After two episodes that each remixed the plot of a single Marvel movie, to varying degrees, What If’s latest installment surprises with a genre I didn’t think we’d ever see in the MCU: murder mystery! For all the wanton death and sacrifice plays superhero movies celebrate, it’s rare to see those heroes killed off of the battlefield, and especially jarring here given the thick plot armor Marvel characters have (how many times has Vision “died” now?) Episode 3 may suffer from trying to do too much in too little time, but the intrigue at the heart of its plot keeps that from totally killing the fun.
You’ll likely need to have seen pretty much all of the Phase 1 Marvel Cinematic Universe to fully understand this episode. And Ant man Oh, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but I’ll get to that.
Jeffrey Wright is of course Uatu The Watcher. Returning to reprise their MCU characters are Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Frank Grillo as Crossbones, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif.
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Stepping in for Scarlett Johansson is Lake Bell, who voices Poison Ivy in the spectacular DC animated series, Harley Quinn. Replacing Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is Mike Wingert, and it’s not the first time – he played Iron Man in Avengers Assemble, Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel Future Avengers. Stephanie Panisello (Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness) is Betty Ross, and General Ross is Mike McGill and not William Hurt.
What If? Episode 3 is a jarring realization of what would happen if the Earth lost its mightiest heroes that starts with a bang and is non-stop with twists and turns.
In a murder mystery of sorts, someone is taking out the Avengers before they can start avenging. Tony Stark is the first to go, in a shocking moment that paints Black Widow as the murderer. It’s all downhill from there, with even the “unkillable” Hulk meeting his match.
There’s a good chunk of comic relief that helps to break up the many deaths, which prevents the episode from being too dark. Nick Fury is a particular highlight, with Samuel L. Jackson providing a fantastic voice-over.
Compared to previous episodes, What If? Episode 3 is the best so far, taking the classic Avengers assemble story and flipping it entirely on its head. The villain, who shall remain nameless (until the spoilers below), is an intriguing portrayal.
At the end of What If? Episode 3, Hank Pym is caught as the villain. It is Hank Pym’s Ant-Man who has been killing the Avengers.
Hank Pym kills the Avengers because he feels Nick Fury is responsible for the death of his daughter, Hope.
What If? Episode 3’s final battle seemingly pits a very capable Nick Fury against Ant-Man. However, it turns out that Loki, the trickster god, is behind Nick Fury’s fighting prowess. Loki defeats Ant-Man and takes Hank Pym into Asgardian custody.
Loki then decides to take over the Earth and he is seen in command of the entire planet, forcing everyone to be his servant. This is the plan he attempts to implement in the original Avengers movie, only there are no longer any Avengers to stop him.
Thankfully, the ending shows Nick Fury hunting down Captain America. While searching through the ice, Nick Fury finds the shield. Then Captain Marvel appears.
SCREEN SHOTS
