The first episode of What If…? follows what would happen if Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) received the super soldier serum in World War II instead of Steve Rogers (Josh Keaton). Even though Rogers doesn’t get the serum, he’s made relevant by being placed in a sort of proto-Iron Man suit called the Hydra Stomper created by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper). The series is hosted by The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), who sees the many possibilities of the multiverse and presents them to the audience.
What If…?’s premiere struggles out of the gates. It’s a mostly unengaging half hour retelling of Captain America: The First Avenger, which makes it an odd choice for the premiere episode of an anthology series. For a series promoting the endless possibilities of the MCU’s multiverse, this premiere makes those promotions feel mostly disingenuous, though the future episodes of the series will likely prove the opposite.
Despite these issues, the animation on display here is mostly stellar, aside from a few unfinished looking shots or some missing polish. For example, one of the first shots of the episode is of Carter and Rogers having a conversation before he goes to take the serum; in this shot you can easily tell that the voices aren’t quite synced correctly to the characters’ mouths. Despite small things like this that pop up from time to time, the rest of the show is visually beautiful. It looks like a three-dimensional comic book, with the splash pages and everything, all that’s missing is the onomatopoeia.
Speaking of things that are missing, Chris Evans’ voice is completely absent from the episode, Hugo Weaving’s is as well. Though Josh Keaton does a good job trying to fill Evans’ shoes, his absence is hard to get past. Weaving is replaced by Ross Marquand, who previously replaced Weaving’s voice in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Marquand does a mostly good job here, but his American accent sometimes slips through the German one he’s putting on, which is a problem exacerbated by his limited lines.
Hayley Atwell absolutely kills the role of Captain Carter here, embodying all the bravado and confidence of Captain America with a more pronounced emotional response to the events happening around her. It’s a role that hopefully at some point, gets brought over into the live-action side of the MCU so Atwell can fully get her moment to shine on a bigger stage. The rest of the returning cast is great as well. Sebastian Stan is able to joke around more as Bucky Barnes, something he rarely gets to do in the live-action universe, and he relishes here. Dominic Cooper is really fun as Howard Stark, providing even more comic-relief and becoming a more prominent part of the action. I wish he had more to do, but I get that there’s only so much you can fit into a half hour runtime.
The half hour runtime also does a disservice to the plot of the episode, making it feel rushed. The creators rightfully expect the audience to have seen the first Captain America film going into this episode, so they don’t take much time setting up any of the characters and what’s going on at the moment. While this is mostly fine and understandable, skipping around like this for the rest of the film’s content instead of just the introduction is an odd choice. It’s like watching a greatest hits compilation of a film that doesn’t fully exist. The major events in the last third of the episode also feel as if they needed more time to properly set the stakes and have the director’s desired emotional impact.
Going into the episode, fans were optimistic that it would address the social and societal issues that would arise for Captain Carter as a female super soldier in the 1940’s. While these issues are addressed in the first third of the episode, they’re mostly sidelined and forgotten about afterward. It feels like a cop out when only one character, played by Bradley Whitford, is realistically, for the time, sexist and dismissive of having a woman on the battlefield. Her rise to being a globally known war hero also doesn’t feel earned at all, though they expect the audience to attach all of Steve Rogers’ accomplishments from Captain America: The First Avenger onto her character.
All in all, the premiere episode of Marvel’s What If…? isn’t bad, but probably won’t grab viewers from the start. While the performances are good across the board and the animation is gorgeous, with a few exceptions, it’s hampered by a rushed plot and noticeable missing actors.
Starting off with a more safe and accessible episode is a good choice on paper, the main point of this show is to show more wacky and out-there possibilities for the MCU’s multiverse. While this entry in the anthology may be underwhelming, the nine future episodes this season promise much more exciting possibilities.
