(CNN)"What If...?" mightiness beryllium the astir Marvel Comics happening that Marvel Studios has done, translating the what-might-have-happened-if comic-book conception from leafage to screen, with each its geekiness intact. The highly stylized animation and entree to cardinal actors enhances the fun, creating an highly logical Disney+ add-on to an progressively packed multi-verse.
The "What If...?" comic made its debut successful 1977, kicking disconnected with the question "What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four?" As it turned out, altering 1 cardinal infinitesimal successful past -- the Fantastic Four had so offered Spidey membership, and helium passed -- caused ripples ample and small. As unintended consequences go, the anthological format offered examples of the butterfly effect via caller stories each month, sometimes clever and others far-fetched.
Translating the tone of that thought to TV has been executed with meticulous care, and some feet profoundly rooted successful the Marvel movies successful presumption of storylines and the formed members who vocally reprise their roles. Of those, the astir wrenching and noteworthy is Chadwick Boseman, who recorded material arsenic T'Challa/Black Panther earlier his decease past year.
That episode, which weaves T'Challa into the Guardians of the Galaxy mythology, mightiness beryllium the astir out-there of the 3 previewed, but it nicely encapsulates the quality to instrumentality chaotic swings that play disconnected fans' passionateness for the movies.
Each communicative is introduced by the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), an omniscient narrator sworn not to intervene successful these twists of fate, who describes the multi-verse arsenic "a prism of endless possibilities."
In the first, Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) receives the super-soldier serum, becoming a smashing mentation of Captain America, lone draped successful the Union Jack alternatively of the stars and stripes. In another, idiosyncratic seeks to interfere with the Avengers Initiative, touching upon the astir cardinal gathering blocks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Running astir a half-hour, the episodes unfold with a large consciousness of economy. They're besides distinguished by the animation, placing the bid successful a fascinating in-between portion that approximates the live-action characters' look portion reveling successful the latitude the mean provides successful creating comic-book-like images popping disconnected the page.
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" delivered a sensation of what innovative animation techniques tin bash with this material, and "What If...?" appears to person gotten the memo. It's an particularly savvy mode of super-serving fans, successful a bundle that's colorful and fast-paced capable to entertain those who mightiness not get each notation oregon wrinkle successful time.
Marvel has already enjoyed sizeable occurrence mining its roster for Disney+, but successful a mode "What If...?" mightiness beryllium the shrewdest effort yet. With bid similar "Loki" oregon "WandaVision," the workplace needs to entice the actors to compression backmost into those costumes. Here, arsenic the Watcher notes, the possibilities are so endless.
"What If...?" premieres Aug. 11 connected Disney+.
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