Marvel’s What If…? Season 3 is finally here, and with it comes some creative stories featuring key characters in the MCU moving forward.
The show’s first season featured an array of interesting stories, though the final episodes brought the characters together for an overarching story involving the Watcher. Season 2 was also similar, though it put more emphasis on the overarching narrative featuring Captain Carter.
For Season 3, the format is closer to that of the first season as it involves the Watcher in the second half while its first half features standalone stories. This makes sense given that this season serves as the conclusion, though it definitely leaves the door open for a return sometime down the line (or maybe in future MCU movies or shows).
While we won’t go into details about how the third season ends to avoid spoilers, we can delve into what fans can expect in the latest season. To be exact, the first six episodes feature standalone stories that, in typical What If fashion, feature a surprising mix of Marvel characters set in interesting settings and genres. For instance, an episode sees an unlikely team-up in a Wild West setting. Then, there’s an episode heavily inspired by Godzilla and Kaiju movies.
A scene from Marvel Animation Television’s WHAT IF…? Season 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.
In terms of tone, a number of these standalone episodes are rather dark, though they’re balanced with a hefty dose of humor. Of course, some of the episodes are straight-up comedic such as the one starring Howard the Duck. There is one story that’s mostly dark in terms of story and style, but it doesn’t get as heavy as Strange Supreme’s episode from Season 1 (which is still my favorite episode of the series).
The mix of dark and silly aspects is a bit unusual, though it mostly works for the season. This is also anchored by a central moral message in most of the standalone episodes. While I wouldn’t call them preachy, there is a sort of morality play element to these episodes that I think is admirable as it would’ve been easy to focus solely on fan service.
Of course, fan service (not of the anime kind) is still a key part of this series. After all, it features plenty of characters that are set to be major players in the MCU moving forward. Sure, they’re different versions of these characters, but their appearances do give MCU fans a taste of what to expect from these new faces of Marvel. Plus, there are characters and storylines from MCU movies that should delight many long-time fans.
A scene from Marvel Animation Television’s WHAT IF…? Season 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.
As for the overarching story of Season 3, this is explored mostly in the last two episodes. Given that there are only two episodes dedicated to this, its finale may not land as strongly as some may hope, but it’s still overall a satisfying conclusion that, as I mentioned above, still leaves things open for a future return.
Regarding its style, What If…? Season 3 should still delight in terms of visuals and animation. In fact, I would say parts of the latest season have some of the most memorable visuals of the series. This is thanks in part to the creative choices made for the various fight scenes.
What is a bit uneven though is the voice acting. As with the previous season, What If…? Season 3 features many of the live-action actors reprising their roles. Some of them are great, though others delivered rather flat vocal performances. This makes sense given that voice acting is a skill that not all film/TV actors are trained in.
Make no mistake though, the voice acting quality is still good overall as none of the performances detract from the viewing experience. Plus, hearing the recognizable voices from the live-action MCU projects should be a treat for many fans.
Agatha Harkness (voiced by Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Animation Television’s WHAT IF…? Season 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.
In a way, this is also the story of What If…? Season 3 as a whole. It has some interesting ideas that work, but there are some parts that fall a bit flat. Still, this show brings enough intriguing Marvel remixes combined with plenty of surprise character appearances and great visuals that make it an entertaining watch for MCU fans.
While you probably won’t be converted if you didn’t enjoy the first two seasons, the latest season of What If…? is definitely a must-watch for fans who loved the previous series entries.
What If…? Season 3 is streaming now, exclusively on Disney+, with one episode being released every day from December 22 to 30.