What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as
What If...?, is the title of several
comic book series published by
Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters. Events in the series are considered separate from mainstream continuity in the
Marvel universe.
The stories in this initial, 47-issue series (Feb. 1977 - Oct. 1984) utilized the alien
Uatu the Watcher as
narrator. The observer of events transpiring on
Earth from his base on the
moon, Uatu, a member of an immortal race of "Watchers," is also able to observe what transpires in
alternate realities. The
What If stories usually began with Uatu briefly recapping a notable event in the mainstream Marvel Universe. He then indicated a particular
point of divergence in that event, and demonstrated what would have happened if events had taken a different course from then. The first
What If story, entitled "What if
Spider-Man Had Joined the
Fantastic Four?," presented an alternate version of events seen in
The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #1.
Some storylines involved individual characters choosing to take (or not to take) a particular action, when in "reality" they had made precisely the opposite decision. For example, a
Captain America storyline published circa 1980 saw the hero being offered the opportunity to run for
President of the United States as a third-party candidate. In the end, he declined the invitation. However, issue #26 of
What If ("What if Captain America became President?") showed him accepting the nomination, and ultimately winning the 1980 Presidential Election.
Due to their nature, stories presented in the
What If format were allowed to "break the rules" of the characters' respective series that kept the
status quo intact; major characters could be (and often were) killed off in the alternate realities, and many stories were based on the premise of a particular Marvel superhero, upon gaining/discovering his or her special abilities, choosing a life of crime instead. However, not all
What If stories were quite so serious in nature. Issue #11, for instance, speculated on what might have happened if members of the original Marvel Bullpen — specifically,
Stan Lee,
Jack Kirby,
Flo Steinberg, and
Sol Brodsky — had been given the powers and abilities of the Fantastic Four.
The series occassionally ran a backup feature, "Untold Tales From the Marvel Universe," depicting the development of some of Marvel's superhuman races such as the
Eternals and the
Inhumans.
Following the cancellation of the series, Marvel published a one-shot
What if? Special (June 1988) with the story "What if
Iron Man Had Been a Traitor?"
What If was revived for a 114-issue monthly series running July 1989 - Nov. 1998.
Originally the second series adopted the format of its predecessor, with Uatu serving as series narrator and providing the historical context. Eventually, however, he was phased out as the stories themselves began to take center stage, with no need for a framing device; Uatu's last appearance in this role was in issue #76. The second
What If series became notable for revisiting and revising ideas seen in earlier issues, often updating them for the times in the process. Additionally, stories could now span multiple issues (whereas before each "What If" had been self-contained), and sometimes multiple takes on the concept could be seen in the same issue, with at least one issue offering three possible endings to its story ("What If
War Machine Had Not Destroyed the
Living Laser?") and allowing the reader to decide for himself or herself which one "should" have happened.
By issue #87 the by then well-known convention of stating the actual point of divergence in the issue's title was dropped. Instead, each issue's cover was made to more closely resemble an issue from the actual series being featured, with only a
"What If..." logo denoting its "alternate universe" status.
In one of its last issues (#105),
What If introduced the character of
Spider-Girl. She proved popular enough to be spun off into her own series.
"What If" was revived again for six one-shot comics cover-dated February 2005. Although several followed the traditional style of narration by the Watcher, two titles written by
Brian Michael Bendis —
What if Karen Page Had Lived? and
What If Jessica Jones Had Joined the Avengers? — replaced the Watcher as host with a representation of himself. Also, another story showed a conversation between a comic shop customer and worker, where the customer posed the question, "What if
Aunt May had died instead of
Uncle Ben?"
A parody by Marvel,
Wha...Huh?! was published August 2005.
Another series of six one-shots was released cover-dated February 2006. , but these more closely resembled their
DC Comics equivalent,
Elseworlds. While traditionally,
What If...? posed a specific question and told a story based on a divergence from regular continuity via a different outcome of a specific event,
Elseworlds are usually simply new continuities that tell stories are alternate versions of estalished characters based around the different time period or location the story is set in (for example,
Superman: Red Son). All but one of these new
What If...? one-shots followed this approach, focusing on different time periods within the shared universe of
Earth-717 which first diverged during the feudal Japan era with the emergence of a
Daredevil hero known as
The Devil Who Dares. The stories go through other historical eras and heroes, including
Captain America battling "The White Skull" during the Civil War,
Wolverine fighting mobsters in 1920s Chicago (which was more than likely a continuation of the Wolverine Story Origins),
Sub-Mariner being raised by his father on the surface during
World War II,
Thor becoming a herald of
Galactus and a Russian version of
Fantastic Four known as The Ultimate Federalist Freedom Fighters being a part of the
Cold War. All of these stories are portrayed as historical documents from an alternate dimension discovered by a talented young hacker calling himself The Watcher.
It was recently announced at Wizard World Chicago that there will be a new
What If...? series, published at the end of 2006.
Marvel has given several
What If? stories official numerical designations as continuities within the
Marvel Comics Multiverse, differentiating them from the main
Marvel Universe of
Earth-616.
*
List of What If? issues*
Marvel Comics Multiverse*
Marvel Comics Universe*
AlternityWhat If Vol. 1, #1-47 (Feb. 1977 - Oct. 1984)
What If Special #1 (June 1988)
What If Vol. 2, #1-114 (July 1989 - Nov. 1998)
What If Vol. 3 (six #1 issues, Feb. 2005)
What If Vol. 4 (six #1 issues, Feb. 2006)
