In the mid-2000s, a young Robert Kirkman was beginning to emerge after creating one of the great collections of this century: ‘The Living Dead’. At that time Mark Millar had in mind a kind of crossover in which the Ultimate Fantastic Four encountered a parallel Earth inhabited by the undead. From Marvel they saw the great opportunity to expand that and from aThere came the magnificent ‘Marvel Zombies’.
Fifteen years after its publication, this concept reaches the MCU through the fifth episode of ‘What if?’ that with a simple “what would happen if there were zombies” puts us fully into work.
By the way, from here spoilers for episode 1×05
I walked with a zombie
The introductory point of the episode is seen through the Hulk, landing on Earth after, which we assume, is the version of this universe of ‘Thor: Ragnarok’. Landing through the skylight of Strange’s mansion, everything is deserted both inside and out and a powerless Bruce Banner runs headlong into Thanos and Corvus.
The Avengers come to the rescue … but it seems like Tony Stark and company don’t seem like usual. After the discovery that they are zombies and the pertinent rescue by Hope Van Dyne and her team of heroes (with Spiderman, Bucky, Sharon Carter …), the Vigilante tells us how the world has been zombified, with Janet Van Dyne patient zero.
Intertwining ideas
A couple of thoughts that come to mind with this episode. The first is that it is the second time Hank Pym has something to do with the premise. Of course, instead of being the executioner aware of the death of the Avengers, this time his responsibility is to have served as a bridge for the virus after finding his zombie wife in the quantumverse. By the way, in the comic it is Pym who scores a “Vision”, which brings us to the next point.
The second thought is that we have a kind of mirror with ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’. The revelation that Wanda is infected and that Vision is doing everything he can to not end the love of his life, which includes feeding him Black Panther. That not letting go of the loved one and doing everything possible for it seems the common theme of the couple.
The MCU version of ‘Marvel Zombies’ loses in comparison, of course. The comic is Kirkman in his prime and Matthew Chauncey is not overly inspired. Still, it is curious to see this mix of Marvel style with the terror inherent in the zombie genre.
Although I think the dialogues (and the jokes) they are not quite in tune with the episode, we must admit that we have a good fiction that, above all, provides a good dose of fun and action with this banal fight for the survival of the human species.
Slightly brighter than the previous episode, this fifth installment of ‘What if …?’ has in being encapsulated in half an hour its greatest against. A good adventure, paced and showing some of the gloomier spots from Marvel.