What If...? S2: Stan Lee’s Legacy of Dreams and Visions Realized for a Second Time
By John Kirk
Rating: A
I was lucky to have met Stan Lee a few times in my life. When I asked him one time for a memorable quote, he thought and said to me: “Every day is a new adventure.”
Of course, that wasn’t the first time he had said that to someone, but I can still remember the intensity and energy in his face when he said that. It was in the presence of my oldest daughter as well, so it was a great memory for her, too.
What an undeniable legacy he left behind.
I also remember that there was never a bad What If…? issue in the original run of the comic that ran from 1977 to 1984. It speculated in the truest of Stan Lee’s wildly imaginative tradition of what could have been if different stories had turned out differently.
Marvel Studios acquitted itself well with the first season of book, animated television series based on that comic book, and it’s managed to surpass itself with this second season as well.
With original stories like Episode 1 that speculates “What If … Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?,” Karen Gillan reprises her performance of Nebula, the second daughter of the Mad Titan, Thanos.
Of course, it’s in voiceover only, but that she and so many others of the Marvel Cinematic Universe returned to play their fan-favourite characters like Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan, Kurt Russell’s Ego, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and of course, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter suggests the fun was genuine.
It’s not just a mark of enjoyment but also signals how much these actors enjoy playing these roles. Naturally, that enjoyment transfers over to the audience.
Presented to us by Jeffrey Wright’s all-knowing, all-seeing, and mysterious Watcher — who acts as both guide and deus ex machina for the audience — the first episode sees the cybernetic Nebula finding new purpose as an officer of the Nova Corps, the interstellar police force we MCU viewers were introduced to in The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Presented to us in a film noir setting, the episode is reminiscent of Blade Runner. With Taika Waititi reprising Korg, and we are treated to appearances of the characters Groot and Howard the Duck as well.
The whole joy behind this series is the same fuel that powered the original comic run. Being granted the freedom to explore new story pathways, to speculate on alternative endings was not just a source of entertainment but also of wonder about what could have been.
There was no risk either. Fans get particularly possessive over their favourite characters but the What If…? comics gave the readers permission to indulge in story experimentation without any sort of fandom toxicity appearing. The same can be said of the series. It’s strange how fans require permission to enjoy a fantasy based on another fantasy, but that’s the world of fandom for you.
There are nine episodes in this second season. While some of them are wildly entertaining individual episodes, there are also returns to storylines from the first season that fans will be excited to watch. There’s also the added value of seeing new stories inspired by the wildly successful otherverse story of 1602. Fun fact: that was a Neil Gaiman creation.
Of course, these are all speculations on what could have happened in the MCU. For instance, Episode 4 is titled “What If Iron Man Had Crashed into the Grandmaster?” taking off from the point in the first Avengers film when Tony Stark drifts helplessly back to Earth after delivering the nuclear explosive to the Chitauri fleet.
We are given a look into what could have happened if the portal had closed on him. Sure enough, there’s a whole galaxy for him to explore and with Jeff Goldblum having some fun as the Grandmaster, how could we not enjoy it?
The same goes for the holiday-themed episode, “What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas.” Not only does it see Jon Favreau voicing the beloved sidekick, but it also has allusionary tidbits of fun to other Christmas movies woven into its story. Happy takes the spotlight, and it’s a good laugh-and-a-half as well.
The episodes are short, with an approximate 30-plus minute runtime. Quick and concise, there’s a lot of story packed into small allotments.
Basically, there isn’t a moment when the audience is bored or looking elsewhere for entertainment but there also isn’t a massive time-investment either. They’re ideal for holiday bingeing but are also curiosity-inspiring enough to be a lot of fun.
What’s really clever about this series is while the title was inspired by the comic of the same name, it twists the details of the MCU. There are new stories and essentially new adventures and I think that’s what Stan Lee would have liked.
What If...? Directed by Bryan Andrews. Starring Hayley Atwell, Chris Hemsworth, Lady Bell, Jeffrey Wright, Karen Gillen, Jon Favreau, Kurt Russell, Jeff Goldblum, and Michael Douglas. Available now on Disney+.