Marvel’s What if…Episode 5
This episode of What if…was quite a challenge in both reviewing and writing my own fan-fiction based around this episode (either it was Marvel Zombie-related or Spider-Man-related, cause Spider-Man has had some pretty interesting What If…stories from the comics, thus I’m hoping he has more of those within the animated series). The episode itself surprised me, because (after watching both trailers), I knew we were going to get Zombie-based episodes inspired to form the actual Marvel Zombies comics (picture: Bottom Left Corner), but to my surprise was including Spider-Man into such a reality overrun by Zombies, because judging by this concept art (Picture: Bottom Left Corner), I thought we were gonna get a What if…The episode involved Spider-Man becoming Sorcerer Supreme (which I kinda explained in a fan-fiction style within my “Marvel’s What if…Episode 4” post). However (despite the unbalanced tone), this What if…was in fact full of uncertainty, sad moments, and (of course)...zombies. (though I wish this episode was an hour long, showing better how other heroes survived after the Avengers became infected).
The spread of the Zombie Virus within this What if…Episode all started because “Janet Van Dyne” became contrapted with a “Quantum Virus”, thus when Hank Pym goes in the Quantum Realm looking for Janet, he too becomes infected and thus, the infected come back from the quantum realm, infected others (even the Avengers), however I felt like this epsidoe missed out on an opportunity to introduce the Zombie Plague in an entirely different way, though I’m not sure if it’s curable like with this zombie virus…(cause that cure involves the mind stone), plus it would’ve happened around the opening of “Captain America: civil war”, where Crossbones and his gang were stealing that biohazard disease for some unknown client and when Crossbones was about to blow himself up, he should’ve had that vial with him, thus taking him and Cap out with a bang (but really they get transformed into zombies follwoing the explosion), thus transforming the other Avengers (Falcon, Scarlet Wtich and Black Widow) into Zombies and forcing Iron Man to lead the remaining heroes (and villains) into battle against the zombies.
(Click here to listen to an alternate take on the MCU Zombie apocalypse during Civil War)
Last Halloween, My Dad and I watched various Zombie-related flicks (like the Zombieland films, and Shaun of the Dead, and have seen WWZ in the past), I would avoid “The Dead Don’t Die (it was just “too slow”)”, recently I have seen such Zombie series on Netflix like “All of us are Dead (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) and Black Summer (Picture: Bottom Right Corner)”, highly recommend watching, however from all of these Zombie flicks and series, they give us very different glimpses on how people survive in a zombie apocalypse, which isn’t easy, as (for those you form groups), usually end betraying others to save their own skin or simply only care for themselves or just their loved ones, thus be grateful (within today’s society) we don’t have to face off a Zombie apocalypse.
So while in the Main MCU universe, Our Spider-Man teamed up with 2 previous variants (Picture: bottom left corner) from the multiverse to stop their villains and stop the Mutlverse itself from shattering, while (within this what if…Episode), this Spider-Man was forced to deal with the Zombie Apocalypse (and forced to witness several of his surviving allies become infected with the Zombie virus), but while also have dealt with past lots within his life, thus making him the “Morality Booster” of the group, which is something a lot of Zombie flicks and series don’t usually feature (I mean Jaime King’s character from Black Summer, Rose or her daughter” started off with a group until it just became them), thus at the end of Season 2 of Black Summer, makes me wonder if Rose’s teachings to her daughter cause her to leave behind (plus Jaime’s last name is King and that’s gotta mean something, from a line of royalty)...
And that’s something I can relate to, as I have lost many people over my lifespan “My Great-Grandma, Tia Lucha, D, Quincy, Dane, My Grandpa…and now my beloved Chewie” and thus (like Spider-Man), I always keep going for those I’ve lost because they would’ve wanted you to keep going within life, always encourage yourself to do the same.
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-r-rated-disney-show
So this What if…The episode will set the stage for “Marvel’s Zombie series (read more on the top link), however, judging by the many theories going around about the episode's cliffhanger, makes me wonder if we’ll see “Cyborg Spider-Man (Picture: Top Right Corner)”, As Spider-Man deserves to be apart of the Marvel Zombie series as (again) he was the Morality Booster within the episode, thus it’ll be unfair to see him be transformed into a Zombie, Also I do hope that either this Zombie universe gets cured or destroyed within the events of “Avengers: Secret Wars”
(click here to Watch Spidey’s guide on how to survive the Zombie apocalypse, might come in handy someday)
What if…(Zombie) Scenario-based Stories: The part of the blog where I talk about various other Multiversal possibilities concepts within the animated series (who knows, maybe these tales could either be made into actual comics or episodes for the animated series), and remember…anything is possible in a multiverse (thus allows us to get creative in a twisted way).
What if…the recovery of Captain America started the Zombie plague: Ever since I watched the 1st trailer of Marvel's What if, I thought that “Nick Fury discovering Captain America in the ice (Picture: Bottom Left Corner)” would’ve kicked off the zombie apocalypse in some way (but that later not the case), but within this alternate MCU reality, the discovery did kick off the zombie apocalypse, in which during WWII, Captain America discovered that the “Red Skull” wasn’t aboard his Valkyrie ship (it was either a Life Model Decoy or an impostor masquerading as him), aboard the Valkyrie ship were containers of the Red Skull’s Dust of Death, A deadly red mist containing a flesh-eating virus that causes the victim's skin to shrivel, making their appearance resemble the Red Skull. The Valkyrie ship later self-destructs, causing Captain America to inhale the high amounts of the Dust of Death and later crash into the ice. Upon his discovery, Captain America (now a red skeleton-like corpse) comes back to life (as a zombie), thus beginning the zombie apocalypse (and the Red Skull, who’s revealed to be still alive, takes the opportunity to take over the world). With a Red Skeleton-like Captain America Zombie leading the Red Skull-like zombie apocalypse, how could this affect the formation of the Avengers? This alternate MCU universe can take some inspiration from the Avengers Storyline: Red Zone (Picture: Bottom Right Corner) (written by famed DC Writer, Geoff Johns)
What if…The Avengers battled Zombies: Though we saw a brief moment at the beginning of this episode, however there a plan of attack was kind of stupid, as the Avengers (literally) just landed their quinjet on the golden gate bridge and Iron Man didn’t bother to create special protective armor for his comrades, they just (literally) fought they could’ve defeated a giant horde of zombies (without any special gadgets or gizmos)...
(click here to witness the Avengers (briefly) battling Zombies…not much to witness)
But within this Alternate MCU universe, the start of the Zombie apocalypse happens within the opening of “Captain America: Civil War”, where Crossbones was still holding onto that stolen vial, containing the mysterious infectious biohazard disease, when he attempted to blow himself up, but Scarlet Witch manages to stop him by sending him upward, only to blow up a building and later showing that Crossbones (and several bomb victims) become infected with the explosion (since the biohazard disease has spread), turning Crossbones and several others already into Zombies, it isn’t long before the Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch) become infected too (and later on, T’Challa and Okoye become infected as well after investigating the matter). Upon learning of this, Iron Man rounds up the remaining Avengers (and even recruits other heroes) to help repel the zombie apocalypse from spreading outside of Lagos, Nigeria (thus the Avengers are reimagined as ARMOR (Alternate Reality Monitoring and Operational Response), from the comics. Within this alternate MCU universe, perhaps we can see James Rhodes donning a “War Machine Hulkbuster Armor (Picture: Bottom Left Corner)” and Spider-Man donning his own homemade Spider-Armor from the comics (Picture: Bottom Right Corner), as well as General Thunderbolt Ross assembling his own Team (The Thunderbolts) to help end the Zombie apocalypse…
(as well as explore if Quicksilver had lived and if Hulk and Thor never left the Avengers)
(Click to listen on what if...The MCU Zombie apocalypse did happen at the opening of Civil War)
ARMOR members: Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, (Grey) Hulk, (Grey) She-Hulk, Thor, Quicksilver, Crystal, Lockjaw, Sharon Carter, Wasp, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Black Panther (Shuri), Ayo, Battlestar, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes), Wong & Ronin (Clint Barton), Shang-Chi, Red Guardian
Thunderbolts Members: Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross), Red She-Hulk, Red Leader (Samuel Sterns), Abomination, US Agent, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Batroc, Baron Zemo, Winter Soldier, Blackout, Blizzard, Bullseye, Wrecking Crew, Eletrka, Foolkiller, Ghost, Iron Maiden, Machete, Man-Bull, Mr. Hyde, Killmonger, Nuke, Punisher, Scorpion, Shocker, Taskmaster, Spectrum (Monica Rambeau), Vulture, Prowler (Aaron Davis) and White Widow (Yelena Belova)
What if…(Peter Parker/Spider-Man) Scenario-based Stories
What if…Peter Parker became the Ant-Man/Giant-Man: Inspired by the brother/sister relationship of Peter Parker and Hope Van Dyne (Picture: bottom Center) that was briefly shown within this What if Episode, the best way to keep that concept alive is within another Alternate MCU universe, within this Alternate Universe, Peter Parker is never bitten by the radioactive Spider and instead becomes the Ant-Man/Giant-Man (this is how I picture Peter Parker’s Ant-Man costume, Picture: Bottom left Corner), this decision was made by Hope Van Dyne herself (who masqueraded as a school teacher at Midtown High and believe Peter Parker was a perfect choice) after believe that Hank’s decision to hire a former burglar like Scott Lang was a stupid decision (and believe it had something to do with her Father’s mental illness). Thus, this alternate MCU universe can explore more of Peter and Hope’s brother/sister-style relationship, Scott Lang and his crew being hired by Darren Cross, Ant-Man (Peter Parker) facing off against Ant-Man Rogues Gallery from the comics, and perhaps (based on this what if the story from the comics, Picture: Bottom Right Corner), somebody else (like MJ, Ned Leeds or Flash Thomspon) had gotten bitten by the Radioactive Spider, thus when it comes down to Civil War, how would Peter Parker be forced to deal in battling his fellow classmate (who’s Spider-Man in this Alternate Universe), plus could we also see witness The Wasp also getting involved in Civil War (despite Hank Pym saying No)?
(Click here to view Ant-man’s Rogues gallery)
What if…Peter Parker became an Iron Lad: As I mentioned in my “Marvel’s What if…Episode 3 Post”, they missed out on an opportunity to have “James Rhodes suiting up as Iron Man (Picture: Bottom Center)”. Young Peter Parker (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) would continue to look up to Iron Man as his role model (without knowing the truth until later on), upon learning the truth (that Tony Stark was killed by Yellowjacket), Peter Parker decides to create his own Iron Man-like suit and become a variant version of Iron Lad and work alongside Iron Man (James Rhodes) in battling the Asgardian forces. Plus this Alternate Universe could explore “Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May getting bitten by the Radioactive Spider instead”, Marvel has already poked fun at the idea of Aunt May being Spider-Man (Picture: Bottom Right Corner)
(Click here to witness Iron Man’s death by Ant-man from the What if…Episode 3)
What if…Spider-Man became a Celebrity Avenger: within this Alternate MCU universe (towards the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming), “Spider-Man accepts Tony Stark’s offer to join the Avengers” (and even reveals his identity to the public, Picture: Bottom Left Corner). This small turn of events has J. Jonah Jameson (of “The DailyBugle.net”) attempts to launch a smear campaign against both Spider-Man and Iron Man (believing that Stark has lost his mind in bringing in a menace like Spider-Man into the ranks of the Avengers), but Stark ends up buying the entire DailyBugle.net from Jameson (leaving him homeless), also (within this alternate universe), this changes Mysterio’s plans to get his hands on Stark’s EDITH glasses, as he kidnaps both Aunt May and Happy Hogan, however Spider-Man (with aid from Iron Man, War Machine and Vision) save his Aunt and defeats Mysterio. This Alternate Universe can also explore “What if…The Other Half Got Snapped” and it was Spider-Man who made the sacrifice to snap the other half back into existence (Picture: Bottom Right Corner). Following his sacrifice, Spider-Man is made an “Honorary Celeb Avenger” and Aunt May and Happy Hogan later get married (perhaps even having a baby named Peter Parker II in the future).
(Click here to witness a similar concept of the other half getting snapped)
What if…Spider-Man defeated the Avengers: For the record, this is just me poking fun at the 2017 Spider-Man animated series (Picture: Bottom Left Corner), within an alterante universe based around that Series, Spider-Man attempted to join the Avengers (in the hopes of solving money issues and showing of what a good asset he can be for the team), but is turned down (even his idols like Iron Man and Captain America), but Spidey is soon frustrated and Shock to learn when Ms. Marvel (Picture: Bottom Right Corner) joins the Avengers and even Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (who’s filling in following Hawkeye’s early retirement), feeling rejected and disillusioned, this alternate version of Spider-Man follows a dark path, simialr to the Incredibles villain (Syndrome), where he soon builts a “Superior Iron Spider Suit (Picture: Bottom Center)” and begins hi plot to the defeat the Avengers, showing to the world that he’s the superior superhero of all time, he 1st starts with Hawkeye (who had retired early), thus following his death, manages to gather the other Avengers in one spot, taking them out one-by-one (saving Ms. Marvel for last)...
What if…Spider-Man gains Cosmic Powers during Infinity War: within this Alternate MCU universe (during the events of Avengers: Infinity War), Tony Stark launches the Iron Spider to save Peter Parker from falling off of Ebony Maw’s ship, however, the Iron Spider malfunctions and explodes in midair (failing to peter parker in time), however, the mysterious Enigma Force latches onto Peter Parker, transforming him into “Captain Universe (dubbed: Cosmic Spider-Man, Picture: Bottom Center)”. With Spidey’s newfound Cosmic Abilities, Thanos would’ve been defeated on Titan, then Spidey would’ve transported himself (alongside Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and the rest of the Guardians to Earth to aid in the Battle of Wakanda), thus the rest of the events of Infinity War happened slightly different and the event of Avengers: Endgame never happened. Following This, Cosmic Spider-Man joins up with the Guardians of the Galaxy (while still keeping tabs on Iron Man, who’s now in a relationship with Aunt May while Pepper Potts is dating Happy Hogan), meanwhile, Dr. Strange, and Captain America (who hardly met eye-to-eye in the main MCU universe), reimagine the Avengers into the Illuminati, where they would battle “overtly antagonistic versions of the Eternals and Inhumans race”. During the cosmic event known as “The Emergence”, nearly every earth hero (alongside Cosmic Spider-Man & the Guardians of the Galaxy) in battling the Eternals and stopping the Emergence, however, Spider-Man ends up losing control over his cosmic abilities and ends up killing the non-Illuminati members (even killing the guardians, the Eternals and nearly destroying Earth to stop the Emergence). Although the Illuminati saves the day and separates Spider-man from the Enigma Force (which results in Peter losing his Spider powers in the process as well), the Illuminati still banishes a powerless Peter Parker to Limbo, in which Tony lies to May about the truth.
Illuminati Members: Captain America, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Shuri, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Iron Man, (Professor) Hulk, Namor & Goliath (Hank Pym)
What if…Spider-Man became an Agent of SHIELD: within this Alternate MCU universe, Spider-man has been recruited by Nick Fury to be a part of his private superhero team, The Secret Warriors, to combat the Skrull Empire, who had already begun their secret invasion of Earth. This all started during the events of 2019s Captain Marvel, where (After defeating the Kree), Captain Marvel agree to help the Skrull find a new home within the cosmos, only to later be betrayed by them and Talos’s wife (Soren) masquerading as Captain Marvel (it was also revealed that a Skrull had begun masquerading as Phil Coulson). Soren (as Captain Marvel) became a part of the battle of New York (alongside the Avengers), when everything was over, She took out Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk, and they were replaced with Skrulls (thus the events of Age of Ultron and Civil War never happened), even Soren (as Captain Marvel) aided Thor during the events of The Dark World. Nick Fury found out about the Skrull betrayal when Phil Coulson died from Loki, only to later learn that he was really a Skrull, thus prompting Nick Fury to form the Secret Warriors (fearing that the Skrulls might’ve already taken over the Avengers). When Spider-Man joins he’s granted a SHIELD stealth suit (Picture: Bottom Left Corner), thus sents the Secret Warriors to rescue the citizens/heroes who were abducted by the Skrulls. Later, The Secret Warriors return with the rescued citizens/Avengers and join in the final fight to drive the Skrulls off of Earth, in the aftermath, Spider-man creates a new combat stealth suit (Picture: Bottom Right corner) and joins up with his fellow Secret Warriors, as they aid the Avengers in preparing for Future Skrull attacks (plus Liz Allain is Firestar, like her Ultimate Marvel counterpart), classmate (Sally Avril) is Bluebird from the comics and the Skrull (N’Kalla) betrays her people, aids the secret warriors and gets adopted by Aunt May, becoming Peter’s sister
Secret Warriors Members: Nick Fury (Benefactor), Spider-Man, Quake (Daisy Johnson), Cloak and Dagger, Crystal and Lockjaw, Hellfire (J.T. Slade), Ironheart, Black Panther (Shuri), Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Hellcat (Patsy Walker), Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange Jr.), Shang-Chi, Photon (Monica Rambeau), Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Ronin (Maya Lopez/Echo), Kate Bishop, Patriot (Elijah Bradley), Slingshot (Yo-Yo Rodriguez), Bluebird (Sally Avril), Firestar (Liz Allan), Blindspot (Samuel Chung) and N’Kalla
What if…Spider-Man didn’t shatter the Multiverse: We were so close to getting an entirely different 3rd Spider-Man film (one that would’ve had Spidey battle Kraven the Hunter), however, what if that did happen within an Alternate universe (with Ryan Coolger guiding Jon Watts through the process), as in this Alternate MCU universe, Spider-Man (alongside Aunt May and Happy Hogan) have been banished from the US (similar to that Captain America Storyline, Man without a Country), however, he’s been granted sanctuary within Wakanda and teams-up with Shuri (who’s dealing with T’Challa batting a sickness and nervous of taking on the Black Panther). Shuri has taken a liken to Peter Parker and is doing whatever it takes to clear his name. Meanwhile, in the US, Aunt May has hired Matt Murdock (Daredevil) to help clear Spidey’s name, however, Daredevil soon learns that Mysterio might still be alive, thus enlists Dr. Strange and other heroes (thus the Ultimate Knights, Picture: Bottom Left Corner, are born), who later come to Wakanda to aid Spider-Man and Shuri fight off against Kraven the Hunter, Calypso & Rhino, eventually, it’s Mysterio is alive and has busted out Vultures old allies from prison and is an ally to Kraven (thus forming the Sinister 6). Eventually, the Ultimate Knights defeat the Sinister 6, Spider-Man has been cleared of all charges and Shuri even creates Peter a new Spider-Suit (and has even announced her taking on the Black Panther mantle)
Ultimate Knights Members: Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Shang Chi, Moon Knight, Shuri, Ronin (Clint Barton), Kate Bishop, War Machine, Jessica Jones & Hellcat
Sinister 6 members: Mysterio (Leader), Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, Scorpion, Shocker, Iron Spider (Aaron Davis/Prowler), Calypso (ally) & Tinkerer (ally)
https://www.reportdoor.com/no-way-home-villain-was-almost-kraven/
What if…Spider-Man sought out Scarlet Witch for help: imagine both Sam Raimi and Jon Watts teaming up as they combine both “Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dr. Strange: in the Multiverse of Madness” into 1 big movie event because imagine what would’ve happened if Spider-Man sought out Scarlet Witch (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) for help (instead of Dr. Strange) to help make everything forget that about his secret identity (but in some manner fashion, Dr. Strange gets involved and even grants Spidey that gold and black costume from NWH, Picture: Bottom Right Corner)
Combining elements from both of these 2 films will be a good use of this unused No Way Home concept art (Picture: Bottom Center), where America Chavez was supposed to debut, but to the COVID-pandemic, her MCU debut was shifted to Multiverse of Madness, besides by combining both films into 1 big movie gives Wanda a chance to summon various “Spider-Man-themed villains”, like Carnage (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) from the Ultimate Marvel comics universe (Replacing that Ribboned Creature) and Donald Callahan/Squid (Picture: Bottom Right Corner, replacing Gargantos), as well as serve as the benefactor to a variant version of the “Sinister 6 (Dubbed: Multiversal 6)”, tasked in capturing America Chavez (who’s under the protection of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange), who later unite variant versions of Spider-Man from across the Spider-verse to combat the Scarlet Witch and the Multiversal 6 (meanwhile MJ and Ned Leeds become lost in the Multiverse, alongside Wong and Rintrah, before being rescued by their allies). How this event will change the events of No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness is anybody’s guess (I’ll let Jon Watts or Sam Raimi decide)...
(Click here to get an idea of if Spider-man did seek out the Scarlet Witch for Help)
The many variants of Spider-Man (start at the Top Left Corner and finish at the Bottom Right Corner), A Spider-Man who joined the Fantastic 4 (now dubbed: Fantastic Five), A Variant version of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man who kept the Alien Symbiote (Dubbed: Spider-Venom), A Variant version of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man who mutated into a Lizard, but still has his human mind intact (Dubbed: Spider-Lizard), Spider-Hulk, Spider-Cat, Spider-Wizard, Six-Armed Spider-Man, Mayday (May) Parker/Spider-Girl (who’s father is a variant version of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man) and a variant version of Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy who’s Spider-Gwen (for the record, Spider-Gwen sounds cooler than Ghost Spider)
Multiversal 6 Members: Green Gobin (2018s Into the Spider-verse), Doctor Octopus (Spectacular Spider-Man series), Hydro-Man (1994 Animated Spider-Man Series), Electro (2017 Animated Spider-Man Series), Vulture (Ultimate Spider-Man Animated Series), and Rhino (1967 Animated Spider-Man Series)
So who else wants to share there What if…Scenario-Based Stories (Based on either Marvel Zombie-related or Spider-man-related)
Until Then…Ethan Stranger says…Excelsior…and remember to always smile for those we’ve lost (and would some tell Jaime King’s Rose to smile for others, even in a zombie apocalypse)
Aurra Sing: He's speaking from experience.
(the theme of that scene was so sad, thus you can listen to it here)
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