Review: Marvel’s What If…? “What If…The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Nick Fury struggles to launch the Avengers Initiative when a serial killer targets the candidates.

Our Take:     

It’s easy to admit that we’re all shocked to see S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury appear at the end of 2008’s Iron Man to talk about the Avengers Initiative. That post-credit scene was responsible for kickstarting the ever-growing cinematic universe and uniting Earth’s greatest superheroes. But what if the Avengers didn’t come together as Fury planned? This week’s episode sets out to answer that question as we see Fury race against time to catch a mysterious killer.

The episode was set during an entire week, where Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) attempts to recruit his candidates for the Avengers Initiative. Joining him are Natasha Romanoff (Lake Bell), Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). However, things went south really fast when the recruits started dying one by one and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were falsely blamed for the crimes. The entire story has Fury solving the mystery of who’s responsible for their deaths before it’s too late.

Its story featured a formula similar to the show’s first episode, in which it rehashes certain events from the MCU films but puts a fresh twist into them. Its third episode showcased specific scenes from Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk from the perspective of S.H.I.E.L.D. and switched things up by killing off our favorite heroes earlier than expected. The episode is best described as a superhero mystery thriller with a dash of The Twilight Zone thrown in there for good measure.

After last week’s stellar episode, the show ran into the challenge of matching the heights of its tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman and originality, which to me seems like an impossible feat to accomplish. Unsurprisingly, the episode wasn’t able to complete that challenge. However, it remains consistent with its entertainment values and intriguing scenarios, resulting in an enjoyable “who-dun-it” with a Marvel twist.

The main highlight of the voice cast was Samuel L. Jackson, who remained top-notch as Nick Fury regarding his humorous dialogue and his balance between comedy and drama. It’s evident that the creators made the right choice in having Jackson reprise his role because I couldn’t imagine someone else voicing this character. Lake Bell also served as a suitable replacement for Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Natasha, who made her second appearance after her tragic death in Avengers: Endgame. As for Clark Gregg, he’s still as successful as before as he provided some decent humor and charisma as Coulson.

What the episode did well was that it gave Natasha a chance to shine again. However, that moment was somehow ruined by having her axed off by the killer near the end. First, her disappointing solo movie, and now this. Man, 2021 was not a good year for Black Widow. The killer’s reveal at the end was pretty obvious, but it was still a satisfying way to cap off its mystery, thanks to its writing and direction. The killer was none other than former worker Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who assumed the role of Yellowjacket to get revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D. for the death of his daughter Hope.

Overall, its third episode of What If…? fell into familiar territory like its series premiere, but it serves as an entertaining and nicely animated thriller filled with mystery, suspense, and superheroes. While far from the best episode of the season, it has enough charm and intrigue in its voice cast and scenarios to deliver another round of S.H.I.E.L.D. goodness. With the original Avengers gone, it’s only a matter of time before we see a new batch of heroes take their spots in the alternate universe.