New episodes of Marvel’s What If…? stream Wednesday’s on Disney+.
Synopsis
In a multiverse of infinite possibility, is your destiny determined by your nature? Or by the nature of your world?
Review
For its second episode, Marvel’s What If…? is pushing boundaries, moving on from the familiar story of episode one and reaching for something original. Whilst its characters and locations are familiar, the story of “Star-Lord” is an original invention. But with so many elements in play it feels overstuffed and fails to land with the impact it deserves.
The episode is fronted by T’Challa, the prime universe Black Panther. Here T’Challa was the one taken by Yondu (the returning Michael Rooker) and who grows up to become Star-Lord. At it’s core “Star-Lord” is a story about family and in that respect it succeeds.
The connection between T’Challa and Yondu is strong and plays well on screen. For example, the two share a number of emotional scenes which are incredibly resonant. Likewise, the pull of Wakanda is strong and eventually see’s T’Challa return home to explore his true family. But with a packed supporting cast and a subplot starring The Collector the episode is just too busy to fully explore its themes.
Beyond Rooker the supporting cast includes the returning Karen Gillan (Nebula), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Djimon Hounsou (Korath), Benicio del Toro (The Collector), Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Danai Gurira (Okoye), John Kani (T’Chaka), Ophelia Lovibond (Carina), Kurt Russell (Ego) and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Ebony Maw). In addition there’s Drax, not voiced by Dave Bautista, Howard the Duck (Seth Green) and plenty more supporting characters. With a runtime of 33 minutes that’s a lot of character to pack in.
At its peak the episode explores how taking T’Challa over Peter Quill impacts the intergalactic characters of the MCU. Fans will get a huge kick out of a twist on the opening scene from James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Likewise, eyebrows will raise at this version of Thanos and how he has changed from Infinity War. It’s moments like these which prove that What If…? can really provide insight and commentary in to the choices we make and how they impact those around us.
Somewhere in the middle of the episode the narrative gets lost in the idea that it needs to be an adventure. “Star-Lord” would have been much more successful had it kept focus on the character and avoided this distraction.
Ultimately the focus will be on Chadwick Boseman in his final appearance as T’Challa. His voice is nothing short of iconic and this twist on the character is well played. Even through only his voice Boseman is able to communicate such strong emotion in his character. Through all of the muddled storytelling its Boseman who makes “Star-Lord” a success.
Verdict
The second episode of Marvel Studios’ What If…? goes big with its twist. But its a lacklustre story falls flat against an outstanding cast, led by the late Chadwick Boseman.
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