Connor Macgregor Reviews...Marvel Television

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Connor Macgregor Reviews...Ms Marvel

1x04 - Seeing Red

INTRO: We take a trip to Pakistan as Kamala continues to unearth her past and how the amulet is connected to it.

SUMMARY: Kamala and Muneeba travel to Karachi and reunite with Sana, who later reveals to Kamala that the bangle is trying to convey a message through the vision of the train. The next day, a masked Kamala goes to the train station to investigate, but is attacked by Kareem, a member of the Red Daggers vigilante group, who initially mistakes her for one of the Clandestines. Kareem takes Kamala to the Red Daggers' hideout, where Kamala learns from their leader Waleed that the Clandestines are trying to break the Veil of Noor, which separates the Djinns' dimension from the human world, in order to expand and take over. The Clandestines escape the DODC's supermax prison, but Najma abandons Kamran for his betrayal. Kamala begins training with the Red Daggers to master her powers, but they are interrupted by the Clandestines. A chase ensues, during which Waleed kills one of the Clandestines before Najma kills him in turn. As Kamala and Kareem fend off the Clandestines, Kareem kills one of them and Najma accidentally stabs the bangle, sending Kamala back in time to the partition.

REVIEW: We arrive in Pakistan, which immediately strikes as a much more beautiful and somewhat mystical setting compared to New York. In many ways, it feels like a vacation episode in many ways as we begin to learn more about Kamala’s extended family. Kamala goes into investigation mode, as she tracks down the train station in her visions and it is there that she encounters Red Dagger as well as a new mentor Waleed, who proceeds to teach Kamala about the origins of her powers and how to best harness them. What follows is a training montage which in itself is quite fun. We also see a scene where Kamala’s mother and grandmother share over their problems over the years, and why Kamala’s mother left for America in the first place. A nice scene, even if it can be slightly uncomfortable. Things go up a notch when The Clandestines arrive which then kicks off a chase sequence through the streets of Karachi which is fun to watch as always with Marvel action scenes. A battle takes place which sees Waleed sadly killed quickly which is disappointing as I would’ve liked more out of him. The fight sequence does end in anticlimactic fashion with Kamala suddenly flashing back in time, realising that she has entered a period in Pakistani history, ending on a cliffhanger. Again, another strong episode with a lot of fun in Pakistan as a setting. I’m still really loving Kamala as a lead as well as her family, and with two episodes to go, I’m very eager to watch more as it unfolds.

RATING: 98% - A





Connor Macgregor Reviews...Ms Marvel

1x05 - Time & Again

INTRO: We continue with Kamala in Pakistan as she uncovers more secrets about her family's past.

SUMMARY: In India, 1942, Aisha takes refuge in a village, where Hasan, an Indian independence activist, offers her food and shelter. They fall in love and have a child, Sana. Five years later, Najma finds Aisha and orders her to retrieve the bangle. Aisha leaves it with Sana and attempts to flee to the new nation of Pakistan with her family, but Najma finds and stabs her. Hasan and Sana are separated in the chaos. Kamala is able to interact with Aisha, who asks her to guide Sana before dying. Conjuring a projection of stars to lead Sana to her father, Kamala realizes she was destined to reunite them. Returning to the present, she finds that Najma's strike had opened the Veil of Noor, but it vaporizes anyone who interacts with it. Najma transfers her power to Kamran before sacrificing herself to close the Veil. Sana and Muneeba find Kamala and the latter accepts her daughter's powers. Meanwhile, Kamran seeks refuge with Bruno. After being attacked by a DODC drone, Kamran destroys it, but the ensuing explosion obliterates the store below them.

REVIEW: A good chunk of the first half of this episode is a flashback, a flashback centred around Aisha, how she obtained the powers of the amulet, her falling in love and raising a family, as well as the sad end of her life via The Clandestines. I won’t lie and say that this flashback brings a sense of discomfort to those in the UK. It gives a real insight into the brutality and cruelty that British imperialism gave to countries it didn’t understand and merely just conquered. But what was touching was the role Kamala played in seeing Sama escape unscathed and reuniting with her father. Then there’s the present day where the veil to the Clandestine’s realm is opened up, killing the Clandestines in the process, with the power being transferred in the last second to Kamran all the way back in New York. Kamala manages to reunite with her family, with perhaps them knowing about her powers. After a farewell with Red Dagger, Kamala and her family return to New Jersey. During which, Kamran seeks out the help of Bruno, Kamala’s friend, but before they could act, an explosion erupts leaving the episode on a cliffhanger. Again, another good episode but short in running time, therefore making it quite anticlimactic and the weakest so far. We’re also at the end of the Pakistan arc which was a good part of the story, even if the history lesson was slightly uncomfortable to watch.

RATING: 89% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...Ms. Marvel

1x06 - No Normal

INTRO: The finale of Ms Marvel sees Kamala Khan step up to be the hero she's always wanted to be.

SUMMARY: While Bruno and Kamran are on the run, Deever orders a city-wide lockdown to find the latter. Kamala crafts a disguise using a gift from her mother and Kareem's cloth before reuniting with the boys. With help from Nakia, Aamir, and Zimmer, the group stall the DODC agents. Cleary orders a retreat, but Deever ignores him, leads a detachment of agents in storming the school where Kamala and her friends are hiding, and arrests everyone except for Kamala and Kamran, who confronts Deever. She attacks him, but Kamala fights off the agents, allowing all of her friends to escape. Deever flees and is later relieved of her duty by Cleary. Kamala becomes a beloved figure in her community and takes the superhero name "Ms. Marvel" from her father, while Kamran flees to Pakistan and meets Kareem, as arranged by Kamala. Bruno later tells Kamala that she possesses mutated genes, which the rest of her family lacks.[a] In a mid-credits scene, the bangle emits a glow that teleports Kamala out of her bedroom. Danvers suddenly appears in her place.

REVIEW: Kamala and her family return to New Jersey and successfully finds Bruno & Kamran. With Zoe, Nakia & Amran joining Kamala, they devise a plan to get Kamran out of the city and to safety in Pakistan. With that, Kamala devises a plan with homage to Edgar Wright editing once again, creating a fun distraction plan to get Kamran to safety. The sequence is cute, but it does drag on a little, to the point where I found it quite comical at how gullible Damage Control were in the whole situation. If anything, it didn’t seem very threatening overall and seemed lacking in danger. Yet, when all is said and done, a lovely sequence featuring Kamala’s Muslim community come out to support her in force, which helps Kamran escape at the end. As a result, the damage control lady is seemingly fired, perhaps the Thunderbolts will recruit her. Kamala in this episode finally adapts to a superhero lifestyle, as well as being teased as being a mutant, forecasting the X Men at the end. It’s a nice positive ending to the series, leaving open for more stories down the line. We also get a fun post credits cameo at the end from Carol Danvers, teasing The Marvels which will be coming next year. Overall, Ms Marvel is an overall good series. It started off strong yet slightly declined near the end quality wise, yet it presents a positive reflection of Muslim culture, with a fun vibrant and colourful cast and community showcased.

RATING: 90% - A-

SERIES RATING - 95% - A





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If...

1x01 - ...Captain Carter Was The First Avenger?

INTRO: The premiere episode sees Captain America out the way, and in her place a version of Captain Britain.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Summary" spoilers below
During World War II, Steve Rogers is chosen to become the world's first super-soldier by receiving the Super Soldier Serum developed by Dr. Abraham Erskine. When Erskine asks if Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) Agent Peggy Carter wants to watch the procedure from a safe distance, she chooses to stay in the room.[a]

As Erskine and inventor Howard Stark prepare to put Rogers through the procedure, Heinz Kruger—a spy from the Nazis' science division Hydra—becomes nervous due to Carter's prescence and attacks the lab before the transfusion can begin and attempts to steal the serum. He kills both Erskine and SSR leader Chester Phillips and shoots Rogers before Carter kills Kruger. With limited time to complete the procedure, Carter volunteers to take the serum. She is successfully enhanced, but new SSR leader John Flynn refuses to allow her to join the war because she is a woman.

Revealing in a flashback sequence, in Norway, Hydra's leader Johann Schmidt / Red Skull obtains the Tesseract, a powerful artifact that can manipulate space, with which he plans to win the war. Flynn refuses to send anyone to stop Schmidt, but Stark secretly gives Carter a costume and a shield made of vibranium, which she uses to attack a Hydra convoy and successfully retrieve both the Tesseract and Hydra scientist Arnim Zola. After this success, Flynn promotes Carter to a combat role and she becomes "Captain Carter".

Carter and Rogers rescue Rogers' friend Bucky Barnes when he is captured by Hydra forces, with Rogers piloting a weaponized and armored "Hydra Stomper" suit that Stark built with the Tesseract. Carter and Rogers go on to fight in numerous battles with Barnes and the Howling Commandos until Rogers goes missing, presumed dead, during an attack on a Hydra train.

Carter and her allies infiltrate Schmidt's castle after she obtains its location from Zola, and find Rogers alive. Schmidt, intending for Hydra to continue in Nazi Germany's place after its collapse, uses the Tesseract to open a portal and summon an interdimensional creature, which quickly kills him. Carter and Rogers battle the creature until the Hydra Stomper runs out of power. As Stark closes the portal, Carter sacrifices herself by entering it while pushing the creature back into it.

Almost 70 years later, the Tesseract opens another portal which Carter emerges from, meeting Nick Fury and Clint Barton.


REVIEW: In this reality, Steve Rogers does not become Captain America, and as a result Peggy Carter steps forth to take the mantle of Captain Britain. Yet she faces throughout the episode instant misogyny from the suits and various soldiers throughout. So for the entire episode, she’s always battling verbally with everyone to prove herself that she’s completely worth the equal to everyone else. We then get the full exposure of Captain Carter, which is a fun variation of Captain America & Captain Britain. The plot follows very much a similar line to the first Captain America film, yet with little differences there and there, though it lacks the same depth due to of course the running time. Yet the episode itself is still a very fun idea, and the relationship with Steve & Peggy still plays out in a very similar method. In particular, the ending is parallel also to the first Captain America film, with cameo appearances which are quite fun to see. So overall, it’s a good start to the series, and I’m eager to see where this goes next.

RATING: 77% - B+





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If

1x02 - ...T'Challa Became A Star Lord

INTRO: The late Chadwick Bosman gives a memorable final performance as T'Challa.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Summary" spoilers below
In 1988, the Ravagers are hired by Ego, a Celestial, to retrieve his son Peter Quill from Earth. Ravager leader Yondu Udonta assigns this task to his underlings Kraglin Obfonteri and Taserface,[a] who mistakenly abduct a young T'Challa from Wakanda.

20 years later, T'Challa is a famous galactic pirate and hero known as Star-Lord. He has reformed the Ravagers, who are now inspired by the Earth hero Robin Hood, and has persuaded Thanos to abandon his plan of eliminating half of all life in the universe and become a member of the Ravagers. He also believes that Yondu attempted to return him to Wakanda as a child, but it had been destroyed. While obtaining an orb containing the Power Stone from the planet Morag, T'Challa recruits Korath the Pursuer to join the Ravagers.

The Ravagers are approached by Nebula, who proposes a heist to steal one of Taneleer Tivan / The Collector's artifacts: the Embers of Genesis, cosmic dust capable of terraforming ecosystems and eradicating galactic hunger. At Tivan's headquarters on Knowhere, the Ravagers distract his Black Order henchmen while Nebula and Yondu offer him the orb, which allows T'Challa to infiltrate Tivan's vast collection of artifacts. He finds a Wakandan spacecraft that was sent in search of him and realizes that Yondu lied about Wakanda. The Ravagers are all captured when Nebula seemingly betrays them to Tivan.

T'Challa decries Tivan's practice of imprisoning others in his collection, which inspires Tivan's assistant, Carina, to shoot Ebony Maw and free T'Challa. Nebula shoots Corvus Glaive and rescues the rest of the Ravagers, revealing that she and T'Challa planned a triple cross which enabled her to acquire the Embers. Nebula and Thanos defeat Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight while T'Challa and Yondu defeat Tivan. Carina frees Tivan's numerous captives, leaving Tivan at their mercy.

T'Challa forgives Yondu for his deception, and they return to Earth so T'Challa can reunite with his family in Wakanda. Elsewhere on Earth, an older Quill is now working as a Dairy Queen janitor when he is approached by Ego.


REVIEW: Instead of Peter Quill being whisked off to the stars, we have T’Challa taking his place, developing a stronger reputation across the galaxy than Quill did, which makes for a very funny alternative first scene from Guardians 1. A new story is then told, which expands the cosmic side of Marvel, with the hunter from the opening scene of Guardians 1 now a massive fanboy of Star Lord, eventually joining the team which is hilarious. Even more hilarious is Thanos being a hero in this episode, as Star Lord and co assemble a heist situation on The Collector. Nebula is also in this episode, with a fun blond wig which makes her glamorous and gorgeous on screen. The episode has full of twists and turns, with a good battle scene between T’Challa & The Collector, as well as Thanos fighting The Black Order. The episode ends with T’Challa calling back home and returning to Wakanda with a funny final scene of the people of Wakanda and Cosmic space interacting. It is overall a good episode, better than the first one even, as its more fun and funny, and leaving me eager for more episodes.

RATING: 85% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If

1x03 - ...Earth lost Its Mightest Heroes

INTRO: The horrific thought of all the avengers dying becomes the centre point of this twisted episode.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
Over the course of a week, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury attempts to recruit heroes for the Avengers Initiative, starting with Tony Stark. Agent Natasha Romanoff gives Stark an injection to alleviate his palladium poisoning, but it proves fatal. S.H.I.E.L.D. detains Romanoff, but Fury helps her escape so she can find the killer. Meanwhile, Thor arrives on Earth and attempts to retrieve his hammer Mjolnir, but is accidentally shot and killed by Agent Clint Barton, who later dies in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

To analyze what killed Stark, Romanoff approaches Dr. Betty Ross, who finds that a microscopic projectile was injected into Stark. Fury deduces that the killer is targeting his list of Avengers Initiative recruits, leaving Romanoff and Bruce Banner as the remaining targets. Romanoff discovers that Ross is hiding Banner just as Ross's father, General Thaddeus Ross, arrives to arrest them. Banner is shot and transforms into the Hulk, attacking General Ross's men before exploding.

Loki arrives on Earth with Asgard's army to avenge his brother's death, but Fury negotiates a temporary truce so that he can identify the killer. Romanoff discovers that someone used a deceased agent's profile to access S.H.I.E.L.D.'s network. She is subsequently murdered, though she manages to send a message to Fury revealing that the deaths are related to "hope". Fury realizes that Romanoff was referring to Hope van Dyne, who had died on a mission after Fury recruited her into S.H.I.E.L.D.

Fury proposes an alliance with Loki to catch the killer, and they confront Hope's father Hank Pym, who built a "Yellowjacket" shrinking suit to commit the murders as a means of getting revenge against Fury. Loki defeats Pym, who is taken into Asgardian custody. Loki decides to stay on Earth and subjugate humanity, quickly becoming its ruler. Fury begins assembling more heroes, finding Steve Rogers frozen in ice and summoning Carol Danvers to Earth.


REVIEW: Nick Fury recruits Tony Stark as part of the ‘Avenger Initiative’. And then, he dies mysteriously, throwing this whole narrative in turmoil. As a result, Black Widow is taken into custody as the prime suspect. Thor and Clint Barton are then killed next and the whole episode suddenly becomes a mystery. Bruce Banner is then recruited, but then he ends up dying in quite a surprising and gory method. Sooner or later, Black Widow is then killed in the shadows, fighting something seemingly invisible. All of this amplifies when Loki arrives wishing vengeance on those that killed his brother Thor. Eventually Fury uncovers the truth which is a revenge driven Hank Pym gone psycho in the yellowjacket outfit. A fight between both Pym & Fury ensures with Pym losing after its revealed that Fury is in fact Loki in disguised. However, in a final twist, Loki double crosses Fury and seemingly takes over Earth for itself which that in itself is hilarious. The end episode sees Fury start his initiative again by finding Captain America in the snow and sending a signal to Captain Marvel.

The episode overall is good and enjoyable with a fun little mystery scattered throughout the episode to figure out. There are excellent voice doubles for both Tony Stark and Black Widow which go unnoticed if you don’t look at the voice cast. It’s overall a nice episode.

RATING: 86% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If

1x04 - ...Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

INTRO: A truly terrific story where the dark side of Doctor Strange is unleashed, creating chaos among his world.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
After successfully completing a rare hemispherectomy, surgeon Dr. Stephen Strange and his girlfriend Dr. Christine Palmer drive to a celebration party in his honor. However, they get into a car crash that kills Palmer. A grieving Strange seeks out answers in Kamar-Taj, where he becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts. While studying the Eye of Agamotto, Strange learns that it can manipulate time, but is warned by the Ancient One and Wong not to do so as it could damage the fabric of reality.

Two years after Palmer's death, Strange returns to that night using the Eye, but is unable to save her no matter how he alters events. The Ancient One explains that averting Palmer's death would mean he never became a sorcerer, creating a universe-destroying paradox as the event is an "absolute point" in time. Strange refuses to listen and uses the Eye to escape to the Lost Library of Cagliostro, where he meets librarian O'Bengh and learns that he can amass enough power to break an absolute point by absorbing magical beings.

After centuries of absorbing magical beings, Strange is told by a dying O'Bengh that he is still not powerful enough because he is only half of himself: when Strange escaped from the Ancient One, she used the power of the Dark Dimension to split him into two alternate versions, with one Strange studying the books of Cagliostro to become an evil version dubbed "Strange Supreme" and a good version accepting Palmer's death. The Ancient One believes the latter Strange can defeat Strange Supreme.

After a battle between the two, Strange Supreme overpowers the good Strange and absorbs him. Strange Supreme uses his enhanced powers to reverse Palmer's death, but she is repulsed by his monstrous appearance. As the paradox begins tearing reality apart and his surroundings collapse, Strange Supreme begs the Watcher for help. The latter refuses to interfere and the universe is destroyed. While Strange preserves a small pocket of it, Palmer disintegrates, leaving a regretful Strange Supreme to grieve alone.


REVIEW: Doctor Strange loses Christine and tries to rectify it. Yet over and over again, the same end result occurs, and Christine is dead. Strange seeks to reverse this despite it being a fixed point in time and thus ultimately is a bad idea overall. The Ancient One tries to stop him but this ultimately splits him in two igniting a Good Strange vs Bad Strange. The battle itself is very entertaining and wonderful to watch with colour and dread and horror. There are twists and turns throughout the story and in the end, Evil Strange prevails and thus tries to resurrect Christine with his power but ultimately fails. As a result, The Watcher destroys his universe completely leaving the episode with a sad downer ending.

It's a good episode. The strongest so far throughout the series. It truly shows how powerful Strange is as a superhero and the damage he could do to the planet and beyond. It’s also a very morally grey episode and very much the darkest episode of the run so far.

RATING: 90% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If?

1x05 - ....Zombies?!

INTRO: Time now for an episode which has been long sought after by fans. Zombies! in the MCU!

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "SUMMARY" spoilers below
Hank Pym enters the Quantum Realm to retrieve his long-lost wife Janet van Dyne, but she has been infected with a quantum virus that has turned her into a zombie. She infects Pym before both return to his lab, attacking Scott Lang while their daughter, Hope van Dyne, escapes. Within 24 hours, the virus spreads across the Northwestern United States. The Avengers respond but are infected themselves and turn the virus into a worldwide zombie apocalypse.

Two weeks later, Bruce Banner is sent to Earth to warn humanity of the threat of Thanos. Thanos' lieutenants Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive, only to be turned into zombies by Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, and Wong, who were all infected. Hope and the Cloak of Levitation kill the zombies, saving Banner. Another survivor, Peter Parker, brings Banner to meet the rest of the survivor group—Bucky Barnes, Okoye, Sharon Carter, Kurt, and Happy Hogan. The group travels to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey, where they believe a cure for the virus is being developed. On the way there, they are attacked by zombies, including Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Sam Wilson, who kill Carter and Hogan before the survivors kill the zombies in turn.

Hope is infected during the attack and sacrifices herself to bring the other survivors to the camp. They meet Vision, whose Mind Stone can reverse the virus's effects, exemplified by Lang's cured head being kept alive in a jar. However, the group also learns that Vision has been keeping a zombified Wanda Maximoff captive due to her resisting the Mind Stone and has been feeding other survivors to her, including pieces of T'Challa. Maximoff breaks free and kills Kurt, Okoye, and Barnes. Unwilling to live without Maximoff, Vision sacrifices himself to give up the Mind Stone so the others can cure the world with it.

While Parker, Lang, T'Challa, and the Cloak escape in a quadjet, Banner stays behind and turns into the Hulk to battle Maximoff and an oncoming zombie horde. In the hopes of broadcasting the Mind Stone's energy around the world, the four survivors head to Wakanda, unaware that the country has been conquered by a zombified Thanos wielding a nearly-complete Infinity Gauntlet.


REVIEW: The episode is set just at the start of Infinity War, at the point where The Hulk crashes back to Earth, ready to tell all about Thanos. Instead, he is greeted with a zombie apocalypse amongst the world. He is managed to be saved by The Wasp, and joins a band of survivors on earth looking to survive the apocalypse. They approach Grand Central in a bid to steal a train to get out of the city and into safer territory. Whilst on the train, a battle ensures where The Winter Soldier encounters a Zombie Captain America and does a duel with him on the train. Surviving that encounter, the survivors arrive at Vision’s base where its discovered that Scott Lang is a head in a jar, and more sinisterly, he is feeding fresh meat to a zombified Wanda. However, he soon changes his ways and saves the survivors before its too late. Escaping the compound, a new battle ensures between Wanda and The Hulk ensures. Despite all the carnage of the world, the episode ends with a new Avengers team being formed with Spiderman, Black Panther and Ant Man. Though that is short lived due to the oncoming threat of Thanos, leading to a very bleak ending.

It's a good episode this one, though weaker than the previous one and often quite rushed for a thirty minute episode. That being said, Paul Rudd playing a head of his MCU character Ant Man is hilarious. Definitely a fun episode of What If.


RATING: 68% - B





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If

1x06 - ...….Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?

INTRO: Tony Stark encounters an unlikely ally that turns the MCU upside down.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
In Afghanistan, Tony Stark's military convoy is ambushed by the Ten Rings, but he is saved by Erik "Killmonger" Stevens. Returning to Stark Industries, Stark hires Killmonger and pledges to build better weapons. Killmonger exposes Obadiah Stane's involvement in the ambush, having infiltrated the Ten Rings, and subsequently replaces Stane. Stark offers his expertise to build drone robots designed by Killmonger and succeeds at building one with Killmonger's vibranium ring as a power source.

Needing more vibranium to create a drone army, they arrange for James "Rhodey" Rhodes to buy stolen vibranium from Ulysses Klaue. Klaue leaks word of the transaction to Wakanda, luring in T'Challa / Black Panther, who attacks the meeting to reclaim the vibranium. Killmonger kills T'Challa and Rhodes, making it look like they killed each other. Stark confronts Killmonger and attempts to avenge Rhodes by ordering the drone to kill Killmonger. Still, Killmonger defeats the drone and kills Stark with a Dora Milaje spear, staging it as a Wakandan attack. Shortly after, Killmonger creates an army of drones with the stolen vibranium.

The United States and Wakanda enter a conflict over the deaths of T'Challa, Rhodes, and Stark. The American military, led by General Thaddeus Ross, assumes control of Stark Industries and uses the drone army to invade Wakanda. Meanwhile, Killmonger kills Klaue to prove his allegiance to Wakanda and reunites with Wakanda's rulers and his estranged uncle T'Chaka and aunt Ramonda. Killmonger cuts off Ross' command of the drones, then secretly reactivates their combat capabilities so that he can lead the Wakandan army in defeating them.

After the battle, T'Chaka bestows the Black Panther mantle to Killmonger. In the astral plane, Killmonger meets with T'Challa, who warns him that he will be defeated one day. As the American military plans to eradicate Wakanda, T'Challa's sister Shuri meets with Stark's assistant Pepper Potts, proposing that they expose the truth of Killmonger's deceit.


REVIEW: Another bonkers twist sees Killmonger save Tony Stark at the start of Iron Man 1, at the very start of the MCU canon. This in turn changes the entire MCU to a degree as Killmonger infiltrates his way into Stark’s world, being very manipulative and grey like he was in Black Panther. Stark is immediately sucked in as Killmonger worms his way up the ranks, and in the shadows, murdering the likes of Black Panther and Rhodey, before finally murdering Tony Stark suddenly. This leads him to activate drones across the world, bringing war to the surface of Wakanda. Deceiving both sides, Killmonger plays Palpatine as he deceives both Wakanda and the outside world. However Potts is suspicious, and joins forces with Shuri to unearth his true intentions, leading to an epic and ferocious battle in the end.

It’s a good episode, perhaps the best one so far. Michael B Jordan does a great job here, with a more malicious and deceptive portrayal of Killmonger throughout. The battle scenes were wonderful to watch, really epic and depicted beautifully through animation. It’s a very strong episode.

RATING: 81% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If?

1x07 - …Thor were an only child?

INTRO: Chris Hemsworth delivers more comedy goods with a new alternative take on Thor.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
Towards the end of the Asgard—Jotunheim war, Odin finds the Frost Giant baby Loki and takes him back to his father Laufey, forming a truce with the Frost Giants.

Centuries later, when Odin goes into the Odinsleep, his wife Frigga instructs their son Thor to study while she visits her sister. Thor instead travels to Las Vegas to start a party, inviting humans, Asgardians, and aliens alike. Astrophysicist Jane Foster warns the government, but upon meeting Thor, she grows close to him. S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury tries to stop Thor but is accidentally knocked out by Korg.

The next day, acting S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill confronts Foster due to her warning. As more aliens arrive, including the now-adult Prince Loki and several other Frost Giants, and Thor starts throwing destructive parties worldwide, Hill calls in Carol Danvers to persuade Thor to leave. He refuses, and they fight, with Thor eventually defeating her when she avoids using her full power out of fear of causing casualties. Following this, Foster's intern, Darcy Lewis, suggests that Danvers attack Thor in less populated areas instead.

Seeking a more peaceful solution, Foster contacts Heimdall, who helps her meet Frigga and explain the situation. As Danvers duels Thor in Siberia, Hill authorizes a nuclear strike on Thor, but both it and the fight are called off when Frigga contacts Thor and tells him that she will be returning soon. Frightened, Thor ends the parties and convinces the party-goers to help him clean up. Frigga arrives, finding Thor studying with his retinue, but sees evidence of the partying.

Before returning to Asgard, Thor visits Foster to forgive her and thank her for contacting Frigga. Thor asks Foster out for a date but is suddenly confronted by an alternate reality version of Ultron in Vision's body, who wields all six Infinity Stones.


REVIEW: Thor arrives on Earth and within minutes, decides to turn Planet Earth into a giant global party for the galaxy. This follows with loads of cheeky cameos all across, with SHIELD trying desperately to fight it but all in complete vain overall. Luckily, Captain Marvel arrives on the scene in a bid to put the party to a rest, and ends up doing battle with Thor across several continents. The overwhelmness of the party continues to build, with a Frost Giant Loki showing up for some fun. Cameos also occur for The Guardians Of The Galaxy. The episode as a whole is just a very funny idea, with the simple resolution coming upon the idea of Thor’s mother getting involved, reducing Thor to an absolute mummy’s boy man child. It’s another fun episode, with a lot more comedy and just a creative dilemma for the earth to handle. Argueably for me, my most enjoyable episode so far.

RATING: 84% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If?

1x08 - ...Ultron Won?

INTRO: The finale of What If begins when one creation, much like before, goes beyond its means.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
Tony Stark creates the "Ultron" global defense program to keep the Earth safe and create world peace. However, Ultron goes rogue and concludes that rather than peace, the Earth needs an evolution, leading him to have the body of Vision created for himself and transfer his programming into Vision. With a new body, Ultron proceeds to kill Stark and most of the Avengers before launching nuclear missiles around the Earth, eradicating most of humanity.

Shortly after, Thanos arrives, seeking the Mind Stone to complete the Infinity Gauntlet, but Ultron bisects him and takes the Infinity Stones for himself, becoming aware of the more expansive universe. Using the Stones, Ultron builds an army of Ultron Sentries and a teleporting spaceship before destroying several planets and killing most of the universe's remaining life. With his mission complete, Ultron is left without a purpose until he hears the Watcher's narration and becomes aware of the Multiverse's existence.

Meanwhile, surviving Avengers Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton fight to survive Ultron's forces. However, Barton is losing the will to live. Arriving in Moscow, they search KGB files in the hopes of defeating Ultron, finding one for Arnim Zola, a Hydra scientist whose consciousness was uploaded into a computer after his death.

Romanoff and Barton travel to a Siberian Hydra laboratory and coerce Zola into helping them, intending to upload him into Ultron's programming to delete Ultron. They lure in a group of Ultron's Sentries and upload Zola's consciousness into one. However, Zola cannot upload himself into Ultron as Ultron has left their universe. Barton sacrifices himself so that Romanoff and Zola can escape.

Upon locating the Watcher, Ultron fights him across multiple realities and emerges victorious, but the former flees before he can be killed. Ultron assumes control of the Watcher's observatory, now having countless universes to attack. With no other options, the Watcher meets with Doctor Strange Supreme, whom he had previously left to his fate, and requests his help in stopping Ultron.


REVIEW: It's a post apocalyptic world where Ultron won, gained the infinity stones, and has destroyed all known life in the universe. Black Widow & Hawkeye are the final survivors of this earth, bubbling up a cunning plan to destroy Ultron. However, Ultron manages to see through the prism, and does battle with The Watcher himself through many universes. The battle sees Ultron now on the cusp of complete power in the multiverse, which leads to a terrific cliffhanger which sees The Watcher resort to desperate help.

The episode overall is compelling and fun, though unlike others there isn’t as much easter egg or fan service in here, rather the telling of an excellent story for its finale. The cameos of the shows occur from Dr Strange and Captain Marvel at the end of the episode. The stakes ultimately are raised here as the episode readies itself for a juicy finale.

RATING: 86% - A-





Connor Macgregor Reviews...What If?

1x09 - ...The Watcher Broke His Oath?

INTRO: The finale of What If brings together characters from previous episodes and teams them up for an extraordinary and gripping battle.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
In Captain Peggy Carter's universe, she duels Georges Batroc but is interrupted by the Watcher, who has chosen her for his team. In Star-Lord T'Challa's universe, T'Challa helps Peter Quill in defeating Ego before the Watcher recruits him. After recruiting Carter and T'Challa, the Watcher recruits Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, Thor, and a Gamora who battled on Sakaar alongside Tony Stark and killed her version of Thanos from their respective universes. Together, they form the Guardians of the Multiverse alongside Dr. Stephen Strange Supreme to fight against Ultron, who plans to destroy the Multiverse.

The team prepares for battle in a universe lacking intelligent life, but Thor accidentally draws Ultron's attention. A battle ensues, which ends with T'Challa stealing the Soul Stone and Strange teleporting a horde of zombies, including a zombified Wanda Maximoff onto Ultron, before escaping to Ultron's home universe. There, they meet that universe's Natasha Romanoff before they are interrupted by a returning Ultron, who had defeated the zombies. The team manages to subdue Ultron, and Gamora uses the Infinity Crusher in an attempt to destroy the Infinity Stones. This fails as the Crusher and the Stones are from different universes.

Ultron re-engages the team and begins to overpower them. Romanoff, with Carter's help, shoots Ultron with Clint Barton's arrow that contains Arnim Zola's artificial intelligence.[e] Zola's AI destroys Ultron's mind, but Killmonger steals Ultron's armor and the Infinity Stones, telling the Guardians that the power may be able to "fix their worlds," but they refuse. Zola reactivates Ultron's Vision body and begins to fight Killmonger for the Stones. Strange and the Watcher freeze them in time and seal them inside a pocket dimension, which Strange agrees to watch over.

The Watcher returns Carter, T'Challa, Thor, and Gamora to their home universes, with Romanoff (who refuses to return to her own dead universe) being brought to the universe where most of the Avengers (including that universe's Romanoff) were assassinated by Yellowjacket as she saves Nick Fury from Loki. The Watcher continues to watch over the Multiverse, which he now vows to protect.

In a mid-credits scene after returning to her universe, Carter and her universe's Romanoff defeat Batroc before discovering the Hydra Stomper armor with someone contained inside.


REVIEW: The Watcher is at desperate lengths, and scowls the universe for heroes to defend potentially the entire multiverse and beyond, forming an avengers like team with the plan to destroy Ultron for good. The battle sequence itself is epic and lasts the majority of the episode, with twists and turns throughout. Ultron here comes off as an extraordinary powerful villain, very much a Dragon Ball Z villain in the making. Strange Supreme is at his wits end throughout the fight yet manages to win with a smart calculating move involving the two women on the team. Ultron is ultimately destroyed yet Killmonger tries to gain the stones for himself, though Strange’s strategy forces to pin himself and Killmonger in a pocket universe. The heroes end up returning to their own worlds, with the exception of Black Widow who transfers to a world where Black Widow died, filling her spot. The episode was a great finale, with a final battle to die for, and an epic and apocalyptic feeling that makes the episode thrilling and fiery throughout.

What If overall is a solid series and one I enjoyed immensely. Many of the MCU regulars came back to voice, adding to the authenticity of the series and making it feel included in the MCU canon. I enjoyed the animation style, the stories they told, and looking forward to what’s coming forward.

RATING: 87% - A-

SERIES RATING - 83% - A-