What if the world lost its mightiest heroes? In this episode, what if the Avengers were never born?
What if the world lost its mightiest heroes? That’s the question that is asked in What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes? Season 1, Episode 3 of the popular show. The episode aired on September 25th, 2018 and was watched by 4.7 million people.
What If…? – Season 1, Episode 3 “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” REVIEW: What If…? – Season 1, Episode 3 “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?”
“He’s… dead,” says the narrator.
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The greatest episode of the kids-with-a-toy-box series yet, “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” is more entertaining and respectful to the iconic characters than at least the past two MCU TV programs combined. Putting aside the race and gender swapping that the canonical MCU already takes care of, this week’s hypothetical scenario raises some fascinating questions about what the Avengers represent and how some people can completely lose themselves due to a change in circumstance – while others will never change. However, the animation is still terrible.
Nick Fury’s hopefuls start falling like flies as he starts to gather the heroes who would become the Avengers. Who is the assassin, and why are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes being murdered?
I have a lot of positive things to say about “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” (why they didn’t call it “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” is beyond me), so I’ll start with the cons. Seriously, what’s up with this show’s animation? It looks terrible, and depending on the quality of the narrative, it gets more or less apparent each week. Maybe it’s cost-effective, and they’re saving money by not having to pay a lot of the film’s actors to voice the characters again, but I don’t believe it’s worth it, especially when some of the voice acting isn’t very good. Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic as Nick Fury, but he’d have to be with such a distinctive voice. Tom Hiddleston does a fantastic job as Loki, while Clark Gregg brings life to Coulson in a way that the animation can’t. But, as Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo is a bore, muttering through his few moments, and Jeremy Renner is also a little flat. Lake Bell, who plays Black Widow in place of Scarlett Johansson, is outstanding. In light of this, I’d rather have something that looked like professional animators drew it and cut a bit off the actors’ price tags. Also, as is customary these days, the comedy may be a little too much at times. It isn’t as terrible as it has been in the past, but there are a few of moments with needless gags that detract from a serious situation.
*SPOILERS*
But all of that is forgotten this week because “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” is a fantastic idea. The Avengers begin to die before they can form a team, leaving Nick Fury on the defensive as he attempts to track down the assassin while also preparing for the enormous dangers that lie ahead. The idea of a little alteration altering the world is still alive and well, but the episode doesn’t disclose what it is until the very end; everything you see before that is the consequence of Hope Van Dyne joining SHIELD like her parents, which leads to her death. When Hank Pym is revealed to be the murderer, he is shown as a guy at the end of his tether, someone who has lost the last thing that kept him sane after his wife died. Knowing what we know from Ant-Man and the Wasp just adds to the tragedy: he’ll never meet Scott Lang or explore the Quantum Realm’s potential, thus he’ll never know Janet is still alive. And many more tragedies follow, with Hank wreaking havoc on the world in retaliation for his own.
Watching Hank’s vengeance play out is effective not only because it’s unpleasant to see the Avengers murdered, but also because it reminds us how much we love these people and how much comfort we took in knowing they existed, even if only in our imaginations. I wanted to go back to Iron Man and revisit Phase 1 film after film, experience the narrative the way it was intended to be, not long after finishing “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” That isn’t a complaint this time; unlike almost everything Marvel is producing right now, these 30 minutes (credits included) recognize the importance of the Avengers. While the incident kills them, it never completely destroys them. That goes for Loki, who is much cooler here than he has been since the final revelation of Thor: The Dark World; in fact, he is hotter than he has been since the final reveal of Thor: The Dark World. This episode is credited to the authors of both the preceding episodes; based on them, I believe A.C. Bradley’s influence won out over Matthew Chauncey’s. Perhaps Bradley should play a larger part in the MCU so that we don’t have to hear stuff like “Shang-Chi is better than all of the Avengers combined and multiplied by Thanos!” And I guess I’ll blame Chauncey for Carol Danvers’ last-minute arrival.
The episode’s primary character, Nick Fury, exemplifies this respect, since the loss of the Avengers has the greatest impact on him. While the rest of the world would never know who they were, the concept was always alive in Fury’s head, and as the corpses start to pile up, he watches not just his goal of a super-team crumble, but also his faith in heroes and what they may represent. The cynical, morally damaged Fury being one of the greatest believers in the goodness of heroes has been one of the most gratifying ironies of the Marvel flicks, and “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” brilliantly examines that. It also highlights the difference between an idealist like Hank Pym and a realist like Fury: Hank’s optimism is dashed, and he turns into a monster, while the light Fury sees never dims, instead concentrating on arguably the greatest and noblest hero of all time, still preserved in the ice. (It should also be noted that Mjolnir is still alive and well, with no one else worthy of wielding it.) Then there’s Loki, who, although being forced to alter his ways by circumstances, refuses to turn over a new leaf, preferring to pursue his ambitions of conquest without the aid of a Mad Titan.
Despite the terrible circumstances in which “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” finds itself, it is nevertheless entertaining. I enjoyed focusing on Nick Fury and Black Widow so that we could watch them use their espionage skills to track down the bad guy. That means low-key jail escapes, invisibility hoodies, and shady relationships with unlikely allies. (Unfortunately, because to the poor animation, this also implies silly battles that evoke sighs rather than excitement.) I like watching Natasha and Betty Ross, Bruce Banner’s two love interests (both of whom were abruptly discarded), not only join up but also throw shade at each other. It’s refreshing to see Loki as a legitimate danger once again, especially after the debacle of his solo series, which reminded us what a great villain the God of Mischief used to be. And, even if it’s just for a short while, I’ll never get tired of seeing the Hulk wreck havoc on the arrogant idiots who believe they can take him down this time.
“What If… the World’s Mightiest Heroes?” is an entertaining and insightful episode that shows what this show can be if the authors tackle situations that aren’t as superficial as the previous two. The animation is still mediocre, and some of the jokes fall flat, but the Avengers and Loki are given due respect, and their significance in the universe is examined.
Plot – 9
Acting – 8 points
7 Progression
Design for Production – 5
9 characters
7.6
“What If… the World’s Mightiest Heroes?” is an entertaining and insightful episode that shows what this show can be if the authors tackle situations that aren’t as superficial as the previous two. The animation is still mediocre, and some of the jokes fall flat, but the Avengers and Loki are given due respect, and their significance in the universe is examined.
