The Watcher code of noninterference is more of a self-imposed guideline, not a cosmic rule, hence why nothing bad happens immediately when it’s broken. Uatu and other Watchers in the comics have broken this oath multiple times, typically through Loophole Abuse, but other times they’re punished through means such as exile by more devout Watchers. We’ll see if the second season has Uatu face consequences.
Also in my opinion, Infinity Ultron is more interesting as a multiversal threat, because having him simply kill everything in his universe and be depressed when it’s all over would just be a repeat of Strange Supreme without the emotional drama.
@Tuckerscreator: Disagree, I think it would be a parallel to Strange Supreme but as more of a much-deserved self-inflicted hell. Ultron would carry the thread of briefly realizing that he\'s left himself without purpose or a reason to exist, then throw it away every time he gets the next Stone (maybe pausing so it\'s not every single time that happens) before realizing, at the end, that he\'s truly doomed himself - but also being unable to self-terminate or time-travel to undo it (let\'s say the Time Stone is shattered in the last act of genocide he commits). Him as a multiversal threat feels like it\'s there for fanservice instead of doing anything interesting with his character.
And to your first reply: I\'m well aware of what the code represents in the comics, but considering that this is meant for MCU fans who may just go by the movies, it\'s still a failure of storytelling that they don\'t even ADDRESS what negative results his repeated interference might bring. Every single episode starts with him reinforcing that he can\'t EVER break the rule, but then he does it and won\'t even comment on it at the end? Lame.
Meditating under the weight of the log with a thousand backs.
Ultron would carry the thread of briefly realizing that he\'s left himself without purpose or a reason to exist, then throw it away every time he gets the next Stone
\"A guy decides to destroy the whole universe because he can, occasionally pausing to consider maybe he shouldn\'t do a genocide, rinse and repeat 4 to 6 times\" would be really boring across a 30 minute episode. Nor would it make any sense to have him be sad at the end and we\'re supposed to feel bad about that for some reason. At least Strange Supreme actually had a empathizable goal.
I didn\'t say we\'d feel sad, just that we\'d get an \"oh, shit\" moment alongside him once the realization set in. But whatever, I don\'t think I\'m gonna change your mind on this. Have a good one.
Meditating under the weight of the log with a thousand backs.Leave a Comment:
Season 1: Great Until It Converged
The first four episodes of What-If? are bangers. Freed from the constraints of the movies and able to go all-out with both consequences and visuals in the medium of 3D animation, the stories these tell - particularly the second episode - are fun and exciting, but also emotional and well-written romps through divergent canons. Things get a bit muddy with the Marvel Zombies adaptation, as it lacks the gory gut-punches of the comics and also features some tonal whiplash, but picks up again with Killmonger befriending Tony and Thor being raised as a frat bro, both of which are pretty solid...except for the latter, which veers into some bullshit right at the last second to set up a crossover of all the realities feature thus far.
Let's break down why this writing decision was so dumb:
Sure, it was nice to see Ultron taken down by Zemo and Natasha getting a second chance at living in a universe where she died...but it didn't feel necessary, and that's the main problem: the first several episodes were so good at the assigned task of "self-contained story about a single change affecting everything" that this just diminishes and ridicules the outcomes and consequences OF those episodes. I can only hope season 2 doesn't pull this crap again.