The second episode of Marvel’s latest Disney+ series, ‘What If…T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?’, explores the possibility of T’Challa becoming the iconic galactic outlaw in a twist that also involves him being portrayed as very different from the Peter Quill version of the character. It’s safe to say Star-Lord never needed to perform a dance-off to save the universe in this timeline!
After last week's Captain Carter adventure, the second episode of Marvel Cinematic Universe animated series What If…? landed on Disney Plus Wednesday and brought us into a new alternate reality where Peter Quill never became intergalactic outlaw Star-Lord. Instead of abducting the son of the Celestial Ego in 1988, the Ravagers grab Wakandan Prince T'Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman), who became Black Panther in the mainline MCU.
The omniscient Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) reveals how accidentally snatching the charismatic future king changes the universe, in What If…T'Challa Became a Star-Lord.
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The overall story is highly entertaining, and imbued with a heavy amount of sci-fi fused with a lot comedy and action. I mean it’s Guardians of the Galaxy, so it does exactly what you’d expect. The twist however, is that in pivoting the point of view character story from Quill to T’Challa, it vastly changes the overall impact on the galaxy. More so than you’d even think to imagine. The once-great hero and King of Wakanda still has his honor as one of the cornerstones of his personality, but now as a ravager, he is able to tap into a playfulness that he never had the freedom to fully show.
One aspect of T’Challa that remains constant throughout is the character’s charismatic presence. Everyone who orbits him is inspired to do more, to be better. It is astounding to see how far that charm and influence extends. It’s quite jaw dropping. And therein lies the impression of this episode, the twist is far bigger than what we’ve seen from Episode 1. Rather than simply replacing characters, this episode highlights that certain changes can send ripples across the galaxy. Even the character of Yondu himself is vastly different from what we’ve seen before.
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Surprisingly, Hounsou delivered a brilliant performance which had me cracking up. As Korath he’s not had a lot of room to flex what his character is capable of, but he certainly got the space in Episode 2. Boseman delivered a fantastic rendition of Starlord, but it’s hard not to watch and not feel the sorrow of knowing this was the last performance of Boseman. So while I savored it, it’s difficult to know we will no longer have the pleasure of enjoying any more of his work.
The animation continues to be high-quality and the coloring reflects a large hue of neo-futuristic colors, with the primary being purple, reflective of the power stone first seen in the original film. I love how visually it has a taste of being a high-quality that mimics live action, but it encapsulates very comic book moments during the action sequences. Additionally, the blending of the music from Guardians and Black Panther was seamless and adds to the quality.
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Overall, What If…? Episode 2 continues its extremely strong showing after an amazing opening episode. While it’s a somber moment to see Boseman’s final MCU performance, it’s one we should all cherish, and will add to his everlasting legacy. The influence of Black Panther merged with Guardians of the Galaxy was a masterclass. Boseman brings a whole new attitude to the legacy of Starlord. This episode will be one people will be talking about for sure.
What If…? Episode 2 is available to stream exclusively on Disney+.
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