The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues with the third season of What If…? This Disney+ series began in 2021 and allowed us to look into the multiverse to see what if some famous moments from the MCU happened a bit differently.
With a new season comes new scenarios, like the season premiere titled “What If the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?” But this title is actually a misdirection. We never actually see Bruce Banner’s Hulk fight the Mech Avengers. That’s not exactly a good harbinger of what’s to come. This ended up a disappointing season that again speaks to the wasted potential of an MCU show that could have explored many better ideas.
This review will not spoil any episodes but will give a few story details based on the episode titles. This season has managed to be an underwhelming instance of wasted potential. The first episode touches on something the live-action MCU should have done, which is to explore Bruce Banner’s struggles with the Hulk. Banner’s development with the Hulk has always been largely offscreen, so this show offered the perfect opportunity to give a new look at the character. But for some reason, this episode only lightly touches on it. It features Sam Wilson befriending Bruce instead of Steve Rogers, and Sam is the main character. Sam is not an interesting character to view this story through. Although they become friends, seeing Bruce’s struggles on screen is a missed opportunity.
Much of the exposition happens through the Watcher’s narration at the beginning, and that does not allow us to feel for the scenes. The pacing feels off because there’s so much to cram in a half hour. There are a few fun ideas with this episode, particularly a kaiju battle, but it doesn’t work because even though the battle is set in a city, we don’t see any of the civilians. It’s a major difference from the 2012 Avengers, where we could see the humans impacted by the danger. They could be fighting in an empty field for all we care. The story is also exceedingly predictable in this first episode. Even though it pushes Hulk in new directions, he’s still a supporting character.
The second episode is “What If Agatha Went to Hollywood?” This episode drives the issues of What If…? home. Firstly, the episode is so caught up in the idea of setting its characters in Old Hollywood and having elaborate dance numbers on this film shoot that it doesn’t have any substance. These episodes constantly give you the impression of world-ending stakes without giving you any reason to care. It can often try so hard to have fun that the physical and emotional stakes become vague.
By the time the third episode rolled around, this show really lost me. “What If the Red Guardian Stopped the Winter Soldier” is genuinely embarrassing. This episode takes one of the darkest moments in MCU history, the moment in Captain America: Civil War where Tony finds out that the Winter Soldier killed his parents, and throws Red Guardian in there to stop the Winter Soldier by making a lot of MCU quips. It tarnishes one of the most devastating Marvel scenes by making jokes out of it. And you’d think that if Tony’s parents were the subject of an attempted murder, that would change Tony a lot. But this episode isn’t focused on developing Tony, it’s a buddy cop adventure with the Winter Soldier and the Red Guardian.
Does this work? No. The attempts at comedy are frighteningly rough. It’s painfully unfunny. David Harbour gives a lot of energy to this role, but his dialogue is atrocious; He’s not a person, he’s a caricature of a Russian guy. He’s an American’s cartoonish approximation of a Russian person. His dialogue consists entirely of references to Moscow and communists. He doesn’t behave like a human being. It’s frustrating to watch this, especially when Harbour played him with brashness and nuance in Black Widow. This issue existed in the second episode as well, with Howard Stark’s behavior being ridiculously over-the-top. These are eye-rolling ideas of characters, not actual characters.
The third episode also completely skips over the final fight. It tries to justify this decision on the page, but I can’t think of a reason why they would do this besides the possibility that they ran out of time or budget. This is genuinely baffling. I cannot believe that this is what the MCU is becoming. Why do we need to have Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher narrating the cheesy moral of the story at the end of every episode? Why does he need to tell us what’s happening on screen rather than just showing us? This show only ever becomes interesting when he actually takes action, not when he just serves as the Morgan Freeman narration machine.
Once we got to the fourth episode, I was hanging on for dear life. Does it get better? Not here. “What If Howard the Duck Got Hitched?” Yes, we now have an installment of the MCU where Howard the Duck has a baby with Darcy Lewis. I can’t believe this exists in the same franchise as Daredevil, but it does. Firstly, we don’t care about their romantic relationship because, like every meaningful character relationship, the episode just montages through it with Wright’s narration rather than letting us feel anything towards the characters. Secondly, I have some questions that no rational adult should ask, but I have to, being the excuse of a person I am.
How do a human and a duck get pregnant with a baby? Who needed to impregnate who? There is an egg that they spend the episode trying to keep safe. Who laid the egg?! Was it Darcy or Howard? I’m trying to imagine both scenarios in my head and none of this is making my evening any better. Also, I’m pretty sure this is just bestiality. This relationship is the definition of bestiality. But hey, if Lea Thompson could get down and dirty with this duck in ’86, then anything is possible. Are the kids watching this episode going to ask these questions? No. Should I shut up because this is a cartoon? Yes.
But I can’t. This show barely seems to know what it’s made for. This episode has humor so reductive and lazy that it feels like it was written for a six-year-old. And then, in the same episode, we have references to Eyes Wide Shut, Rosemary’s Baby, and orgies. None of this show is funny, and it’s so shameful that it’s trying so hard to be. It wants to be ridiculous, but caring about any of it becomes quite impossible when every episode is so outrageous in its premise. This episode is the manifestation of every criticism people have of the live-action MCU, cranked up to 11. From mindless cameos to make you go, “Hey, I know that person!” to endless quips, this episode is everything that could be wrong with this cinematic universe.
As a longtime fan of the MCU, it brings me no joy to write any of this. I simply cannot stand how poorly written this show is. Fortunately, the latter half of the show picks up. Starting with the fifth episode, the quality improves. The storylines are a bit more interesting, especially as the Watcher becomes more involved. But the character work is still underdeveloped and the final two episodes don’t make you feel very much because they follow characters you have not seen for nearly the entire season. Everything is very loosely connected, relying on your preexisting knowledge of the MCU characters to get you to care, even though this show clearly depicts different variants of these characters.
Although this show ends on a high note, stepping things up in the writing department and giving a few fun moments that fans may eat up, this season is a disappointment. With thousands of Marvel comics that explore different character journeys, What If…? Season 3 manages to get you to care about nothing. It’s the type of show that will be gold to any casual, easily entertained MCU fan with low standards. Those who set the MCU to a higher standard will, at best, be indifferent to this season. Marvel fans deserve better.
SCORE: 4/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 4 equates to “Poor.” The negatives outweigh the positive aspects making it a struggle to get through.
Disclosure: ComingSoon received screeners for our What If? Season 3 review.
