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TV TATTLE

What If...?'s Chadwick Boseman episode is the kind of swing Marvel should be taking more often

  • In practice, the Disney+'s What If...? has been "a half-filled—or is it half-empty—cup," says Karen Han. "The two episodes neatly encapsulate both sides of the coin. The first, 'What If … Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?' posits a world in which Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers’ love interest, received the super-soldier serum instead of him. The resulting romp is fun—watching Peggy knock squads of Nazis on their asses will bring a tear to the eye of anyone who, like me, misses Agent Carter—but also feels curiously hollow. One of the issues plaguing the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been its dearth of female superheroes—only Captain Marvel and Black Widow have actually centered on female characters—and watching Peggy take Captain America’s place only highlights how few women have actually held the spotlight. The temporary nature of Peggy’s captaincy only makes it all more bittersweet....'What If … T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?' does a better job of making the series’ premise spark, as its more outlandish premise makes it feel more like a one-off comic than a throwaway episode. The second episode feels the kind of swing you should be taking when you can do anything with these beloved characters—with basically zero consequences. For instance, this episode turns Thanos into a sort of curmudgeonly good guy, as he’s been talked out of his Infinity War plans by T’Challa. It’s also a more interesting exploration of T’Challa’s character. As Charles Pulliam-Moore of io9 notes, in the comics, and to a certain extent the MCU, an inherent conflict in the character of T’Challa has been his responsibility as the leader of the nation of Wakanda versus his drive to explore the rest of the world. That manifests in a different way, here, as T’Challa is only now reckoning with his heritage and past. This T’Challa is allowed to be a little looser and more carefree, and the episode also acts as a bittersweet farewell to the character; unless Marvel decides to do what Disney did with Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing in The Rise of Skywalker and Rogue One, this is the last time we’ll see (well, hear) Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther....The question now is whether or not the series will keep trying to tell interesting stories, or whether it will capitulate to the same demands Marvel’s other Disney series have,  swerving in a more boring direction to better fit into the larger MCU plan. A quick look at what’s in store suggests that things could go either way..."

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    TOPICS: Chadwick Boseman, Disney+, What If...? (Marvel series), A.C. Bradley, Bryan Andrews, Michael Rooker, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe