Summary

The second season of What If…? has outshone other disappointing releases in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, earning high reviews and positive audience reception. Season 2 builds on the groundwork set in the first season, exploring new stories within an alternative Marvel universe and introducing the concept of The Watcher and the Guardians of the Multiverse. Due to COVID-related production delays, a Tony and Gamora-centric episode was pushed to Season 2, offering a prequel-like look at their friendship and setting up future storylines.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has not had the best year in 2023, but the franchise has ended on a high with the second season of What If…? After several disappointing releases, both in theaters and on Disney+, the return of the animated Marvel series has outshone all of them, even Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which was a shining beacon among the offerings of the franchise.

The first season of What If…? did a lot of groundwork in setting up the MCU’s future, both in terms of the introduction of multiverse characters such as Captain Carter and the possibilities of the multiverse to go in some unexpected directions. Now, season 2 has built on the concept of The Watcher and the Guardians of the Multiverse, jumping straight into new stories set within an alternative Marvel universe.

As the new season kicked off with a Nebula-centric episode, and new stories being released daily, it became quickly apparent that the series is off to a winning start, delivering the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of any MCU project this year with a 92% Tomatometer approval score. Audiences are fully on board with the series as well, with the initial reviews getting an 85% rating. After the year Marvel Studios has had, this will be a small but welcome bit of good news to end 2023.

Related: 10 Awesome Marvel What If… Comics That Could Influence Season 2 and Beyond

What If…? Season 2 Picks Up On Season 1 Set-Ups.
Marvel

Marvel Studios may not have put out many animated projects within the MCU, but it is hard to deny that what they have done put many live-action projects to shame. When it comes to continuing the story that began in season 1, writer A.C. Bradley recently told ComicBook.com that there were parts of the new season that were originally planned to be released early, but were delayed due to circumstances beyond the studio’s control. He said:

“What happened with the Gamora episode, there was originally supposed to be — early on in the season — a Tony and Gamora-centric episode. However, due to COVID and production delays, one of our amazing, amazing animation houses around the globe got hit pretty hard by the pandemic. And we were left with two choices: push the entire season to later this year, or push this one episode to Season 2. We made the choice to push that episode to Season 2, and hoped that seeing Gamora in the finale serves as a teaser for what is to come. In season two, it’ll almost be like a little bit of a prequel, we’ll see how Tony and Gamora became friends, because those two don’t even interact in the main MCU universe.”

Season 2 has certainly not been looking to simply return to well-known characters, and that has been proven in the new season with the introduction of Kahhori, an original Native hero, who was first seen in the season trailer. The episode “What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?” will debut on December 27, as episode 7 of the current season. You can catch up with the entire What If…? story so far on Disney+.