New Episodes of Marvel’s What If…? stream daily on Disney+ through December 29, 2024.
Synopsis
While on vacation, Howard the Duck and Darcy Lewis face dangerous factions from across the galaxy.
Review
Happy Holidays Super Friends! Marvel Animation has gifted us with another brand new episode of What If…? today and it might just be the single most bonkers episode of the series… EVER! From crazy character decisions to an all-star masterclass in MCU villains. What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched? is a gift which certainly keeps on giving.
We open on an already bonkers note as we learn that Howard the Duck (Seth Green) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) became an item. You’ll recall that the two met back in season one’s What If… Thor Were An Only Child? and that’s where our love story begins. The two begin dating and eventually brings us to the moment the two are gifted with a child. But not in the traditional sense. Yes, in this reality Darcy Lewis somehow gave birth to an egg…
The problem is that the egg was laid at the same time as The Cosmic Convergence and now every faction across the galaxy believes the baby inside the shell maybe a new superpower like nothing the galaxy has ever known.
It begins a roll call of Marvel characters which begins with The Grandmaster (Matt Friend subbing in for Jeff Goldblum) and takes us all the way up to Thanos (Josh Brolin). A lot of the returning characters are pulled from the Thor franchise. Sadly not all the original actors return to their roles but alongside Goldblum and Brolin this episode also features: Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Michael Rooker, Rachel House and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. All reprising their original MCU roles.
Bryan Andrews, Matthew Chauncey, and Ryan Little’s story is like a runaway snowball. It starts small but as it gains moment it just gets bigger and bigger, threatening to become out of control. But thankfully for us What If… Howard the Duck Go Hitched? fully sticks its landing. It consistently causes the jaw to drop as character after character shows up, mostly with their original voices still intact, regardless of the size of the role. At times it feels like an idea nobody expected to get made but it all the more successful because of it.
Due to its absurdity this episode will also likely become a point of conversation amongst fans. It’s not hard to imagine that some will struggle to see past the insanity of Darcy birthing an egg. It could easily have derailed what may turn out to be the introduction of another entirely original character to the MCU. As What If…? reaches the mid-way point in the final season it really feels like the creative team has found the creative sweet spot it should always have been in.
Verdict
What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched? is the series most bonkers episode to-date. But amongst all of its chaos, the episode manages to pay homage to all corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
