Phase 4 Movies Ruined The MCU’s First Real Multiverse Story

Phase 4 of the MCU undermined the impact of its first multiverse story by bringing parts of What If…? to live-action. The multiversal animation was exciting precisely because it offered a wild look at stories and character twists that fans simply wouldn’t be able to see in the mainline MCU canon. The fact that some of them have since become a reality in Marvel movies is robbed the show of its magic.

Seeing Thanos as a redeemed good guy, T’Challa as Star-Lord, and Ultron’s quest for the Infinity Stones were real Elseworlds stories. What If…? may have been criticized for not answering Butterfly Effect questions exploring only close variations of the MCU’s timeline events, but its lack of canonical importance made it an easier watch. It did not come with the usual MCU homework requirement, and it meant the show could embrace the wilder side of Marvel stories.

Related: Why Some People Were Bothered By Marvel’s What If Animation Style

Sadly, what made What…? season 1 so exciting – that sense of magic in the “impossible” stories  – has been undone by some of the characters and ideas making their way into live-action canon. As a result, What If…?‘s biggest selling point has been unfortunately cheapened. Phase 4 movies have already featured two major crossovers from What If…? with Captain Carter’s return and a Sinister Doctor Strange appearing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and both cameos were fairly lackluster. In retrospect, their appearances in What If…? simply don’t matter as much now.

Why The Live-Action Multiverse Hurt What If…?

When MCU movies start incorporating elements of What If…? it cheapens the scope of the show, because the show is supposed to present these impossible stories. What If…? was supposed to cater to fan fiction and speculation, removed from the rules and restrictions of live-action MCU. It also really didn’t help that the movie versions of events like Captain Carter or Sinister Doctor Strange were inferior to What If…?‘s versions, with so little background to them that they felt like empty stunts.

The MCU should avoid any future overlap between What If…? and the live-action MCU movies and shows. Even with the Multiverse Saga coming and the promise of more timeline shenanigans in future Marvel movies, it is important that What If…? season ‘s wilder stories aren’t then undermined by live-action versions following suit. After all, if it’s possible in the mainline MCU, it should not be wild enough for What If…?