Marvel Comics‘ What If? series may have started in the late ‘70s, but it arguably didn’t really take off until the late ‘80s, as the ideas put on the page by Marvel Comics creatives started to push the boundaries in ways that they hadn’t before. These issues were darker, grittier, and imagined realities in which fan-favorite heroes didn’t act so heroic.
While it wasn’t all doom and gloom in the late ‘80s, it’s fair to say that the majority of it was, as most of the issues consisted of ideas like: ‘What would happen if a hero committed murder?’ or ‘What would happen if the villains won instead?’. These stories really shook up fans’ collective perception of iconic Marvel heroes, making them stand out from the issues that were released before and after. But now, in retrospect, only one question remains (aside from What If?): which one is the coolest reimagining of an iconic Marvel Comics moment? Here is every What If? story from the late ‘80s, ranked.
10 Frank Castle Can Never Escape His Destiny As The Punisher
What If? Vol. 2 #10 – “ What If The Punisher’s Family Hadn’t Been Killed?” by Doug Murray and Rik Levins
This What If? story reveals that, if his family hadn’t been killed right after Castle retired from the marines, Frank Castle would have become a New York City police officer. As a cop in this alternate reality, Castle was privy to rampant corruption, and sought to expose it. In response, the corrupt cops – led by the Police Chief – shot up Castle’s home, killing his entire family. So, Frank Castle gets his revenge on the corrupt officers of the NYPD by killing each and every one of them before committing himself to killing every corrupt and evil person he comes across as the Punisher.
This storyline proves that, no matter what, Frank Castle is always destined to lose his family and become the Punisher, as that is a destiny he simply cannot escape.
9 X-Men Prove To Be A Multiversal Inevitability, Even After Detrimental Loss
What If? Vol. 2 #9 – “What If The X-Men Died On Their First Mission?” by Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler
When the living mutant island Krakoa captured the original five X-Men, Charles Xavier recruited a new team of heroes to save them. This was shown in Giant-Size X-Men #1, a moment that changed the future of the X-Men forever – a future that was only made possible by the new X-Men’s victory over Krakoa. However, in this alternate What If? timeline, the X-Men die during their battle with Krakoa, leaving only Beast alive and Charles Xavier an empty shell of his former self.
Despite the tragedy, Beast ended up finding a new team of mutants that would carry on the X-Men name. The issue ends with the Watcher saying that, no matter what, the X-Men are always destined to carry on, which all but confirms the team’s multiversal inevitability.
8 Because Wonder Man Lived, The Avengers Were Doomed To Be Beaten By Vision
What If? Vol. 2 #5 – “What If The Vision Had Destroyed The Avengers” by Jim Valentino
Wonder Man was a villain created by the Masters of Evil who ended up sacrificing himself to save the Avengers in his debut issue. This act of heroism inspires Hank Pym to copy his brain patterns and insert them into the synthetic mind of the Vision upon building Ultron and the accompanying androids. Wonder Man’s brain patterns were why the Vision didn’t follow the commands of the villainous Ultron-5, and why the android ended up joining the Avengers instead. However, in this What If?, Wonder Man survived his debut issue and joined the Avengers full-time, which meant his brain patterns were never added to the Vision’s android mind. And so, when Vision was created, there was nothing that stopped him from being a villain, and he destroyed the Avengers as a result.
In the end, Vision killed Wonder Man, and his brain patterns were then copied into Vision’s mind subsequently, which redeemed Vision and set this skewed timeline on a course more similar to that of Earth-616.
7 Iron Man Accidentally Makes The World A Deadlier Place After Armor Wars
What If? Vol. 2 #8 – “What If Iron Man Lost The Armor Wars?” by Danny Fingeroth and Greg Capullo
The Armor Wars was an event that saw Iron Man’s technology in the hands of those who would use it to create weapons of mass destruction – even if those weapons were in the form of seemingly familiar Iron Man suits. The fallout was immense, and nearly got Iron Man kicked off the Avengers for life. However, Tony Stark was able to clean up his own mess and get his tech under control. But, that was in the original story, and the same cannot be said for this one. In this What If? storyline, Iron Man loses the ‘Armor Wars’ and never reclaims full control over his own tech again.
While the villains are still effectively defeated, Tony Stark’s designs and schematics are loose in the world, ready to be utilized by anyone – including and especially supervillains. This made Tony Stark unfit to serve on the Avengers, and he walked away from the superhero life entirely, leaving the world a more dangerous place because of his time as Iron Man, instead of a safer one.
6 Daredevil Gets A Shocking Successor By Killing The Kingpin
What If? Vol. 2 #2 – “What If Daredevil Killed The Kingpin?” by Danny Fingeroth and Greg Capullo
Rather than simply picking a fist-fight with the Kingpin during his Born Again days, Matt Murdock actually walked into Wilson Fisk’s penthouse and shot him in the head, using his sonar-accuracy to ensure the single shot was instantly fatal. However, this leaves Daredevil rife with guilt. He tried to turn himself in to the police, but no charge would stick, even with a confession. Then, Matt tried to make the Punisher punish him with a bullet to the brain, but Frank refused, and even gave Daredevil props for doing what he couldn’t. Then, Matt tried going to the Kingpin’s son, Richard, hoping that a full confession to him would result in violent justice being served. At that moment, however, the Hobgoblin attacked Richard Fisk, and Daredevil sacrificed himself to stop Hobgoblin and save the Kingpin’s son.
This chain of events led to Richard Fisk taking up the mantle of Daredevil himself, rejecting his father’s villainous legacy in pursuit of Daredevil’s heroic one.
5 By Refusing To Give Up His Mantle, Captain America Doomed His Legacy
What If? Vol. 2 #3 – “What If Steve Rogers Had Refused To Give Up Being Captain America?” by Jim Valentino and Dave Simons
When the time came in the main Marvel Comics continuity for Captain America to be reabsorbed by the U.S. military after years of acting as an autonomous superhero without oversight despite retaining the name ‘Captain America’, Steve Rogers originally agreed to let the moniker go rather than be controlled by the ever-changing policies that dictate the actions of elected officials. However, in this What If?, Captain America decided to keep the name without answering to a U.S. oversight committee.
In the end, Steve Rogers was assassinated, and John Walker became the new Captain America just like he would have if Rogers simply laid down the shield like he did in Earth-616. However, because Steve Rogers was dead, he couldn’t return to fight Walker once the new Captain America went bad, and reclaim his moniker. So, by refusing to give it up, Captain America doomed his own legacy.
4 Spider-Man Venomized Himself, Hulk, & Thor By NOT Removing The Black Suit
What If? Vol. 2 #4 – “What If The Alien Costume Had Possessed Spider-Man?” by Danny Fingeroth and Mark Bagley
Marvel Comics fans are well aware of how Spider-Man took home a symbiote following the events of Secret Wars, and how – once he discovered it was a sentient alien life form effectively feeding on his life-essence – he removed the suit, which then bonded to Eddie Brock. Well, this What If? imagines a world in which Spidey kept the black suit, and details the fallout that ensued. Unlike the symbiote’s relationship with Eddie Brock, which proved to be perfect symbiosis, the Venom symbiote only wanted to feed on Spider-Man until nearly all his lifeforce was gone. After failing to remove the symbiote, Peter Parker is reduced to an old man, as the symbiote literally drained his life. It then jumped from Spider-Man to the Hulk, draining the Jade Giant just like it did to Peter. Then, the symbiote possessed Thor, hoping to do the same thing.
In the end, the symbiote was destroyed before it stole Thor’s godly essence, though the greatest tragedy still remained. By not removing the black suit, Spider-Man was feasted upon by the Venom symbiote.
3 Wolverine Did More For Mutantkind As An Agent Of SHIELD Than An X-Men Member
What If? Vol. 2 #7 – “What If Wolverine Was An Agent Of SHIELD?” by Jim Valentino and Rob Liefeld
Wolverine made his Marvel Comics debut fighting the Hulk, which is something that sparked Professor X’s interest in him when Charles was recruiting new mutants to save the original X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1. However, before Chuck could put Wolverine on his team, Nick Fury and SHIELD saw Wolverine’s potential upon his battle with the Hulk, and promptly made him an Agent of SHIELD. Not only did Wolverine absolutely thrive as a super-spy, but he also made the world a better place for mutants with his influence.
Wolverine was Nick Fury’s successor as Director of SHIELD, and his influence kept anti-mutant political agendas from ever gaining traction. He shut down threats to mutantkind (like the Sentinel Program) on behalf of the X-Men with SHIELD resources, which ensured those threats did not resurface. Wolverine did more for mutantkind as an Agent of SHIELD than he ever did as a member of the X-Men.
2 X-Men’s Inferno Event Nearly Reset The Entire World
What If? Vol. 2 #6 – “What If The X-Men Lost Inferno?” by Danny Fingeroth and Ron Lim
During the iconic X-Men event Inferno, Madelyn Pryor and her horde of demons nearly destroyed the veil between Earth and Limbo, which would have allowed the demons to cross over and conquer the planet. While the X-Men were successful in stopping the sinister clone of Jean Grey in that storyline, this What If? shows readers a world in which they weren’t – and the fallout is just as horrific as one would expect. The demons Madelyn Pryor allowed to invade the Earth quickly took over, and the only way they were eventually defeated was by the Phoenix Force, which used its cosmic power to seemingly destroy the whole planet.
However, it’s revealed that the Phoenix didn’t destroy Earth, but instead threw it into a more primal age while expelling the demons from the world.
1 High Evolutionary Sparks A Universal Renewal Cycle
What If? Vol. 2 #1 – “What If The Avengers Had Lost The Evolutionary War?” by Roy Thomas and Ron Wilson
This What If? imagines a universe where the High Evolutionary defeated the Avengers when they fought in Avengers Annual #17. In that storyline, the High Evolutionary was trying to launch a bomb into the atmosphere that would have mutated everyone on Planet Earth. The High Evolutionary was beaten in the main Marvel Comics continuity, but here, he is victorious, and successfully sparks rapid evolution in every life form on Earth. The evolution humanity undergoes effectively turns them into cosmic gods (something which started with the mutants and superhumans, as they were already a step ahead of regular people). In response to this unnatural progression of human evolution and the fallout that was destined to occur across the universe, the abstract entities decided it was time for a universal renewal cycle.
With one seemingly innocuous victory, the High Evolutionary effectively destroyed the entire universe. And that is why this is Marvel Comics‘ all-time best What If? storyline from the 10 that were published in the late ‘80s!
