What If? (1×05) What If… Zombies?! Review

For our review of the last episode of What If?, click here.

For those waiting for What If? to take big swings when it comes to storytelling, this latest episode may very well be what they are looking for as it brings an interesting premise involving zombies to the table. Though not without its moments, the premise felt like more than could be contained within a single 30+ minute episode which made for a rushed experience with an unsatisfying ending.

Taking place during the time of Infinity War, this episode saw Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) get beamed back down to an Earth he did not immediately recognize because it became infested with zombies and the Avengers, at least most of them, were not immune. Rooting the outbreak with the story of Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) who survived after her father inadvertently brought back the virus from the Quantum Realm while trying to save who he discovered to be an infected Janet Van Dyne. This was probably the weakest part of the episode but it was also easy to overlook.

If anything, the episode featured some interesting character combinations out of who was left (at least at the time). The big plan of the survivors is to find a cure which would be easier said than done considering what they had to contend with. When it came to the zombies here, they somewhat posed a threat, especially the zombie Avengers who still had their powers and/or abilities in spite of their new state. This made for some interesting encounters as far as the episode was concerned. Meanwhile, taking place in an alternate universe allowed the episode to take some liberties as far as it handled its characters with a surprising amount of violence (though it can only go so far because of the rating and the platform).

That being said, the episode did feature some exciting action sequences that saw the survivors deal with zombies of the Avenger and non-Avenger variety. This also led to some interesting interactions while it also saw the remaining team rally around their need to survive the zombie apocalypse similar to how the Avengers rallied together during the events of Infinity War. Taking a few twists and turns along the way, the episode felt rushed before ending with a whimper which will surely disappoint a lot of viewers.

The best part of the episode was its voice acting from the likes of Ruffalo and Lily but also Chadwick Boseman who makes another appearance as T’Challa and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man who stole many scenes with his comedic timing.

I need this episode to be its own animated MCU spinoff film.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.