Review: Marvel’s What If…? “What If… Agatha Went to Hollywood?”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

In a timeline where Agatha Harkness became an actress in the 40’s, she invites Kingo to work on a movie with her, then attempts to put the finishing touches on her REAL plan: kill all of the Eternals to absorb the life of Tiamut, the Celestial buried in the Earth’s core.

OUR TAKE

What If week continues with another unexpectedly brilliant pairing: Agatha Harkness, who just wrapped up her own self-titled miniseries, and Kingo from Eternals, the movie that hired Kumail Nanjiani to be buff and funny and then never let him be either of those things. And just like the other pairings they’ve done, these two have a connection many probably never thought of. Both are basically beings with magical powers who have a tendency for the theatrical, kind of like the Hela and Wenwu story from last year. Although in this case, it’s less ancient warriors facing cosmic deities and more egotistical actors and film crews…facing cosmic deities. Okay, it’s actually kinda similar in that regard, but it’s also a lot more fun. Agatha wasn’t so popular she got a spin-off for nothing, she’s also an incredibly patient long term planner, so it perfectly fits that she would plan out finding some of the few other people who have been alive longer than she has. Meanwhile, if you’ve seen Eternals, you’ll know that Kingo is the one who got into movies, pretending to be part of a long line of identical actors, so if there’s anyone who’s going to be around during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it’s him.

Eternals has been on the bottom of my MCU rankings since it came out. I give it credit for trying something different and out of the franchise’s wheelhouse, but the sheer number of principal characters to balance, wooden acting, and constantly shifting aspect ratios really brought it down. So, you may be surprised to know that I’m actually really glad to see Kingo used here. Not just because I’ve enjoyed his actor in just about everything I’ve seen him in, but also because I like when even the less appreciated entries of a series are still cared about enough to use for something more fitting, much like Endgame made use of Thor: The Dark World. Add to that a fun art deco aesthetic fitting for the time, the always fun Dominic Cooper reprising young and crazy Howard Stark, and James D’Arcy reprising the human Jarvis (and adding some missing Agent Carter series rep), and we have another great addition to this wild series of AU stories. And we’ve got another one coming tomorrow, though I highly doubt they’ll be able to live up to this showstopper, but it’ll be fun to see it try!