History WesternAnimation / WhatIf2021

* AllCGICartoon: The series is presented in CelShaded 3DCG animation provided by [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2020/tv/news/marvel-studio-squeeze-animation-what-if-disney-plus-1203529250/amp/ Squeeze Studio]], Blue Spirit Productions, and [[https://twitter.com/flyingbark/status/1425256445386190851 Flying Bark Productions]].

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If…?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1's premiere and was originally set to premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned, but that has since been delayed. The second season will debut on December 22, 2023 with one new episode a day until December 30th. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If…Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If…?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1's premiere and was originally set to premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned, but that has since been delayed. The second season will debut on December 22, 2023 in time for the festive holidays. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If…Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The Watcher claims at the end of the first episode that he only observes the alternate realities occurring, but he does not, cannot and will not make himself present in any one of them, as per the usual for his character. [[spoiler: Averted slightly towards the end of Episode 4, where he outright chews Doctor Strange Supreme out on this, knowing that the destruction of the MCU in that timeline was on Strange's hands. Averted fully at the end of Episode 8, as Infinity Ultron is a multiversal threat that the Watcher can't defeat on his own.]]

* AlternateSelf: Virtually everyone except the Watcher. The alternate versions of MCU characters seen in the series include:

** [[spoiler: A Thanos]] who was talked out of committing [[spoiler: genocide]] and joined the Ravagers
** [[spoiler: A Hank Pym who, out of misguided vengeance for the death of his daughter Hope (who became an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in this timeline), became his universe's Yellowjacket]] and went on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Nick Fury by murdering his candidates for the Avenger Initiative, indirectly causing Earth [[spoiler: to be conquered by Loki]].

** "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" - [[spoiler:T'Challa being more honorable and altruistic than Peter Quill allows him to avert a lot of tragic events that takes place in the Cosmic side of the Sacred Timeline. Yondu and the Ravagers become JustLikeRobinHood, he manages to invoke a HeelFaceTurn in both Thanos and Korath, and brings an end to the Collector's slave trade. Unfortunately, since the Ravagers never abducted Peter Quill, he remains on Earth up until Ego comes to collect his son during his adulthood. And now he doesn't have the Guardians or the Ravagers to counteract Ego's influence]].
** "What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" - [[spoiler: The Avengers are dead, Hank Pym has turned into a villain (which would imply that Scott Lang might not be provided a chance to escape a life of crime, and that Janet would not escape the Quantum Realm), and at the end of the episode Loki is preparing to take over Earth. However, the fact that Captain America (Steve Rogers) is yet to be revived, and the return of Captain Marvel, shows that there are still people who would be willing to defend the planet from Loki.]]
** "What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" - [[spoiler: Killmonger kills Tony, Rhodey, and T'Challa in a gambit to take over Wakanda that works perfectly, and America and Wakanda are at war. However, thanks to a failsafe Tony placed Shuri has proof of the murders and is going to team up with Pepper to take him down.]]
** [[spoiler: Many of these, though, get averted with the ending of the first season, and the aftermath is shown of several adventures. Captain Carter finds that aboard the ''Lemurian Star'' is the Hydra Stomper, and it's implied Steve is inside. T'Challa becoming Star Lord shows that he's working to stop Ego, and it's implied that he's taking Peter under his wing. The "Lost its mightiest Heroes" story has the Watcher drop post-apocalyptic Black Widow into the timeline, leading to Loki's defeat. And Killmonger from the "Rescued Tony Stark" gets imprisoned forever in an eternal tug of war against Zola, leaving his timeline without him forever. While there is still blood and loss and death in each of the timelines, the first season finale makes it clear that things are, in general, looking up.]]

** "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" has Malekith, of all characters, appear as one of the Collector's prisoners. Cosmo the Spacedog pops in at the end, stowing away on the starship that T'Challa and Yondu take to get off of Knowhere. [[spoiler: Peter Quill and Ego appear at the very end of the episode]].

** "What If… Ultron Won?" is a darker version of this, with [[DeathByCameo nearly every cameo being done as Infinity Ultron kills them all]]: all of the Avengers except for Black Widow and Hawkeye, (they're central characters to the episode instead) the Guardians of the Galaxy on Sovereign during ''Guardians of the Galaxy 2'', the Grand Master and his gladiators on Sakaar, Ego, and [[spoiler: Captain Marvel gets an extended one as she tries and fails to kill Ultron on Xandar]]. Tons of others make seconds-long appearances during [[spoiler: the Watcher's]] fight with Infinity Ultron, including some Wakandans and Skrulls.

** The last shot of episode 5 reveals that [[spoiler: not only did the infection manage to make it into Wakanda despite the force shields still being up, Thanos is there for no reason (in the main universe he went there to retrieve the Mind Stone, which was never there and is now in the possession of the survivors), somehow managed to become infected, and has a nearly completed Infinity Gauntlet]]. The sudden reveal at the literal last minute only serves to play into zombie tropes and create a DownerEnding.
** In a case of MoodWhiplash, "What If… Thor Were an Only Child?" ends with [[spoiler: a Variant of Ultron who successfully uploaded himself into the body that would have become Vision and also acquired ''the complete Infinity Stones'' appearing out of nowhere]], [[TemptingFate right as the Watcher was summarizing this episode as basically ending on a happily-ever-after note]].

* HijackingCthulhu: In the eighth and ninth episodes of Season 1, in a universe where Ultron was able to possess the body that would have become Vision, and later on acquire the complete set of the Infinity Stones in order to engage in universal genocide, that universe's Black Widow and Hawkeye planned to use a copy of the A.I. consciousness of HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola to invade and destroy Ultron himself from within. Their plan only failed because, by the time they found Zola, [[spoiler: Ultron had already discovered the existence of the Multiverse and was fighting the Watcher outside of that universe.]] The plan was later revived during the battle between Infinity Ultron and the Guardians of the Multiverse [[spoiler:and here, it succeeded. Zola was uploaded to Ultron's synthroid body via a USB arrow to the eye and proceeded to "delete" him entirely, though this opened the way for Zola to possess the vacant body and attempt to take control of the Infinity Stones. Fortunately, a foreseen betrayal by one of the Guardians, a Variant of Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, allowed for the Watcher and Strange Supreme to imprison the both of them in a pocket dimension and eliminate the threat entirely.]]

** The ending of "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", after establishing that basically everything is better for everyone everywhere after T'challa reforms the Ravagers into a force for good, has [[spoiler:Ego show up to retrieve Peter, who never left Earth in this universe and is working at a Dairy Queen, to enact his grand scheme which was the central conflict of ''Guardians of the Galaxy 2'']]. The Watcher insinuates that this could mean the end of the world, but decides that's a story for another time. A common theme in the original comics was that a change that's seemingly for the better actually has much worse consequences further down the line compared to the main continuity. [[spoiler: Unlike the comics' convention, though, Ego doesn't get away with it as T'Challa saves Quill from him and he's subsequently defeated (or at least stalled, since they weren't at Ego the planet itself) by the Ravagers]].
** The villain of "What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" is eventually revealed to be [[spoiler: Hank Pym in the Yellowjacket suit, out to destroy Fury and the Avengers because Hope was killed on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission in this universe]]. This isn't as out-of-left-field as it might seem: in the original comics, this character was a bit unhinged and really ''did'' snap and become a supervillain once, and with this very costume/codename, to boot.

*** Like in ''Marvel Zombies'', the hordes of undead here aren't just mindless husks constantly looking for living flesh, they retain a lot of their mental faculties and, particularly, the zombified superheroes still know how to use their powers, fighting skills, and technology, showcased when zombie Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Wong show up to attack Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian, ambushing them through the sorcerers' portals and the opening attack being one of Tony's repulsor blasts. During the episode's climax, [[spoiler: zombie Scarlet Witch stops trying to eat the survivors and instead tries to just kill them after she sees that Vision is dead from ripping the Mind Stone out of his own head--even undead, she still loves him]].

*** Early on in the episode, Okoye says that they've learned that T'Challa might still be alive after the rest of the Avengers became zombies. It's revealed that [[spoiler: he ''is'', Vision having captured him as a food source for a zombified Wanda; T'Challa himself is still alive and unzombified, but is missing a limb or two]]. This is exactly what happened to him in ''Marvel Zombies'', though it was Hank Pym who did it instead, and for his own benefit instead of another's.

** In "What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?", the point of divergence from the Sacred Timeline results in Killmonger becoming very important very quickly in Stark Enterprises and he and Tony start collaborating on an unmanned drone that Killmonger had designed in college in the hope of reducing lives lost in battle but could never actually work on for lack of resources. The drones bear a striking resemblance to the Hammer drones from ''Film/IronMan2''. [[spoiler: Much like Vanko, Killmonger's intentions aren't as noble as he lets on]].

*** The very end of "What If… Ultron Won?" has the Watcher seeking the assistance of [[spoiler: Strange Supreme]] and presumably more heroes from alternate universes in order to stand up against Infinity Ultron. The Watcher of the comics did this as well in the issue What If the Watcher Saved the Universe as part of the Timequake event.

* OpeningNarration: Each of the sequences for an episode has The Watcher doing this, to explain the divergence that has or had occured.

** Killmonger becomes one to Obadiah Stane in "What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" by interfering with the attempted hit that Stane put on Stark and then exposing Stane's plan on live TV. [[spoiler: He ends up becoming one to basically everyone else, too, successfully killing T'Challa, Rhodey, ''and'' Stark and getting himself into power in Wakanda to enact his master plan from ''Black Panther'' with almost no credible threats left to stop him]].
** [[spoiler:Infinity Ultron]] is this to the ''entire Multiverse'' as he not only comes from a reality where he killed the Avengers and took possession of the Infinity Gauntlet but he fully intends to conquer other universes starting with [[spoiler: Party Thor's timeline]]. Even ''the Watcher himself'' didn't see him coming.

* PrecisionFStrike: While not particularly strong, the Watcher's exclamation [[spoiler: as he and the entire multiverse is discovered by Ultron]] is uncharacteristic of his normally calm and composed demeanor.

** "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" ends with [[spoiler: Ego finding Peter Quill on Earth as his eyes begin to glow with Celestial energy]], with the Watcher declaring what happens after to be a story for another time.
** "What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" has [[spoiler: Loki taking over Earth after the Avengers are killed, but Fury goes to find the still-frozen Captain America and is joined by Captain Marvel, ready to fight for Earth's freedom]].
** At the end of "What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?", [[spoiler: Killmonger is poised to become the next Black Panther, but Shuri has made contact with Pepper and they're planning to expose Killmonger's false flag operations to avenge T'Challa, Rhodey, and Tony after Killmonger killed all of them]].
** "What If… Thor Were an Only Child?" ends with [[spoiler: an army of Ultrons appearing out of nowhere - their leader is an alternate version of Ultron who successfully uploaded himself into Vision's body then went onto acquire the other Infinity Stones]]. The Watcher was even remarking on the main conclusion of the episode wrapping up well for everyone when this happens and says that he might have spoken too soon. [[spoiler: The series follows through in the very next episode, "What If… Ultron Won?", and shows where this version of Ultron came from]]. [[spoiler: It also defies the non-Sequel Hook of "What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" when Strange Supreme appears at the end and the Watcher asks him for help in defeating Ultron]].
** In the end, (of the first season, at least) [[spoiler: ''all'' of these are followed up on in "What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?": The Watcher retrieves the central characters of the preceding episodes to form the Guardians of the Multiverse, all of them in the middle of their "sequels" (T'Challa saves Quill from Ego, Killmonger is pulled away from having to fight Pepper and Shuri, and Thor is fending off the Ultron drones in Las Vegas) with the addition of having "sequels" for Captain Carter, who is early in the parallel events to ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', and the zombie universe as Strange Supreme pulls them through one of his portals to distract Infinity Ultron. After defeating him, the Watcher sends the Natasha of Infinity Ultron's universe to that of "What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" where she immediately joins Fury, Rogers, and Danvers in fighting Loki's army]]. This episode also has one of its own: [[spoiler: Captain Carter is sent back to her universe and finds the [=HYDRA=] Stomper suit among the cargo that Batroc had stolen, and it's implied that Rogers is in it]].
*** There's also an ''inverted'' Sequel Hook: one of the Guardians of the Multiverse is the teased alternate version of Gamora with Thanos' armor and double-ended sword, who is in the process of creating an Infinity Gauntlet at Nidavellir with help from an alternate version of Tony Stark, none of which we've seen before.[[note]]The episode setting the stage for this scene was pushed back into next season because of COVID-related production problems[[/note]] Call it a ''Prequel'' Hook if you like.

* TheWorfEffect: This is used to demonstrate how powerful some of the alternate versions of characters actually are. The clearest example is in "What If… Ultron Won?" when [[spoiler: Thanos appears on Earth to retrieve the Mind Stone, having collected all the other Infinity Stones. Infinity Ultron immediately bisects him vertically and kills him, then takes the Infinity Stones for himself; he subsequently kills everyone in his universe very easily, the standout examples being Ego and Captain Marvel]]. In the very next episode, [[spoiler: Strange Supreme transports Zombie Scarlet Witch to distract Infinity Ultron, but she's destroyed just as easily as Thanos was. Ultron gets this himself from Arnim Zola, who almost effortlessly destroys his consciousness and takes over the Vision body after being uploaded into it]].
* ZombieApocalypse: [[spoiler: This is the premise of the fifth episode, the entire earth is overrun by zombies and the surviving heroes attempt to survive and cure it.]]

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If…?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1's premiere and was originally set to premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned, but that has since been delayed. The second season will debut on December 22, 2023. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If…Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If…?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1's premiere and was originally set to premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned, but that has since been delayed. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If…Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

Some alternate outcomes in the series include [[Characters/CaptainAmericaSupportingCharacters Peggy Carter]] becoming a super-soldier instead of [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]], [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]] becoming [[Characters/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyModern Star-Lord]] instead of Peter Quill, and a ZombieApocalypse [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies suddenly breaking out in the MCU]] with [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] becoming leader of the survivors. In addition to Wright as the Watcher, the series features voice acting from many of the same actors of the films, including the likes of Creator/HayleyAtwell as Peggy Carter, Creator/SamuelLJackson as Nick Fury, Creator/BenedictCumberbatch as ComicBook/DoctorStrange, Creator/MichaelBJordan as Killmonger, Creator/ChrisHemsworth as [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], and the late Creator/ChadwickBoseman in his final MCU contribution as T'Challa.

** The idea of Steve Rogers piloting a prototype suit of Iron Man-like armor after being unable to take Erskine's SuperSerum comes from ''Comicbook/BulletPoints''.

''What If…?'' is a superhero animated series created for Creator/DisneyPlus by A.C. Bradley (''Franchise/TalesOfArcadia''), based on the Creator/MarvelComics title [[ComicBook/WhatIf of the same name]]. The series is the 28th installment of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, the 5th installment of Phase 4, the 4th series to be produced for Creator/DisneyPlus, and the first animated series set in the universe.

*** One of the many universes that is momentarily visited during the aforementioned fight shows Steve Rogers apparently being inaugurated as President of the United States, broadcast on the Times Square jumbotron. This was the subject of more than one ''What If…?'' story in the comics. (Though in one case it was actually an impostor who became the dictatorial president-for-life instead of the real Rogers.)

''What If…?'' is a superhero AnimatedAnthology series created for Creator/DisneyPlus by A.C. Bradley (''Franchise/TalesOfArcadia''), based on the Creator/MarvelComics title [[ComicBook/WhatIf of the same name]]. The series is the 28th installment of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, the 5th installment of Phase 4, the 4th series to be produced for Creator/DisneyPlus, and the first animated series set in the universe.

[[header:[[center:[-'''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse -- Phase 4'''\\
''Series/WandaVision'' | ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' | '''Series/{{Loki|2021}}''' | ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' | '''''What If...?''''' | ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' | ''Film/{{Eternals}}'' | ''Series/{{Hawkeye|2021}}'' | ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' | ''Series/{{Moon Knight|2022}}'' | ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' | ''[[Series/MsMarvel2022 Ms. Marvel]]'' | ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' | ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' | ''Film/{{Werewolf by Night|2022}}'' | ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' | ''Film/TheGuardiansOfTheGalaxyHolidaySpecial''\\
'''[[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome <<< Phase 3]] | [[Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania Phase 5 >>>]]'''-]]]]]

''Series/WandaVision'' | ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' | '''Series/{{Loki|2021}}''' | ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' | '''''What If...?''''' | ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' | ''Series/{{Moon Knight|2022}}'' | ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' | ''[[Series/MsMarvel2022 Ms. Marvel]]'' | ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' | ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' | ''Film/{{Werewolf by Night|2022}}'' | ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' | ''Film/TheGuardiansOfTheGalaxyHolidaySpecial''\\

[[header:[[center:[-'''''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' -- Phase 4'''\\
''Series/WandaVision'' | ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' | ''Series/Loki2021'' | ''Film/BlackWidow2021'' | '''What If…? (2021)''' | ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' | ''Series/MoonKnight2022'' | ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' | ''Series/MsMarvel2022'' | ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' | ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' | ''Film/WerewolfByNight2022'' | ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' | ''Film/TheGuardiansOfTheGalaxyHolidaySpecial''\\

** Similar to Ruffalo, Rhodes' appearance in "What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" is modelled on Creator/DonCheadle instead of Creator/TerrenceHoward despite taking place contemporarily to ''Film/IronMan'' of the Sacred Timeline; Cheadle also reprises the role.

* HijackingCthulhu: In the eighth and ninth episodes of Season 1, in a universe where Ultron was able to possess the body that would have become The Vision, and later on acquire the complete set of the Infinity Stones in order to engage in universal genocide, that universe's Black Widow and Hawkeye planned to use a copy of the A.I. consciousness of HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola to invade and destroy Ultron himself from within. Their plan only failed because, by the time they found Zola, [[spoiler: Ultron had already discovered the existence of the Multiverse and was fighting the Watcher outside of that universe.]] The plan was later revived during the battle between Infinity Ultron and the Guardians of the Multiverse [[spoiler:and here, it succeeded. Zola was uploaded to Ultron's synthroid body via a USB arrow to the eye and proceeded to "delete" him entirely, though this opened the way for Zola to possess the vacant body and attempt to take control of the Infinity Stones. Fortunately, a foreseen betrayal by one of the Guardians, a Variant of Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, allowed for the Watcher and Strange Supreme to imprison the both of them in a pocket dimension and eliminate the threat entirely.]]

*** Early on in the episode, Okoye says that they've learned that T'Challa might still be alive after the rest of the Avengers became zombies. It's revealed that [[spoiler: he ''is'', but has been captured by Vision as a food source for a zombified Wanda; T'challa himself is still alive and unzombified, but is missing a limb or two]]. This is exactly what happened to him in ''Marvel Zombies'', though it was Hank Pym who did it instead, and for his own benefit instead of another's.

*** One of the many universes that is momentarily visited during the aforementioned fight shows Steve Rogers apparently being inaugurated as President of the United States, broadcast on a giant TV screen in Times Square. This was the subject of more than one ''What If…?'' story in the comics. (Though in one case it was actually an impostor who became the dictatorial president-for-life instead of the real Rogers.)

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If…?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1’s premiere, and will premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If…Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

*** The Watcher recruiting heroes from other multiverses to stop a greater threat is lifted straight from the comics. The only difference here is that he [[AdaptedOut does't rely on the help of the Time Variance Authority to do this.]]

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If...?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1’s premiere, and will premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If...Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

The 2022 comic ''ComicBook/CaptainCarter'' is a [[SpiritualSequel spiritual spinoff]] from ''What If...?''

!!''What If...?'' contains examples of:

** In "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", [[spoiler:Strange Supreme is incredibly powerful after centuries of absorbing the power of creatures from other dimensions (to the point he can actually perceive the Watcher as he watches events unfold and defeat his good variant created by the Ancient One), but all he accomplishes in his quest to bring back his girlfriend Christine is the complete destruction of his universe. Essentially, he's what Strange would have become if he allowed his arrogance and fear of failure rule his actions]].
** In "What If... Ultron Won?", a scene of Steve Rogers apparently being sworn in as President of the United States plays on a jumbo screen in one of the alternate timelines seen in [[spoiler:Ultron's battle with the Watcher]].

** "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" - [[spoiler: Killmonger kills Tony, Rhodey, and T'Challa in a gambit to take over Wakanda that works perfectly, and America and Wakanda are at war. However, thanks to a failsafe Tony placed Shuri has proof of the murders and is going to team up with Pepper to take him down.]]

** "What If... Zombies?!" plays this straight with the living as usual (for the most part), but averts it big time with the zombies.
* BreatherEpisode: After the grim plots of episodes 3-6, "What If... Thor Was An Only Child?" is almost purely comedic and has a tone more in line with "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?"

*** In fact, many scenes from the earlier [=MCU=] are recreated in ''What If...?'', helping to demonstrate the differences but recognizable similarities between them and the Sacred Timeline--for example, the scene of Captain America and the Howling Commandos fighting their way out of the [=HYDRA=] prison from ''The First Avenger'' is almost perfectly recreated up to the entrance of the [=HYDRA=] Stomper, just with Peggy Carter in Steve Rogers' place, and the second episode has an abbreviated recreation of the opening scene to ''Guardians of the Galaxy'', except that T'Challa is there in Peter Quill's place.

** "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" has Malekith, of all characters, appear as one of the Collector's prisoners. Cosmo the Spacedog pops in at the end, stowing away on the starship that T'Challa and Yondu take to get off of Knowhere. [[spoiler: Peter Quill and Ego appear at the very end of the episode]].
** Lots of Asgardian characters appear in "What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?", but special mention goes to Lady Sif and the Destroyer. Brock Rumlow has an extended cameo.
** Many characters from throughout the [=MCU=] are momentary threats as zombies in "What If... Zombies?!", converging on the survivors as they try to reach Camp Lehigh but not getting much screentime otherwise.
** "What If... Thor Was An Only Child?" has appearances by nearly every spacefaring and cosmic character in the [=MCU=], including Yondu, Nebula, the Grandmaster, Topaz, Drax, the Skrulls and Rocket Raccoon. Rumlow has another extended cameo, amounting to just slightly more than in Episode 3.
** "What If... Ultron Won?" is a darker version of this, with [[DeathByCameo nearly every cameo being done as Infinity Ultron kills them all]]: all of the Avengers except for Black Widow and Hawkeye, (they're central characters to the episode instead) the Guardians of the Galaxy on Sovereign during ''Guardians of the Galaxy 2'', the Grand Master and his gladiators on Sakaar, Ego, and [[spoiler: Captain Marvel gets an extended one as she tries and fails to kill Ultron on Xandar]]. Tons of others make seconds-long appearances during [[spoiler: the Watcher's]] fight with Infinity Ultron, including some Wakandans and Skrulls.

* CerebusSyndrome: Starting with the third episode, it starts to deal with some surprisingly dark stories. Specifically, we get one timeline that has all the Avengers suddenly killed with Nick Fury and Phil Coulson trying to find their murderer, another where [[spoiler:a grief-stricken Doctor Strange accidentally destroys the entire universe out of desperation to revive his lover]], and one where Peter Parker is forced to deal with a ZombieApocalypse that transforms several Avengers into {{Flesh Eating Zombie}}s ''and'' [[spoiler:a universe where Ultron wins, wipes out nearly all life on Earth, gathers every single Infinity Stone and then decimates all life in the universe...before deciding to destroy all life all across the multiverse upon discovering the Watcher.]]

** The episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" is a generally humorous episode, like [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 one of the movies it's based on]]. However, the scene in which [[spoiler:T'Challa finds out that his home world was never actually destroyed and that his crew had been lying to him all this time so he'd stay with them]] is a rather emotional moment.
** The episode "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?" is [[DenserAndWackier the most comical episode of season 1]], which is about Thor throwing massive parties across the galaxy. However, [[DownerEnding the ending]] takes on a surprising turn when [[spoiler:Infinity Ultron and several of his robot minions come crashing through a portal, causing even Uatu the Watcher himself to react with shock.]]

** Having to observe multiple alternate realities may seem fun at first, but as several universes lean towards the DarkerAndEdgier territory, being unable to do anything but watch them all becomes emotionally draining for the Watcher at times. He expresses a desire to punish Strange Supreme for his world-ending actions in the fourth episode, but is unable to act upon it because of his AlienNonInterferenceClause, shows visible sadness when watching the events of the sixth episode, and is practically begging for Clint to not give up in Episode 8 despite his will to live being all but gone. Overall, ''What If...?'' demonstrates just how difficult it would be for a person with human-like qualities to have to sit back and do nothing while horrible things happen in the world they're looking at.

** In a case of MoodWhiplash, "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?" ends with [[spoiler: a Variant of Ultron who successfully uploaded himself into the body that would have become Vision and also acquired ''the complete Infinity Stones'' appearing out of nowhere]], [[TemptingFate right as the Watcher was summarizing this episode as basically ending on a happily-ever-after note]].

* EpisodeOfTheDead: ''What If... Zombies?!'', as the name implies, tells the story of a timeline that succumbed to a ZombieApocalypse shortly before the events of ''Infinity War''. Most of the big-name superheroes have already fallen to the plague, leaving only a handful of characters alive in the race to find a cure.

** Similar to Ruffalo, Rhodes' appearance in "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" is modelled on Creator/DonCheadle instead of Creator/TerrenceHoward despite taking place contemporarily to ''Film/IronMan'' of the Sacred Timeline; Cheadle also reprises the role.

* HandSlidingDownTheGlass: In the episode "What if... Zombies?!", this occurs in a flashback scene showing how the zombie apocalypse started in the first place, in which the zombified versions of [[spoiler:Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym]] attack [[spoiler:Scott Lang]]. A GoryDiscretionShot of them eating him ensues, but we see his hand sliding down the glass as he's attacked.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: In keeping with the "What If" comics, each episode's title is a question beginning with "What If...".

** "What If... Dr Strange Lost His Heart..." draws heavily from Strange Tales 8-15 where Stephen becomes infected with a black magic and gradually absorbs various demonic entities, costing him his humanity in an effort to gain enough power to fight Shuma-Gorath, ending with him absorbing the Elder God's power as well before finishing him off. Fittingly, in the episode the first demon he encounters and the final one he manages to absorb a portion of bears a strong resemblance to Shuma-Gorath.

** In "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?", the point of divergence from the Sacred Timeline results in Killmonger becoming very important very quickly in Stark Enterprises and he and Tony start collaborating on an unmanned drone that Killmonger had designed in college in the hope of reducing lives lost in battle but could never actually work on for lack of resources. The drones bear a striking resemblance to the Hammer drones from ''Film/IronMan2''. [[spoiler: Much like Vanko, Killmonger's intentions aren't as noble as he lets on]].
** "What If... Thor Was An Only Child?" includes an appearance by Carol Danvers[=/=]Captain Marvel, and Darcy "thought you were a dude captain." This goes two levels deep as the previous Captain Marvel from the comics, Hala Son Mar-Vell, was a male but given a GenderFlip in the MCU.
** There are several in "What If... Ultron Won?":

*** One of the many universes that is momentarily visited during the aforementioned fight shows Steve Rogers apparently being inaugurated as President of the United States, broadcast on a giant TV screen in Times Square. This was the subject of more than one ''What If...?'' story in the comics. (Though in one case it was actually an impostor who became the dictatorial president-for-life instead of the real Rogers.)
*** The very end of "What If... Ultron Won?" has the Watcher seeking the assistance of [[spoiler: Strange Supreme]] and presumably more heroes from alternate universes in order to stand up against Infinity Ultron. The Watcher of the comics did this as well in the issue What If the Watcher Saved the Universe as part of the Timequake event.
** "What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?"

** Killmonger becomes one to Obadiah Stane in "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" by interfering with the attempted hit that Stane put on Stark and then exposing Stane's plan on live TV. [[spoiler: He ends up becoming one to basically everyone else, too, successfully killing T'Challa, Rhodey, ''and'' Stark and getting himself into power in Wakanda to enact his master plan from ''Black Panther'' with almost no credible threats left to stop him]].

--> "I have seen everything... that has ever happened. Ever ''will'' happen. Ever ''could'' happen. And yet... what the hell is this?"

* SequelHook: With the exception of "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", most episodes leave off on a hint towards a possible continuation:
** "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" ends with [[spoiler: Ego finding Peter Quill on Earth as his eyes begin to glow with Celestial energy]], with the Watcher declaring what happens after to be a story for another time.
** "What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" has [[spoiler: Loki taking over Earth after the Avengers are killed, but Fury goes to find the still-frozen Captain America and is joined by Captain Marvel, ready to fight for Earth's freedom]].
** At the end of "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?", [[spoiler: Killmonger is poised to become the next Black Panther, but Shuri has made contact with Pepper and they're planning to expose Killmonger's false flag operations to avenge T'Challa, Rhodey, and Tony after Killmonger killed all of them]].
** "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?" ends with [[spoiler: an army of Ultrons appearing out of nowhere - their leader is an alternate version of Ultron who successfully uploaded himself into Vision's body then went onto acquire the other Infinity Stones]]. The Watcher was even remarking on the main conclusion of the episode wrapping up well for everyone when this happens and says that he might have spoken too soon. [[spoiler: The series follows through in the very next episode, "What If... Ultron Won?", and shows where this version of Ultron came from]]. [[spoiler: It also defies the non-Sequel Hook of "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" when Strange Supreme appears at the end and the Watcher asks him for help in defeating Ultron]].
** In the end, (of the first season, at least) [[spoiler: ''all'' of these are followed up on in "What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?": The Watcher retrieves the central characters of the preceding episodes to form the Guardians of the Multiverse, all of them in the middle of their "sequels" (T'Challa saves Quill from Ego, Killmonger is pulled away from having to fight Pepper and Shuri, and Thor is fending off the Ultron drones in Las Vegas) with the addition of having "sequels" for Captain Carter, who is early in the parallel events to ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', and the zombie universe as Strange Supreme pulls them through one of his portals to distract Infinity Ultron. After defeating him, the Watcher sends the Natasha of Infinity Ultron's universe to that of "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" where she immediately joins Fury, Rogers, and Danvers in fighting Loki's army]]. This episode also has one of its own: [[spoiler: Captain Carter is sent back to her universe and finds the [=HYDRA=] Stomper suit among the cargo that Batroc had stolen, and it's implied that Rogers is in it]].

* TheWorfEffect: This is used to demonstrate how powerful some of the alternate versions of characters actually are. The clearest example is in "What If... Ultron Won?" when [[spoiler: Thanos appears on Earth to retrieve the Mind Stone, having collected all the other Infinity Stones. Infinity Ultron immediately bisects him vertically and kills him, then takes the Infinity Stones for himself; he subsequently kills everyone in his universe very easily, the standout examples being Ego and Captain Marvel]]. In the very next episode, [[spoiler: Strange Supreme transports Zombie Scarlet Witch to distract Infinity Ultron, but she's destroyed just as easily as Thanos was. Ultron gets this himself from Arnim Zola, who almost effortlessly destroys his consciousness and takes over the Vision body after being uploaded into it]].

** The ending of "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", after establishing that basically everything is better for everyone everywhere after T'challa reforms the Ravagers into a force for good, has [[spoiler:Ego show up to retrieve Peter, who never left Earth in this universe and is working at a Dairy Queen, to enact his grand scheme which was the central conflict of ''Guardians of the Galaxy 2'']]. The Watcher insinuates that this could mean the end of the world, but decides that's a story for another time. A common theme in the original comics was that a change that's seemingly for the better actually has much worse consequences further down the line compared to the main continuity. [[spoiler: Unlike the comics' convention, though, Ego doesn't get away with it as T'Challa saves Quill from him and he's subsequently defeated (or at least stalled, given it was just a projected image) by the Ravagers]].

** Predictably, "What If… Zombies?!" is a take-off from ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies'', one of the most prominent obviously alternate universes in Marvel Comics, beyond the typical self-contained ''What If…?'' comic. Aside from just the zombie apocalypse angle:

** In the end, (of the first season, at least) [[spoiler: ''all'' of these are followed up on in "What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?": The Watcher retrieves the central characters of the preceding episodes to form the Guardians of the Multiverse, all of them in the middle of their "sequels" (T'Challa saves Quill from Ego, Killmonger is pulled away from having to fight Pepper and Shuri, and Thor is fending off the Ultron drones in Las Vegas) with the addition of having "sequels" for Captain Carter, who is early in the parallel events to ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', and the zombie universe as Strange Supreme pulls them through one of his portals to distract Infinity Ultron. After defeating him, the Watcher sends the Natasha of Infinity Ultron's universe to that of "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" where she immediately joins Fury, Captain America, and Captain Marvel in fighting Loki's army]]. This episode also has one of its own: [[spoiler: Captain Carter is sent back to her universe and finds the [=HYDRA=] Stomper suit among the cargo that Batroc had stolen, and it's implied that Rogers is in it]].

* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Inverted example presented throughout the series. Being primarily an AllCGICartoon, the characters, props, and vehicles are 3DCG. However, effects like fire and smoke are 2D animated, which are blended well with the CG assets. Notably in Episode 4, certain mystical creatures and shadows are completely animated in 2D.

* PaintedCGI: The art style for the series includes cell-shaded characters and environments with a painted feel to give the show a look resembling that of the works of early American painters.

** [[spoiler: Many of these, though, get averted with the ending of the first season, and the aftermath is shown of several adventures. Captain Carter finds that aboard the ''Lemurian Star'' is the Hydra Stomper, and it's implied Steve is inside. T'Challa becoming Star Lord shows that he's working to stop Ego, and it's implied that he's taking Peter under his wing. The "Lost its mightiest Heroes" story has the Watcher drop Post-Apocolyptic Black Widow into the timeline, leading to Loki's defeat. And Killmonger from the "Rescued Tony Stark" gets imprisoned forever in an eternal tug of war against Zola, leaving his timeline without him forever. While there is still blood and loss and death in each of the timelines, the first season finale makes it clear that things are, in general, looking up.]]

** The episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" is a generally humorous episode, like [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy one of the movies it's based on]]. However, the scene in which [[spoiler:T'Challa finds out that his home world was never actually destroyed and that his crew had been lying to him all this time so he'd stay with them]] is a rather emotional moment.

** The ending of "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", after establishing that basically everything is better for everyone everywhere after T'challa reforms the Ravagers into a force for good, has [[spoiler:Ego show up to retrieve Peter, who never left Earth in this universe and is working at a Dairy Queen, to enact his grand scheme which was the central conflict of ''Guardians of the Galaxy 2'']]. The Watcher insinuates that this could mean the end of the world, but decides that's a story for another time. A common theme in the original comics was that a change that's seemingly for the better actually has much worse consequences further down the line compared to the main continuity. [[spoiler: Unlike the comics' convention, though, Ego doesn't get away with it as T'Challa saves Quill from him and he's subsequently defeated (or at least, given it was just a projected image, stalled) by the Ravagers]].

* TheBackwardsR: Russian documents on Arnim Zola are labeled "AЯNIM ZOLA," which would actually read "AYANIM ZOLA."

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If...?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6. A second season was greenlit before Season 1’s premiere, which will premiere in early 2023, with a third season also planned. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If...Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]], which will debut in 2024.

''What If…?'' is a superhero AnimatedAnthology series created for Creator/DisneyPlus by A.C. Bradley (''Franchise/TalesOfArcadia''), based on the Creator/MarvelComics title [[ComicBook/WhatIf of the same name]]. The series is the 28th installment of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse (and the second in a planned multiverse saga), the 5th installment of Phase 4, the 4th series to be produced for Creator/DisneyPlus, and the first animated series set in the universe.

While there were many animated series based on Creator/MarvelComics before, ''What If...?'' is the first animated title produced by Creator/MarvelStudios, and is among the first series to be developed by them for Disney+. The first season debuted on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6, and a second season has already been ordered. A spin-off titled ''Marvel Zombies'' will continue the story of the episode ''What If...Zombies?!'', itself an adaption of the [[ComicBook/MarvelZombies comic of the same name]].