The MCU has dominated the cinematic world for the last decade and a half and decided to try dominating the televised world in a similar fashion with their expansion into original series on Disney+. With five original series released in 2021, three last year, and three scheduled for this year, the MCU is full-steam ahead in terms of giving the world as much Marvel content as possible. That being said, one particular MCU show broke all kinds of barriers and managed to broaden the limits of what even the Marvel Cinematic Universe is capable of - that show was What If...?.
Update August 25, 2023: If you're a fan of What If...? or just curious as to what characters should be included in the sophomore season, you'll be happy to know this article has been updated with additional information by Jack Deegan.
The animated anthology series was a first for the MCU, with every episode centering around the aspect of one key element in the current MCU timeline drastically changed. One episode saw T'Challa, prince of Wakanda, become Star-Lord; another had Peggy Carter take the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers; the fifth episode that surrounded around the concept of zombies taking over the MCU was so successful that it sparked its own spinoff series. While the MCU is used to putting out material that audiences and fans love, What If...? is a special, animated addition to the otherwise live-action-packed universe. All that said, with a season 2 already in the works and hopefully season 3 on te way, there are some MCU characters that fans would like to see.
All Netflix Marvel Show Heroes
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist -- come on down! Marvel's bombshell drop of incorporating the Netflix show characters into the official MCU canon during Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Hawkeye was met with universal praise from fans and critics alike. Now, with the Netflix shows on Disney+ and the characters able to appear in MCU projects, it only makes sense that the characters get their own What If...? episode. Now, every single character doesn't have to get their own stand-alone episode -- that would be overkill and unnecessary.
.
But, What If...? plays on the premise of switching one vital moment in the current MCU timeline with another. With most Netflix Marvel characters residing in New York City, wouldn't it be a cool concept to do an episode where the Avengers never exist? Instead, the Defenders have to save New York from Loki and the Chitauri. Even if that's not the story Marvel chooses to go with, the possibilities are endless, fans would love to see the characters again, and this would be an easy way to incorporate them all.
All Fox Reacquired Properties
X-Men, Fantastic 4, Deadpool -- you're on deck. With an episode revolving around the Netflix Marvel characters, it would only be fitting to do an episode that incorporates all of the characters that Marvel reacquired from Fox. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the upcoming Deadpool 3 are teasing connections between the MCU and the Fox Marvel universe, so an animated episode focusing on characters would be a great way to pay tribute to those franchises as part of the larger Marvel multiverse.
Instead of showing scenarios for the MCU, show possible scenarios for other Marvel films. What if the 2005 Fantastic Four meet the 2015 Fantastic Four? What if Sabertooth got the adamantium instead of Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine? What If Apocalypse had won, and they could do an animated version of the Age of Apocalypse storyline? The possibilities are endless.
Also, it's known that Marvel is rebooting the X-Men '97 animated series. How awesome would it be if Marvel did a cross-over episode between What If...? and X-Men '97 where the MCU heroes (drawn in What If...?'s animation style) have to team up with (or fight against) the X-Men (drawn in X-Men '97's animation style)? Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured the Sorcerer Supreme falling in and out of different universes, and one of them was animated. If live-action can cross over into animation, then a different animation style certainly can.
Werewolf by Night
Werewolf by Night broke out with his 2022 Halloween special. Since then, audiences have been wondering when he will appear next and when in the timeline Werewolf by Night takes place. This raises the possibility that Jack Russell has been doing his thing saving other supernatural creatures for many years in the MCU, operating in the shadows, and he could be slotted into many storylines.
What if Werewolf by Night was recruited into The Avengers? What if Werewolf by Night became the Sorcerer Supreme? Or what if any of the other MCU heroes got bitten by a werewolf? This could be a way to include the fun Werewolf Captain America from the comics. There are so many possible storylines to be explored with this exciting new character.
Skrulls
Skrulls may have more potential than any other characters for What If...? stories. There are endless possibilities that the Skrulls bring to the table, and can make for some really interesting stories showing how the universe could've gone differently.
With Secret Invasion recently wrapping up and getting the worst Rotten Tomatoes rating for a Marvel Studios' project, What If...? could be a chance for the MCU to redo that story properly. The animated medium makes things easier to bring in more characters, so Marvel can have the Skrull invasion affect big MCU heroes and see how that would have changed things. Another idea is having the invasion happen earlier in the timeline, around the time of Captain Marvel, and see how it would've played out from there. It's a way of redemption for the Secret Invasion storyline, giving it another go without breaking the canon.
The Eternals
Out of all the new characters introduced in phase 4, the Eternals have the most opportunities for different What If...? stories. The race of divine beings was told to stay out of history and hide in the shadows unless it had something to do with their sworn enemies, the Deviants. This means that pivotal events in history, from the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire to World War II to the Battle of Earth, all happened on their watch as they couldn't interfere. In a series like What If...?, there are dozens of different points in history that can be explored, showing what would happen if they had stepped in.
Perhaps history would have completely changed from the start if they intervened and made sure nothing bad ever happened. Maybe Thanos would have never erased half of all life had the Eternals been there. There are even smaller-scale alternate scenarios, like if the Deviants had beaten the Eternals, what would have happened? With the characters now introduced and able to be used in the series, it would be a mistake not to explore these different possibilities.
Shang-Chi and Wenwu
A recent addition from Phase 4, Shangi-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, released after What If...?'s first season. Now that audiences have been acquainted with characters like Shang-Chi and Wenwu, there are so many possible alternate timelines to explore with them. Perhaps the biggest of those is to finally see a confrontation between Iron Man and the real Mandarian, Wenwu. It's a dream project fans have been asking for since the fakeout reveal in Iron Man 3 over a decade ago, and What If...? is able to make it happen even after Tony Stark's death.
With Shang-Chi himself, there's a whole host of possibilities for the character. There could be an episode where Shang-Chi never escaped his father and grew up to be the new leader of the Ten Rings or one where his mother never died. It would drastically change his story and send him on a completely different path. One that hopefully leads to Shang-Chi interacting with more Marvel heroes.
Namor
Namor was introduced into the MCU in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and given the age of the character being around for generations, there is plenty of possible stories to tell with him. Fans would certainly like to see what would happen if he emerged in the 1940s and could team up with Captain America like the two did in the comics.
Other storylines could be what if he emerged in the battle of New York and how would his army do against Loki's? Would the Avengers then have to battle Namor and his forces? If Namor tries to invade the surface earlier in the timeline, does he conflict with other power players like Wenwu or the Eternals? There are so many stories to tell about this character, and since Namor can't be used in a solo film, this might be the best place to tell more stories with him, even if they are outside of continuity.
Spider-Man
Fans were lucky enough to be treated to Spider-Man in the episode "What if... Zombies?!", and hopefully season two can give audiences much more of the wall-crawler. Sony and Disney's Spider-Man deal is a legal nightmare that made it hard for the character to appear in more than just one episode. There was going to be a Spider-Man focused episode at one point, but it was cut for being "too dark". The team wasn't too sure about his status but were instructed to write the best possible stories, and they'll figure it out later.
2 years on, and hopefully, Marvel has figured it out so more Spider-Man can be present in the series. With eight appearances thus far in the MCU, there are a ton of different What If...? stories to tell with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. From simple things like what if Steve Rogers recruited him for the Civil War, to more grand scale stories like what would happen if Peter Parker wasn't bitten by the spider. Hopefully there will be a bit more of him in the next season.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started out as the first TV show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For years, the series would tie in with each new film and even fill in missing plot points. While the show would constantly reference what was happening in the movies, the movies never made mention of the agents. As the years went on and the MCU got more secretive, the series started to branch off from the mainline continuity. What If...? presents an opportunity to bring these characters back and to finally let them interact with the main MCU.
It could even serve as a test to see if viewers are still interested in these characters for a potential return. The series could show the team helping out at the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame or a scenario where they discovered the Hydra reveal early. Whatever the story is, there's no better place than What If...? to bring the characters back.
Rocket, Lyla, Teefs, and Floor
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally revealed the backstory of Rocket Racoon in one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire MCU. Rocket was one of many creations by the High Evolutionary, alongside an otter named Lyla, a walrus named Teefs, and a rabbit named Floor. Rocket was hoping to escape with his friends to live out a happy life, yet his three friends meet a tragic end.
This was one of the saddest moments in the entire MCU, and audiences have been wondering how things would be different had they not died. What If...? allows these characters to get at least some version of a happy ending? What if they escaped? Audiences could see them all get to live a happy life and maybe even form a version of the Guardians of the Galaxy earlier in another timeline before the MCU. What If...? is the perfect place to tell some version of this story.