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It Makes Me Sad To Say This, But Marvel’s New “What If” Series Just Isn’t For Me

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2 years ago

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what if marvel series review

When Marvel announced their new “What If” series (which premieres on Disney Plus this Wed, Aug 11) I was super excited, so it pains me to write this review.

I mean … the concept is kind of dope! Now that we’re all (well some of us) are familiar with the MCU characters, I thought it would be cool to see what would happen if things went differently.

And since the previous Marvel Series, WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki, were all great. (Some a tad better than others. *cough* WandaVision *cough*)

Naturally I was excited to indulge in the newest Marvel series.

However, there’s one big thing that I overlooked that has seriously dampened my interest in watching more of these reimagining stories.

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What did I overlook? Here’s my full review of Marvel’s new “What If” series below!

If you’re looking to watch the newest Marvel series on Disney Plus, here’s a few things you need to know!

This series isn’t like the others.

“What If…?” flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways.

This is also Marvel Studios’ first animated series that focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a few stars who reprise their roles.

And if you haven’t figured it out yet.

You’ll need to be a hardcore Marvel fan, with tons of background knowledge to understand what’s going on.

And that’s honestly why I think I didn’t enjoy this series.

I watched the first 3 episodes this weekend, and 2 out of the 3 confused the hell outta me! I’m not a hardcore Marvel fan, and I haven’t watched all of the movies!

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So I wasn’t familiar with the characters, or the storylines, and I had no clue what was happening! Which wasn’t the case with the other series. Even though I hadn’t watched their movies, I had no trouble following the story.

I’ll go into each episode more in details soon. (I’ll link my recap posts here so you’ll be able to find my thoughts for Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3 here.)

However, without knowing what really happened, I wasn’t invested in the stories.

And the new voices for characters that were supposed to be familiar, threw me off more.

Nothing sounds the same! Even familiar voices were weird for me.

I don’t know if it was because I was already thrown off by not knowing what was going on, or what! I just know it felt off and sounded weird to me.

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It also took me awhile to adjust to the animation style.

Not that I have an issue with the animation style! I guess I just got used to seeing the faces we’ve grown to love as these characters, and hearing their voices.

I think that’s part of the magic for me. Watching these people KILL their roles as these heroes or villains.

So the animation didn’t help with so many things already being difficult to adapt too.

There’s also a dedication to Chadwick Boseman at the end of episode 2.

So make sure you grab a few tissues in advance if you watch that one.

Oh and he does voice his character. So again. This one could be more emotional that comical for you. I was fine throughout the entire episode until the end where I read the one sentence dedication.

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Chadwick is one of the very few celebrities (I’ve never met in person) that I actually cried when he passed. So even seeing his name now, or a photo of him makes me a tad emotional.

But I didn’t completely hate the series, there were a few things that I liked.

I think? Okay, yeah, a few things.

First of all …

Jeffrey Wright voices The Watcher.

“The Watcher introduces us each week to these alternate storylines — each a kind of cautionary tale in the spirit of ‘The Twilight Zone.” And you know what, I LOVE that Jeffrey was included in this.

Now, do I like that there’s a narrator? No.

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But … I do love that the narrator just happens to be Jeffrey Wright, because I love him as an actor.

So I guess there’s that?

Okay, so I think I lied. I can only find more complaints in my notes. *cringe*

So let’s just get this thang over with, because this is making me sad.

For the Marvel fans that do wanna watch What If, I will say this.

I didn’t HATE the episodes! They’re about 30 mins a piece, and I got through all of them.

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However, I didn’t care for the new stories. (Especially episode 2 – the one about Wakanda?! I’ll tell you more when I recap the episode.)

But I did mildly enjoy them. I think if I knew the backstories, episode 1 – about Peggy Carter and Captain America, and episode 3 – about the Avengers, I may have enjoyed them more. I think!

But I have no emotional connection to these new stories, so they fell flat for me. I will watch the others in hopes that I’ll be able to find one that I truly love. So we’ll see what happens!

All I can say is, if you’re not a hardcore Marvel fan, and you haven’t seen ALL of the movies, you’ve been warned!

Good luck friends!

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Shaye is an Entertainment Writer from Brooklyn, NY and a big fan of anything and everything superpowers related (especially if kids/teens are involved), cooking + baking shows (like MasterChef Junior and Cupcake Wars), teen dramas, sitcoms, comedies, and legal dramas. When she's not binging the latest series on Netflix or writing, you can find her spilling her thoughts on the Brown Side of Disney Chat or creating YouTube videos with her daughter for their new family site, Popcorn and Tater Tots.

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Francis

    September 18, 2021 at 5:16 am

    I think from the beginning ‘What if…?’ Has been fairly clear about its objective to retell existing MCU stories with some ‘twists’ thrown in. So I think there is Obviously some assumed knowledge viewers are expected to have in order for the episodes to be able to retell feature length stories within a 30 minute space. I don’t think the marketing has been misleading about this either, so to say you didn’t enjoy them because you weren’t familiar with the story seems more like you didn’t prepare yourself properly to review the series.

    Having said that I also am becoming less of a fan of the series… I think there are some really interesting moments and observations in almost every episode, but they almost always end on a low note. From an enjoyment point of view it’s becoming less fun to watch. I’m keen to see random variations on familiar stories (I agree, episode 2 in particular was great), but more often the episodes end on a depressing note.

    Reply

    • Shaye Wyllie

      September 24, 2021 at 4:11 pm

      So you’re correct, it’s a retelling, a “what if” this happened instead of what actually happened. But I’m not a Marvel stan. Everyone that knows me knows this. I watch movies and tv shows for fun, and I write my thoughts on that. I’m not a comic book fan, I’m not a die hard superhero fan. With all that said, I haven’t seen all the Marvel movies. So “not enjoying them because I wasn’t familiar with the stories” has nothing to do with it being a retelling, or preparing to review the series. I wrote this review for people like me … folks who aren’t die hard Marvel fans who haven’t seen everything made.

      So yeah, I’m not familiar with what happened BEFOREHAND in some of these movies, so I don’t have a strong connection with some characters the way others do. (Ex: Captain America / Peggy Carter)

      But like you said … it’s a retelling. So technically not knowing what happened before doesn’t even matter. I didn’t know Wanda or Vision before WandaVision and I enjoyed the heck out of that. I just don’t like this series at all! And that could just be because I’m not tied to these characters the way others are, or because I just like the stories the way they are and none of the “retellings” brought anything new for me.

      The episodes are actually getting “better” imo, as far as entertainment, but they all still don’t feel very much like Marvel short stories. There’s a level of excitement that’s missing for me.

      I hope you finish watching them though. Just to see the differences. I think the Zombie episode was the most exciting so far, and I hate zombies.

      Reply

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Live Recap: 43 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 2 On Disney Plus

Published

10 months ago

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June 7, 2022

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ms marvel episode 2 recap

Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch Ms. Marvel episode 2 a few days early, and I am super excited to share my initial thoughts via this live recap.

Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.

And I absolutely love it! So here are …

43 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 2

No Spoilers – If you haven’t seen Ms. Marvel episode 2 yet, you’re in luck, because this recap will NOT spoil things. I omitted a few thoughts that included spoilers so you can read this without worry. You’re welcome!

ms marvel episode 2 recap

  1. Ugh! Back to the Marvel theme song! Usually I miss it, but I hate the flip flop, inconsistency of which song gets played in the opening credits. Either make all the episodes open with a culture song, or the theme song, pick one.
  2. Is that a Diddy song??
  3. Awwww there’s a LGBT couple. Cute.
  4. This girl looks so familiar, like someone’s kid! OMG she looks like Jessica Marie!
  5. That title sequence is kinda cute.
  6. Kinda shocked this series breaks the “Marvel mold” where they wait until episode 4 to kick things up a notch! So if this already happened in episode 1 and 2, that means something big is coming right???
  7. Nice! I like that they put this ‘prayer routine at the mosque’ scene in! 
  8. Now WHY would you wear Versace shoes to a place you gotta take em off sis!? WHY!?
  9. Of course she likes the new kid … who has a car?
  10. Not her saying she likes the color of the car … and it’s black! Reminds me of that time a boy tried to compliment me in High School and said he liked my jacket! It was sooo freaking weird because it wasn’t a CUTE jacket! So it was nothing to “like” and I instantly knew why he said it.
  11. Must be nice to have a Paki dude around to relate to, huh! 
  12. Also, making it cool to date your race, and not the white boy? A plus!
  13. Oh my lord! What is she doing!? 
  14. I love this song!
  15. Yessss … they do cheeky music that works! I love it. 
  16. Omg are her powers tied to her emotions?? Like in “Turning Red“?? 
  17. Wait are all women superhero powers tied to emotions???
  18. Are those hoop earrings???
  19. Gabe is SO weird. But my kids probably say the same about me, huh.
  20. Now he don’t wanna go to Cal tech cause the boy like Kamala? Lord.
  21. Not a “The Devil Wears Prada” reference!
  22. It is hoop earrings!! How many people are gonna get the significance of her friend giving her those though?? Don’t worry, I’ll write it up!
  23. Him reminding her he knows the language so she can “date him too” is cute. 
  24. Oh shit! She said he’s our cousin! Because of course it’s easier to pretend they’re related than admit she’s on a date with a boy!
  25. He worked for Hot Topic??? That was weird! But also shows how sexist our older generations are. How was he allowed to work at Hot Topic and have a phase, and she can’t go to a convention and dress up for one day?
  26. His fiancé is black? Or? What’s going on here now!?
  27. He switched on that accent mad quick! 
  28. I love that Eid Mubarak was showcased!
  29. The illumin-aunties like illuminati! (Which we just saw in Doctor Strange 2!) Clever!
  30. Wowwww look how easy he got her! 
  31. Not them about to do a sweep of all their places! I already don’t like that!! Police raiding?! Please make it stop. This is triggering AF!!
  32. Why was he taking photos outside a window? HUH! HUH! Whose foolish child is this?!!
  33. Who TF is Night Light?
  34. Omg he puts ice cream on his pizza?? He gotta go!
  35. She keeps getting flashes of her Great Grandmother??
  36. Omg NOW they think she hurt him! Ugh!
  37. This is an emotional rollercoaster! I like this. 
  38. Oh what the f*ck!!!
  39. Of course his ass was right there to help! Not weird at all.
  40. Omgggg they are f*cking related!!! YOOOOOO!!
  41. The end of episode 2 is crazy!! 
  42. Ok ok so something is definitely gonna happen soon and now I can’t wait to see the next episode!!
  43. No end credit scene for episode 2. Bummer!

Anywho, that’s it for this week!

Favorite quotes from the show coming soon. But until then …

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Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.

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Live Recap: 47 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 1 On Disney Plus

Published

10 months ago

on

June 7, 2022

By

ms marvel episode 1 recap

Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch Ms. Marvel episode 1 a few days early, and I am super excited to share my initial thoughts via this live recap.

Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.

And I absolutely love it! So here are …

47 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 1

No Spoilers – If you haven’t seen Ms. Marvel episode 1 yet, you’re in luck, because this recap will NOT spoil things. I omitted a few thoughts that included spoilers so you can read this without worry. You’re welcome!

ms marvel episode 1 recap

  1. Is this really starting off with THIS song? Totally a preteen teen show!
  2. I love the stop motion! 
  3. Awww … she was making videos! It’s so cute.
  4. The transition from American to Pakistani! Smooth! I love it.
  5. Awwww she’s learning to drive!
  6. Yesss to the music! 
  7. Not her saying a quick prayer, and him saying “bless you” like she sneezed. 
  8. Awwww … it’s Jersey City. 
  9. Yesssss (again) to the music! 
  10. Riah (my daughter) is gonna like this.
  11. Another culture playlist (like “Moon Knight“) and I love it!
  12. They used to be friends???
  13. I like Mr. Wilson! I mean Gabe.
  14. Not lyrics from Mulan! He’s killing me!
  15. The Marvel bros are gonna be bored with this one? Oh well! Sucks for them!
  16. Families are gonna like this!
  17. Dr. Strange and Star Wars are both mentioned in this.
  18. What episode does she get her powers??
  19. Where in the world … is Kamala from?
  20. Not a Zuzu instead of an Alexa! Cute.
  21. I remember being scared to ask my parents to go somewhere. I feel you girl.
  22. Not her tryna use Bruno and his “no family” having self to her advantage.
  23. OF COURSE the tight suit of Captain Marvel is a problem! Ugh! 
  24. Story of my life! The girl doesn’t get to do anything and the boy gets to do everything!
  25. So he’s gonna be her sidekick who does gadgets? That’s usually the role they chuck a POC kid in! I’m happy they didn’t this time. 
  26. Awww look how good she looks in her suit!
  27. They keep calling it a party! It’s not a party, it’s a darn convention!! 
  28. Not the f*cking hulk costume! It’s soooo bad!
  29. As a parent, her being humiliated hurts. But I get it!
  30. I worry about my kid wearing tight clothes too, but gosh. My childhood keeps me from overreacting to what she wears because I know too well how it felt! 
  31. Omg he better not have a crush on her! No love interest! Please!! 
  32. The scoring is great!
  33. Has to wear a sweater at gym? Yup. Totally get that “can’t show skin” even if it means not dying of heat in gym class foolery! It’s so frustrating!! 
  34. Family making you feel bad for liking what you like is so trash! 
  35. So she’s from Pakistan?! Cool!! 
  36. Omg is she getting her powers this episode!???
  37. This b*tch just jumped out her f*cking window and almost died! I can not! 
  38. Omgggg her bike!!!! That’s so f*cked up! He ain’t even HELP! WTF man!!
  39. Whew! She made it! She’s about to be in MAD trouble later, but she made it!
  40. I want some of this Avenger Con swag. I’m just saying!  
  41. Oh nooo!! Her senses are heightened!? 
  42. Of course the Antman is oversized! Cute easter egg!
  43. The ending of episode 1 is wild!!
  44. Why didn’t she just use her powers!??? 
  45. Yesss to the end credits music!
  46. Ahhhh there’s an end credit scene! I miss those.
  47. We needed this series 10 years ago when kids were making fun of Paki kids! 

Anywho, that’s it for this week!

Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.

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Watching “Ms. Marvel” Episode 1 Is Like Watching My Entire Childhood Play Out On TV And I Love It

Published

10 months ago

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June 7, 2022

By

ms marvel episode 1 review

Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 a few days before it released on their streaming service, to review, and I absolutely loved it. Not only am I IN LOVE with this new Marvel teen superhero series, and can’t wait to watch it with my preteen once it finally drops on June 8th. It also reminds me so much of my own childhood!

So here’s my full “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 review …

Don’t worry, this is a spoiler free review, so if you haven’t seen “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 yet, keep reading … I won’t spoil the fun.

ms marvel series poster

Okay so, “Ms. Marvel” is Marvel’s latest comic influenced Disney Plus original series …

About a Muslim American geeky teen girl from Jersey City who doesn’t feel like she fits in at home, or at school.

And of course I’m not a Muslim teen girl with superpowers.

But as I watched episode 1 of “Ms. Marvel” I saw so many scenarios that felt oh so familiar from my own high school days. Which instantly made me feel connected to Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).

From being scared to ask my parents to go hang out with my friends, to not being able to wear certain clothes because they were “too tight or too short”, to wondering why my older brother could do whatever he wanted, while I couldn’t do a damn thing.

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The entire first episode is incredibly relatable for a girl who’s of Caribbean decent, and was born and raised in NYC, with incredibly old school, strict parents.

(Not to mention, my mom too gave me the silent treatment whenever I did something she didn’t like. And my parents still make me feel like shit for liking what I like — specifically anything artsy, like movies, music, etc.)

So when I got introduced to Kamala Khan, for the very first time, in episode 1, I immediately “felt at home”. Of course, I’d much rather not bond with a teenage girl over our traumatic childhoods. But it is nice to see such a relatable superhero on a big screen. Opposed to a wealthy ass white adult male. Because even though I do love me some Iron Man … I can’t relate to anything other than his snark.

But it’s not just how relatable “Ms. Marvel” is for me!

I’m a big fan of teen dramas, and series that star kids with superpowers! (Think “Raising Dion“, “Cloak and Dagger“, “Naomi“, and “Runaways” to name a few.) So I was always going to love “Ms. Marvel”. This is just what I love!

Yet, they still find ways to suck me in even more!

Like with amazing scoring, and with their dope ass cultured, unbasic, soundtrack mixing familiar American pop songs (like Blinding Lights by The Weekend) with more unfamiliar pieces like Rozi by Eva. B — a Pakistani hip hop female rapper and singer! Which you can listen to as the end credits for episode 1 roll in.

Then there’s the cool stop motion clips at the beginning. Along with the cutesy animation overlays (similar to what we saw in “Heartstopper” on Netflix — another teen, rom-com-ish series, that I absolutely love).

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It’s all freaking incredible!

Now, Marvel bros may have a hard time keeping up with this one, but families are gonna love this!

Based on what we see in “Ms. Marvel” episode 1, this series is leaning more towards the family friendly side of Marvel. So if your kids are anything like my 10 year old, and haven’t been interested in any of the latest Marvel series because they seem like “too much”, then you’re in luck! My daughter hasn’t watched any of the Marvel series since “WandaVision“! So I’m excited to watch this one with her.

However … the end credits for episode 1 … yes, there’s an end credit scene … seems to hint that this series still has all that ‘Marvel action’ we’ve grown to love.

So I’m super excited to see how this series plays out! Especially since a few things are already revealed in episode 1, that I didn’t think would come until later? But unlike previous Marvel series, that didn’t really kick off until episode 4, “Ms. Marvel” jumps right in … so I’m expecting them to turn up the heat after a few episodes.

Either way, this is gonna be a special series! I can just feel it. So if you’ve been second guessing this one, stop! You need to watch this! Especially since, Ms. Marvel will join Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel 2.

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Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.

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