What If…? is Proof That the MCU Shouldn’t Abandon the Multiverse

The Marvel Cinematic Universe rarely delves into animation, but What If…? has been evidence that superheroes can thrive in live-action and animation alike. With every episode, the show explores more twists and turns that the regular Earth-616 can never explore. Zombies can infect the world, Thor can throw a party, and Captain Carter can become a multiversal hero with the power and influence to save everything.

As the MCU continues to develop the Multiverse Saga with Phase 5 and Phase 6, What If…? offers an exploration of just how wide and distinct every separate universe can be. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may have featured some ridiculous worlds, but they pale in comparison to what What If…? offers. Yet, as Marvel Studios drops Jonathan Majors — and potentially the Kang the Conqueror plot — the very concept of the multiverse may be abandoned. As Marvel Studios considers its options, one question remains: What if What If…? is proof that the MCU needs the multiverse to thrive?

The Success Of What If…?

What If…? allows Marvel to explore fresh ideas without being burdened by continuity.

The primary universe of the MCU is known as Earth-616. A world of superheroes, science, and magic, it is filled with familiar faces. Iron Man, Captain America, and the noble god Thor have become common sights and household names. Unfortunately, because of the centrality of Earth-616 in developing the MCU’s multiverse, it can be difficult to fully formulate a well-crafted and compelling multiverse. Without Iron Man zipping through the air or Steve Rogers slinging a shield in every universe, it can be difficult to ingratiate the concept of the multiverse in the eyes of viewers. That is exactly why What If… has been so successful.

The show slowly increases the stakes of the multiverse by featuring episodic narratives. Almost every episode features a new universe filled with new or modified characters. Captain Carter, a Ten Rings-powered Hela, and a dark version of Doctor Strange can all exist independently. By the end of each season, those characters can come together to battle a new enemy. They can also serve as new antagonists, as the menacing Infinity Ultron did. It provides a short opportunity to flesh out heroes without needing to develop entire movies or TV shows to feature a slight change in a character’s backstory.

What If…? rarely needs to cross over into Earth-616, because it spends its time focusing on the individual stories instead. That means that the show never risks being dragged into questions like “Why aren’t the X-Men fighting Thanos?” Or “Why isn’t anyone reacting to the gigantic stone Celestial?” Instead of being stuck with a single season, What If…? Season 2 was approved because it is a simple concept that could be taken to extremes without breaking the multiverse. That, in itself, made it a worthwhile and successful show.

Marvel Can Learn From What If…?

The multiverse can bless the MCU with new villains, resurrected heroes, and resolved plot holes.

The entire point of the multiverse is to create a wider playground for the MCU’s characters to enjoy. If a character is killed, other heroes can find another version of them in a different universe, and they can join heroes on new adventures. With the existence of the multiverse, iconic characters who die can always return, and their resurrection does not need to take away the original character’s sacrifice. The Loki from Avengers: Infinity War, after all, died at Thanos’ hand. That did not necessarily mean that the Loki from Loki could not exist. Instead, it meant that his sacrifice meant something, but that Marvel could still bring back a beloved figure.

What If…? is the natural extension of that thought pattern. Despite being long dead in Earth-616, Peggy Carter has a central role in What If…?, which has propelled her into the spotlight. Instead of sacrificing an interesting character, Marvel can instead introduce a new version of the character. The death of Earth-616’s Peggy is still a touching tragedy, but Peggy can still be relevant in the greater narrative. In the same vein, Marvel can avoid repeating the plot holes in Avengers: Endgame by leaving time travel behind entirely. With a fleshed-out multiverse, Captain America would never again need to time travel to spend his life with Peggy. Instead, a new multiverse can fill that role without destroying the overall story.

Another necessary change is that the multiverse prevents crossovers from being a significant issue. Captain Marvel can appear in a project even if Earth-616’s version is busy with space battles because a multiversal version of her is always available. Characters can jump from universe to universe, just as Captain Carter was taken out of her universe to support Thor. Even villains can receive similar treatment. The wide playground of the multiverse means that Marvel can also build up villains from around reality. A problem can fester from issues not prevalent in Earth-616, which is enough to raise the stakes and make multiversal traveling villains even more terrifying. Kang the Conqueror is one example of a multiversal enemy, but he does not need to be the only one.

The Multiverse Doesn’t Need Kang

While once starring as Kang the Conqueror, Jonathan Majors was fired from the MCU after being found guilty of assault and harassment. His absence has left the MCU devoid of an overarching villain that it has been building towards for years. Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania spent hours building Kang to be an unprecedented enemy. With Majors gone, Marvel will either be forced to recast him or else replace Kang with another threat. What Marvel doesn’t need to do, however, is choose only a single enemy.

What If…? has introduced an expansive cast featuring numerous villains, who are each either episodic or recurrent threats. That is a concept that the MCU can build on. Instead of focusing on a single villain, the MCU can instead focus on villains that exist for one cast of characters and not others. Cosmic heroes can face a multiversal enemy, while street-level heroes can instead be sucked into a world where Kingpin is terrorizing the public. Villains can even reappear if their first attempt did not successfully present the full extent of a character’s potential. Just as Infinity Ultron built on the somewhat unsuccessful depiction in Avengers: Age of Ultron, another version of Gorr the God Butcher could appear to make up for Thor: Love and Thunder‘s mistakes.

With a strong multiverse, heroes can still jump from movie to show and back again for crossover arcs, but that never needs to get in the way of universal cohesion. With so many heroes in one setting, it can often be baffling when Ms. Marvel fails to seek out Spider-Man’s help or when the Eternals are never faced with inquisitive Avengers. With the multiverse, each hero can still face one-on-one villains without needing to explain away why the Avengers aren’t fighting. Kamala can be in one universe, while Spider-Man can be in another.

The Eternals can exist in Earth-418 without needing to explain away their lack of involvement in Avengers: Endgame. That removes a major limiting element of each story and wipes away any weaknesses that a connected universe has. Kang is an important character, but his story may well have ended before he could rise to become a Thanos-like threat. Despite Kang’s failure, the multiverse is more than capable of finding a place in the MCU. There does not need to be a single Conqueror that makes the multiverse important. It can stand on its own, and What If…? is proof of that.