I was torn on whether to include What If? on this site. I vowed to read every Marvel comic published before 2000, as long as the story took place in the main (616) Marvel Universe.
Clearly, What If? tells alternate reality tales. But the stories are all told by Uatu, who views them from the vantage point of the blue area of the Moon in the 616 universe. And since the issues all have framing sequences showing The Watcher telling the story, the storytelling technically takes place in the 616–even if the stories don’t.
Plus, some of them are wickedly good fun.
And more than that, a lot of them actually ended up coming true in the 616!
Take issue #1 of this fan-favorite series, for example: What If Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?
Totally ended up happening. Not the way it was described in What If? #1, but still, it did happen.
Issue #1 also established the trope, borrowed from The Twilight Zone, that all What If? stories had to have a tragic ending. In this one, Spider-Man joining the team inadvertently causes Invisible Girl to run off with Sub Mariner. Here we see Spidey taking it personally and going on another of his patented guilt trips…
Issue #2 was titled, “What If The Hulk Had the Brain of Bruce Banner?” That’s happened at least a half-dozen times! In fact, sometimes it’s hard to tell whether the Hulk you’re reading about does or doesn’t have Banner’s brain. Mark Waid used the concept to great effect–to give Hulk armor and a steady job at SHIELD.
In Uatu’s version, the irony is that he helps Reed cure Thing but, following an improbable series of events, Thing ends up being the Hulk of this alternate world.
Remember: All What If? issues have to end in tragedy.
It’s a cute story. I’m going to enjoy reviewing these.
Note: Only The Watcher gets tagged as an appearing character because the rest are all non-616.
Issue #2 also has the first letter page for the series. Love the banner!
And it’s got a letter by Mark Gruenwald, who becomes a writer for Marvel known for deep dives into continuity and canon–and his letter shows these tendencies.
Art by Jim Craig (#1) and Herb Trimpe (#2).