen rant pitch meeting video and I asked "How does the earth still have breathable air and an atmosphere of any kind?" The writer character would say "Hey shut up." But like... Why does do that?
I think the biggest indicator the Riri episode had problems was, you referred to the Wakandan lady as Okoye, and she's not. I can't even be bothered to go look up who it was, but I remember from subtitles that it wasn't Okoye. It was one of the other Dora Milaje we've seen probably from Falcon and Winter Soldier
10:30 - it is Jeff Golblum I'm 90% sure. That episode was hillarious! Cowboy and Red Guardian ones were up there too. Finale OK. We now have Jason Isaacs in the MCU.
I think the Mysterio episode has a little more hook after seeing the finish. Mysterio looks a lot like the watchers we meet. Reason Uatu didn’t want Beck to win again is he was resenting his similar looking boss.
I feel like when AC Bradley didn’t write those episodes, the episodes feels a bit natural and more focused. It’s sad because she wrote one of my favorite episodes from season 1 but sadly she became the worst writer in this show.
Episode 5 & 6 with Ironheart and The Hood suffer from the Ironheart series being delayed. Feels like we were suppose to have that series before this season.
The Riri episode felt like maybe the first draft had a generic team that they could fill in with whoever was available to do it ... but a full *half of them* aren't the original cast, so it was always supposed to be these specific people. I don't get it, either.
Unlike you I liked the first episode and felt lukewarm on the second one. I don't need this cartoon to literally be a What If of every movie plot, I just want fun one-shots they aren't possible in the MCU normally and less avengers team ups. This last season is giving us that and letting the last two episodes be a send-off for the Watcher character.
I think the reason they may force character unconnected to Tony Stark in the Riri episodes is maybe that they wanted to show the avengers for the new phase that we saw in the post credit scene in Shang-shi but I would like to see a Spierman too or at least hi light the Ironman link
They absolutely should have put Peter Parker in episode 5 with Riri Williams, they both have a legacy of Ironman and Spider-Man whole thing in Far From Home was you don't have to be the next Tony be your own hero, Riri goes to MIT, Peter is trying to get in to MIT. The links are all there, not to mention that Mysterio is a Spider-Man villain
because its been less "what if" and more Exiles, so they are just gonna make Exiles. Also broken timelines are the Exiles specialty so who better to fix the Movie timelines in the background. What ifs should go much further off the deep end and less crossovers.
Judging by the Wild West episode, I do agree that this season was built on the expectation that Ironheart would be released on its original date.
@@stopstaringatmewtf7651 maybe they need to stop announcing things way ahead, only for it to get delayed,they need to focus more on their current projects, maybe then we coul have better what if stories, actual WHAT if stories, I hope marvel dies DC hopefully makes a comeback with Superman cuz I'm tired of marvel pulling this shit and getting half assed content
@@iithax01 Well ideally Marvel sees DC's success and then turns around and does better.
Crazy that the giant robots episode is the boring episode.
Yeah lol that should be an easy W
Has there been an entertaining one yet?
I like the first episode with the giant mechs
I probably would have liked it if theyd go full anime reference, but I appreciate trying to worldbuild that amount in just one episode aint gonna cut it. So its less a mecha homage and more "the avengers but they happen to be riding robots here"
I'm a pretty big mecha fan but giant robots are also an easy premise to drop the ball on if you aren't willing to fully commit it
I love the contrast between Steve in the main mcu continuity trying to restore Bucky's old memories vs Red Guardian helping Bucky forge new memories and a new identity.
Red guardian was hella annoying they gave him the Thor love and thunder treatment most of his jokes did not land at all
@@iithax01that's supposed to be what his character is making dad jokes which are not funny
@shader23 he was funnier in black widow even after being in prison he's still funnier than the younger one, I feel like they over did it with the jokes
I wasn’t a fan of him helping Bucky overcome his Hydra programming after knowing him for a day or two when Steve couldn’t do it after decades.
My girlfriend said something about the eternal not being there in the emergence episode and I said "well, if the emergence happened early, the other eternals didn't find out about their origins, so after the emergence arishem would have showed up, wiped their memories, and took them to another planet.
My thoughts exactly!
I was honestly expecting the first turn with Mysterio, where she wasn't in the control center, but the "You never left the field's" absolutely came out of nowhere for me.
"oh this is fake obviously.... wait why hasn't it changed setting yet... ILLUSIONS ARE DOWN WHY HAS- OH NO"
I get the feeling the original version of the field reveal was more bloody and implied that she was the one who killed them. Disney probably told them to pull that back a bit and we got extreme close ups and quick cuts of the violence.
@@wa495 yeah that would've explained how it broke her so much, and it is something Mysterio has done
@wa495 that was my immediate thought when the field was revealed, that she was killing them instead of the drones, I really hope that's what they had planned but I can totally see why Disney would ask them to tone that down. It feels like it was still at least somewhat implied.
Double twist!
I believe What If s3 was supposed to come out after IronHeart, with the Riri focused episode and the emphasis on "the hood" and his powers in the wild west episode, which we knew nothing about. We'll probably get more context about her and the Hood after her show comes out
Yeah Ironheart was supposed to release in Summer 2023.
Once Staine was killed it dawned on me that in Episode 3, Tony Stark probably has a great life. Parents alive, no evil guy trying to steal his father’s company, interesting they included the bit at the end with the Avengers sequence, I’d like to know the logistics of this. Did Tony go through the same events just a different way? Does he not have the arc reactor, and instead just a suit?
I like the idea of Tony destined to become a hero and Iron Man despite having or not a tragic past, maybe after the incident Howard rethinks how to manage his company and stops developing weapons, for instead focus on energy and the arc reactor, Tony grows up and they both are able to create the Iron Man suit and chest reactor before the alien invasion happens on New York
You could honestly do a whole What If episode focused on this lol
Maybe this was the “What if Ultron was built for showtunes universe”
yeah, I've seen a lot of people say "Tony wouldn't be Iron Man in 2012 after this episode, Staine was IMPORTANT to his MCU origin" and criticize the show for not having better ideas (which, don't get me wrong, is fair) while also not coming up themselves with their own ideas on how Tony could've become Iron Man in this specific timeline and then proceed to suggest the same ideas every one else had for possible What If... episodes
after watching episode 3, it made me create my own au based on the events of episode where the avengers would've still assembled but without tony and instead be made from team members, red guardian takes place of captain america , yelena takes the place of black widow, war machine takes the place of iron man, antman and the wasp takes place of hulk, thor and hawkeye stays the same . red guardian taking mantle of captain america makes the more sense than him still using his old superhero identity, the super solider serum gets delivered so that leaves us with no hulk, tony still exists so stark industries. the events of iron man 1 would never happen but Rhodey taking mantle of war machine is still possible just under very different circumstances. things like thor visiting earth and hawkeye becoming shield agent are unchangeable.
If we were to have any sort of continuation, this should be one the episodes like with What If Howard The Duck got Hitched being a continuation of the Thor episode
The only explanation that makes sense to me about why they’re ending so soon is that they’re gonna pull a Crisis on Infinite Earths and destroy the multiverse when this saga’s over except for a mashed up version of the MCU, the XCU and the F4 universe and a few separate universes which are Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s universe and maybe the Zombies universe.
IMHO They won't. Its not in Marvel's nature to do big reboots especially compared to DC, and especially as the DC *movies* are pretty much doing this right now. Hell knows how else theyre gonna handle it tho.
I think they’ll reboot the universe. Combing the X-Men and Fantastic Four. But, not the entire multiverse.
The multiverse will exist. But, in a state akin to He Who Remains original version. Each exists in their own seperate timeline. That won’t be connected, or entangled, to the MCU.
It allows Marvel to keep certain projects continuing, without having to tie it into the MCU. X-Men 97’, Marvel Zombie etc.
Thats secret wars 2 that is kind of the plot of the secrets war with battle world and lord emperor doom
@@oshkeetnot necessarily a full reboot. But a soft one.
Everyone is complaining how the MCU has become long due to its natural longevity. Which makes either getting into it, or getting back into it difficult.
And while Marvel doesn’t really do reboots like DC, they have done soft reboots as well. The 616 universe from the 90s is the the same as modern 616.
IF they do a soft reboot, it allows them to retain actors and the stories they’ve developed, but basically make a new point where anyone can join in.
It's called Secret Wars and a soft reboot. This ain't DC.
Also America Ferrera was playing “Ranger Morales”, which may or may not end up being important later.
Or they were mocking Madame Web and how it used "Parker".
She was so god damn annoying
Bet that's Mile Morales' mom.
I bet she is not Miles mom.
@@BlankSpaceAudio I bet she is. Don’t ever reply to me again. You don’t know anything.
I think the Red Guardians run was meant to parody how Chris Evans runs as Cap.
Apparently people have analyzed footage of him running and determined that while kinda weird looking it is technically perfect form.
So Red Guardian having a running style that almost looks like someone with bad form attempting to copy how Cap runs is absolutely perfect and matches the character to a tee.
The emergence episode should’ve been like a doomsday clock, with the eternals, avengers, and other heroes trying to find a way to stop the emergence in real time, but possibly ending in their efforts being ineffective, primarily because there should be more episodes with bad endings
While The Red Guardian is kind of annoying, but he's so earnest about sticking up for the little guy, which is part of the essence of Captain America, that it makes it hard to hate him.
Yeah, my character read on Red Guardian is 1. Exactly Steve Rogers, _but_ 2. he earnestly believes in the Soviet ideals in the same way Steve believes in the American ideals (even when realities sometimes fall short of those ideals), and 3. he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about how often this does not work out, and he's not taken seriously, which makes him a bit more comical in result.
Mysterio would have killed off all the Iron Man side characters first, assume he killed Peter first, to get the Edith glasses just like in Far From Home. After that he goes after all the known people, that's why Riri (who is a total unknown until BP2) was safe until she made herself a target.
that and the emergence itself could've killed those characters off
@@starhound45 That makes sense too, but I think his first steps would always have to be eliminating anyone else with Stark tech and SHIELD or SWORD.
15:40 I know I said I wasn’t a big fan of episode 5, but I’m actually gonna disagree on Riri. Specifically I think that “Hamburger” line you mentioned reflects her character well, because more than indicating that she’s “quippy”, it indicates that she’s *stressed.*
What makes the idea of Riri vs Mysterio fun to me is that they’re both very openly tense people- they tend to complain and panic a lot, even when they’ve got the situation in hand. It’s a similarity that then highlights their differences- Riri is down dirty and practical, Mysterio is showy and fake.
It’s like the one thing that really grabbed me about that episode.
I think she should’ve said something more unique to her. The burger line sound like a quip Tony stark would make. “Red blooded American” making a burger joke. Riri should’ve said something that sounded like where she comes from. Or something to do with mechanics.
@@ayyocoolI’d agree if that line were all she said in that scene, but we’re constantly cutting in that moment from Vision to her muttering to herself about the unfairness of the situation. All accumulated I think it amounts to a moment of unique “voice” for the character. Tony could gripe, but he actually tended to talk or complain *less* the higher the pressure was.
RiRi sounded like a girl from Chicago reaction to crazy ISH to me. I found her relatable but then I'm a Black guy with family from Chicago so I'm familiar with the type.
Yeah. Black guy with sisters(and a wife and daughters)here and RiRi's character was pretty clear to me despite never reading Ironheart and only knowing her from BP2. I actually really enjoyed the character and the fact that her tech was so thrown together. I hope Ironheart is as scrappy as she is in this episode. It adds to the tension and really makes you feel for her in a way that's kinda lost when she's introduced as a scrappy underdog and immediately given unlimited resources from 5 minutes in
episode 5 is really good, they made the world feel epocaliptic and hopeless and the white vision scene was also really good.
I love the premise of it. Nando says that we've seen other worlds like this before, but it didn't strike me that way. It gave me more of an alternate setting like Age of Apocalypse , I wish they could do a whole series set there.
Ep 5 was definitely weaker but the plot of the universe was only the backdrop for the Watcher. I found it interesting that it confirmed that each universe contains their own variants. That there isn't *one* Riri is the last hope timeline, just that she always fails.
I also found it interesting that this is the first one the Watcher breaks his oath simply because he *wants* to. There's no event that threatens the multiverse, he just doesn't want to see this again.
Of the three talked about, 5 was the only one I made it all the way though with a shred of enjoyment 😂 3 and 4 made me want to KMS lol red guardian is unbearable to listen to and every time marvel finds a new reason to bring Darcy to screen, I check out.
@jayymorris5285 no shade, but not liking ep 3 and 4 is just not liking joy and fun. So I guess shade.
@@SkullMutant down to my very core I kept hoping WS would murder red guardian after every brain dead quip😂 and out of everyone in the MCU, youre telling me I need to care about beastiality from the two most forgotten characters imaginable? I skipped the episode ten minutes in.
I almost checked out of ep5 cuz it starred riri Williams, but I held out and an evil vision who was finally taken as a threat was interesting to me
11:16 it’s because it’s 2 different people from 2 different worlds making a baby. Starcrossed lovers sorta deal. I think they mentioned it in the show as a “convergence of love from 2 worlds” idk something like that
0:25 Problem is that Bucky did not worked for Soviet goverment but for Hydra, while Red Guardian was KGB eqivalent of Captain America but was dropped after Hydra introduced Winter Soldier to Soviet goverment as more efficient.
I’ll say this about the Howard the Duck episode is… We all owe Lea Thompson a huge apology! For nearly 40 years she’s been getting crap from everyone over a scene where she flirts and teases Howard and that’s all. But Darcy full on has a baby with him, and everything else that implies and everyone seems totally okay with it. Seriously slut shaming Lea over some cheeky banter, I think we can finally give her a break, especially since she still has to deal with that time she tried to seduce her kid. 😜
I wasn’t okay with it 😭
I even turned to my wife and said, "So this is Marvel's version of the 80s film." 😂
Yeah no not everyone likes this or wanted this abomination of a episode
This was disgusting and wrong on so many levels
I did like the Darcy and Howard episode more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed their first time parents drama thrown into the crazy world of superheroes. Could've done less with the army of mcu villains coming after them though. More crazy stuff like the grandmaster trying to turn their baby into an omelette.
Kat Dennings and Seth Green took an ep that was already fun and elevated it to incendiary for me *just* on the strength of the line reads. You’re right, the writers really have an incredible feel for Seth’s cadence and timbre, and Dennings and Green’s chemistry is simply top notch. It’s just great.
Couldn’t have said it better. Their performances really elevate that one to greatness.
It's average comic book shenanigans and I love it for it
The only question remains is why it's taken so long to get Seth Green in to the MCU! He's fantastic, and his rapport with Kat feels like something that we already experienced!
@@RickCarleton well I mean, in fairness, this is the 8th time (7th speaking) that Seth Green’s Howard the Duck has appeared in an MCU/MCU adjacent property. He was in all 3 guardians of the galaxy movies, has 4 different speaking appearances in these 3 seasons of What If, and has a small unspeaking cameo fighting against Thanos and the Black Order at the end of Endgame. There are probably other appearances too, but those are the ones that leap to mind
@@jasonmarbach yes yes but who counts guest appearances? Had more lines in the first two minutes than the rest of them combined.
I kinda hope that this season does to the "all-the-protagonists-team-up" at the end, just for the utter ridiculousness of Kaiju Hulk fighting alongside Baby Birdie the Duck
Episode Five might be the my favorite of the whole show
Wow yeah I kept looking for this. I actually liked it more than the others so far
I completely agree
I love it too! What about it worked for you?
I haven't seen Fall Guy, so that probably helped. The Shang Chi/Kate Bishop episode was awesome!
Crazy that the giant robots fighting Kaiju was the dull episode.
WHAT IF Disney released this season week by week, would we still like this season?? I actually think most would NOT!! The Daily release model was actually brilliant
I wouldn’t even watch it lol. Or if at least miss several episodes
I think then just releasing them all together would work just as well
One of my favorites so far was What If Howard The Duck Got Hitched
Because it’s one of the biggest examples of how underutilized some of the side characters are, especially when a side character from one franchise meets another from another franchise. Howard and Darcy could’ve even been a couple in the sacred timeline since we don’t know anything about their lives beyond their seconds-long appearances post-Endgame. Not to mention Darcy’s an MCU OC so they’re free to do anything they want with her.
I’ve watched this one pitch video about how a Valkyrie spin-off would work, developing her character in a way they never did in the Thor movies! Or, if you want go back to the leads, a Star-Lord spin-off where he re-learns what Earth is now since he left. All of the potential in the sacred timeline are right there!
Honestly, I wouldn't mind one bit if they canonize Howard x Darcy in the main MCU and even the comics
I dunno, I think the "hitching" of Howard the Duck is kind of weird, since he's pretty often a comedy playboy. It can work fine for a one-off What If? episode, although the Birdie child character does infuriate me to no end, but not really as a "canon" thing to the MCU or comics, in which it seems like a stunt on the level of Emma Frost marrying Tony Stark.
And as for a Valkyrie or Star-Lord spin-off, I think those are kind of silly. Star-Lord mainly works with the GOTG, removing from that really dulls him down, as Valkyrie imo isn't really a character worth a spin-off, her main arc was done in Ragnarok and her as Asgardian KIng would just highlight Thor's wasted potential.
I'd rather see adaptations of characters like Tigra and Whizzer.
How under utilized side characters are?!?! I feel like the MCU has been nothing BUT side characters since Endgame. We’ve had Spider-Man (2 movies), Thor, Guardians, Dr. Strange,Deadpool & Wolverine but aside from that, it’s been all side characters:
Eternals
She-Hulk
Moon Knight
Ms. Marvel
Hawkeye
Echo
Agatha
On and on. Thank GOD Iger stepped in and has said established IP going forward.
@@westcoastavenger How tf are Eternals, Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel side characters? They all debuted in their own comics, not in any spin-off
Hell, even Hawkeye, Agatha and Echo are longtime established comics characters for more than 20 years, WAY more for the first two
Before their introduction in the MCU, The Guardians were less well known than any of them
@@westcoastavenger The MCU was built by Marvels' B and C Listers. The Guardians were pretty much Z Listers and the MCU made them A List.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to give spotlight to the "lesser" characters when it's been shown that they can succeed when effort is put in.
I might be insane, but I thought Darcy and the Duck actually had great chemistry.
They were great.
Yeah, no you're not insane, and I think Nando agrees.
I can’t lie, I’m one of those people that absolutely hated the duck and Darcy episode. But the Red Guardian and Bucky episode was absolute perfection to me. It might even be my favorite episode of the show. I’ll have to rewatch it to make sure. This is coming from a huge fan of the first two seasons with many favorites
The daughter, Macguffin the Duck, does show up again. In my canon, that is her name.
I think that’s Duck Baby grown up playing on the fußball table in that one clip. They kept saying “no duck wrists” and “no powers”.
The other concepts are bangers, ESPECIALLY the cameos in the finale, but Episode 3 is EXACTLY what I'd like to see more of: Scenarios that ACTUALLY CHANGE events from the main MCU & show the results! Like what the comics did
As with the previous seasons, I always wait for the finale and then rewatch. The full context always improves episodes.
Remember, the Ironheart series was supposed to be released before this. I'm betting that that's why Williams doesn't quite work for you.
I genuinely just wanted a What If regarding the snap so if they actually do that in the final ep I'll check out this season.
Fair! I think while the show is fun and has cool ideas, the problem to me is no one asked for these, it’d be easy to make the episodes people want but they choose to make episodes that most people don’t care for
@equinox6690 Exactly. But the thing is imo they could've made these wacky eps if they first made the ones that were highly requested. Could've done wtv they wanted later.
@ good point, they should’ve made a compromise
But that episode wouldn't work because we already know that they lose if that happens
@@directorjake Maybe? We still could've seen how that reality panned out. Also I'm pretty sure Dr Strange only saw 14 mill cuz he was in a hurry so who knows.
Me personally, I am only here for the Watcher being watched and finally having to pay for interfering.
So do I.
Funny that the Darcy and Howard episode features aliens and magic beings interacting and yet we never saw Krugarr, that red snake alien from Sylvester Stallone's Guardians team who IS established to practice sorcery.
I think Seth green would make a really good live action Howard the duck but I think we should give the opportunity to a real duck actor
Your alternate Resistance is the perfect chance to bring back Harley Keener.
I thought that Ranger/Officer Morales was Rio, Miles’ mom…and Bill Foster will be his dad
I LITERALLY need Episode 3 to act as the pilot for their next show. I don't care if these version of these characters never interact with the mainline mcu, I just need this show greenlit
That and the 80s Avengers from season 2. The best all around episodes of this show.
I was looking up voice actors for this season and saw the cast list for the final two episodes, apparently Byrdie will return voiced by Natasha Lyonne, amazing choice, what's better than a superbeing with a thick jersey accent
Love they brought the iron monger character back
Episode 3 is the last episode written by A.C. Bradley which is also why I think it's greatly animated
I hadn’t seen fall guy, and Howard and Darcy singing that song has been stuck in my head 😂
Only episode that was kinda weak was the first one and ideally I thought the second one would be the worst and ended up liking that , I love the winter soldier episode the most so far and riri
I wonder if Red Guardian’s funny run is also a deep-cut reference to Evans’ unique “dancer’s run” I remember the Russos talking about in behind-the-scenes commentary.
edit: I also hope the Howard episode works as a proof of concept for future Howard content
I think the concept of iron heart vs emperor mysterio on a destroyed earth with white vision as an evil bodyguard, but yea a lot of the actual stuff is not assembled greatly. Riri’s suit looks boring and the rebels are a boring group. The illusions are fun and the idea of building an alt riri is cool. I like the use of Sharon too. But man, that execution kinda fell flat.
They really cooked with this
Episode 3, and any What if episode when the show is at its best, feels like essential MCU material
I like that this season is just going for some really off the wall premises and the pacing feels very much like a comic book where things can change wildly within a few pages. I also like that they are elevating some of the newer and more minor characters and also giving characters who haven't been done justice in live action yet a chance to show why they are really cool.
I loved the episodes with Darcy and Howard and Agatha and Kingo 🤟
Yeah man. What If legit rules this season.
Biggest waste of potential if they don't do "What if Quicksilver survived?".
He survived and turned into Kraven. Big disappointment.
I mean nothing much really? It’s a little interesting but they literally made him to be a disposable character, so you’d have to stretch the story a little.
@@rudequartz yeah but you could easily pull from his comic history, its not like he's a movie original hero designed to die, they honest had to less to work with for Wanda.
The Howard the duck getting hitched episode was unhinged and I loved that a lot!
The whole season and series has been amazing. Sad we're not getting more.
I love the idea that Red Guardian vs Goliath ends up being a literal David (Harbour) vs Goliath.
Nando, the whole RedGaurdian and Bucky being a gay couple is a stretch. Not everyone who spends time together in high stakes situations are romantically linked.
America Ferrera was playing a woman called Ranger Morales so the Morales part has me wondering if she's a relative of Miles Morales.
Kat Dennings is the main reason that I like Thor: The Dark World a lot more than most people do. Her experience as a sitcom actor really makes the fun and ridiculous comic relief bits shine in that movie, and she's also great here in episode 4.
Hulk episode: meh
Episode 2: SO. MUCH. FUN.
Episode 3: it was good, Bucky had charisma that meshed with red gaurdian very well. Was sad at the ending to that episode. But liked it through and through.
Epsidoe 4: very strange but good episode. If they would have continued to see what would happen with “spoiler ahead” Dormamu and what he would have done with the story that would have been better. But continuing to have the whole universe trying to get one thing was a bit much.
Episode 5: it surprised me, wasn’t amazing, but was pretty good.
18:59 ok on second .. you do realize that the world literally exploded ...😆
and they still have gravity and power and everyone is living in houses and the windows are not even broken
i think there would be WAY more issues that some guy trying to control the world?
and mysterio seems to be half dead .. so that situation would have resolved it self pretty quick 😆
The nuggets of chicken are yours for the taking!
Early Nando
The Western one was pretty ok due to Goggins and the action
Nando, it was my exact reaction, this season may have started rocky, but holy hell they found their footing.
2:30 Ah yes, the Steven Segal running style.
I feel insane being the one person annoyed by Red Guardian
the duck and darcy episode was also a complete retelling of the birth of baby Jesus. kinda wild they pulled that off lol, unlikely pregnancy, tales of an immense power born of a miracle, countless beings from across the galaxy seeking to destroy it, and an unlikely place of refuge.
The Red Guardian one was alright, but I got so tired of The Red Guardian so fast
Ehh I didn’t really get tired of him, for me he seemed funny though out, but everyone has different opinions, so idk
For me he only grew on me at the beginning I wanted him to shut up and towards the end I was laughing at every joke
Look, either you can't stand Dad jokes or you are THERE for Dad jokes ALL. The. TIME!
@@RickCarleton oh I’m a dad joke fan, but it was just his energy I wasn’t vibing with. Maybe on a rewatch one day I’ll be more ready for his vibe and like it more.
The duck episode is actually unhinged. What the actual fuck.
Some very astute critiques. Thanks for sharing.
A tier list of all the series episodes would be fun to hear and where 'what if' things will reappear after this.
Episode 7 is the best of the series, pending episode 8. The implications of the foosball scene alone is 10/10.
I agree that the Howard the Duck episode is incredibly dumb in the best way possible. And the whole theme about how becoming a parent blindsides you with this seemingly impossible task that becomes the most important thing in the world to you and is simultaneously incredibly rewarding really came through in the end and even made me come close to tearing up a little bit.
The best part about the Emergence episode was The Vision. The animators did an excellent job displaying The Vision's level of power in contrast to everyone else's abilities. White Vision should come across like a Terminator on steroids:a nigh-invulnerable, seemingly unstoppable nightmare.
Regarding Howard and Convergence, in the original comics, Howard was from another universe, so that would be another even more unique factor compared to other children born at that time.
What If has always been amazing. Where have u been?
It’s fascinating to hear your perspective as someone who actually have not enjoy any of the episodes this season at all 😅😅
Always fun to hear someone with the complete opposite opinion and glad to hear the reasons why this season has been working for you
My annoyance with the Emergence episode is that the world needed a little more exposition about at least 2 things:
where in the timeline did this happen? We know Toni died in the emergence, so before Endgame, but Valkyrie is on earth so it’s after Ragnarok, that leads directly to infinity war, a weird timeframe of when it could have been, and points of development of the characters.
The other is the mechanics of the ruined earth. Mainly atmosphere and water.
Easily the actual point of divergence could be “we beat Thanos before the snap, only vision and Wanda died, then earth hatched”
My estimation would be 2018-2019, since we know the emergence was delayed by the snap and given how it was about to get going a year after Endgame. So as you pointed out in your next comment we can assume in this universe Thanos was stopped, but it lead to the end of the world since he wasn't able to snap half of humanity.
I'm glad that they are addressing the watcher interference. Because that makes what would have become a trope or cliche and give it consequence. Like probably the most interesting part of the episode to be honest.
Also I know if this were a screen rant pitch meeting video and I asked "How does the earth still have breathable air and an atmosphere of any kind?" The writer character would say "Hey shut up." But like... Why does do that?
*SPACE MAGIC*
I think the biggest indicator the Riri episode had problems was, you referred to the Wakandan lady as Okoye, and she's not. I can't even be bothered to go look up who it was, but I remember from subtitles that it wasn't Okoye. It was one of the other Dora Milaje we've seen probably from Falcon and Winter Soldier
Yeah, I dunno who played Okoye in this before, but this character had a different voice
Also realizing have a really good team-up composition can make an otherwise servicable-but-completely-mid character into something really fun.
10:30 - it is Jeff Golblum I'm 90% sure.
That episode was hillarious!
Cowboy and Red Guardian ones were up there too.
Finale OK.
We now have Jason Isaacs in the MCU.
I think the Mysterio episode has a little more hook after seeing the finish. Mysterio looks a lot like the watchers we meet. Reason Uatu didn’t want Beck to win again is he was resenting his similar looking boss.
I feel like when AC Bradley didn’t write those episodes, the episodes feels a bit natural and more focused. It’s sad because she wrote one of my favorite episodes from season 1 but sadly she became the worst writer in this show.
She wrote the Strange episode, and Alexei/Bucky.
So, there’s that.
2024 has been the year the world rediscovered the song “Holding Out For a Hero”.
The Red Guardian episode might be my favorite What If episode of all-time.
Episode 5 & 6 with Ironheart and The Hood suffer from the Ironheart series being delayed. Feels like we were suppose to have that series before this season.
The Riri episode felt like maybe the first draft had a generic team that they could fill in with whoever was available to do it ... but a full *half of them* aren't the original cast, so it was always supposed to be these specific people. I don't get it, either.
Unlike you I liked the first episode and felt lukewarm on the second one. I don't need this cartoon to literally be a What If of every movie plot, I just want fun one-shots they aren't possible in the MCU normally and less avengers team ups. This last season is giving us that and letting the last two episodes be a send-off for the Watcher character.
I think the reason they may force character unconnected to Tony Stark in the Riri episodes is maybe that they wanted to show the avengers for the new phase that we saw in the post credit scene in Shang-shi but I would like to see a Spierman too or at least hi light the Ironman link
20:46 just got a Kaggyfilms jumpscare when you said that name. Haven't thought about all those DBZ youtubers in a long time
Corkscrew wang that is all
They absolutely should have put Peter Parker in episode 5 with Riri Williams, they both have a legacy of Ironman and Spider-Man whole thing in Far From Home was you don't have to be the next Tony be your own hero, Riri goes to MIT, Peter is trying to get in to MIT. The links are all there, not to mention that Mysterio is a Spider-Man villain
Okay if you think 3, 4, 5 were great then you are in for a treat! 6 and 7 were both just amazing! I think they're better than 3, 4, 5 too!
if you call this good them you don't know good even if it would hit you in the face objectively.
Mam, crazy that they chose to open with their worst episode so far.
Would you rather they had finished with it?
@paparoo9924 at least put it in the middle
@crimsoneclipse0618 at least this way the episodes got progressively better, putting it in the middle would have thrown off the pace
When I was watching episode 3 I thought man Nando will love this hahah
Why would you ever stop making more seasons of What If?
because its been less "what if" and more Exiles, so they are just gonna make Exiles. Also broken timelines are the Exiles specialty so who better to fix the Movie timelines in the background. What ifs should go much further off the deep end and less crossovers.