It’s been only a year since the release of Marvel’s What If Season 2 but Marvel’s What If Season 3 arrives in what has been a game-changing year for Marvel Animation following the release of the phenomenal first season of X-Men 97 (check out our glowing review here). This is set to be the final season of the animated anthology series. Is the third and final season of What If worth watching? Read on to find out.

Still Limited By The MCU

After the first two seasons, Marvel’s What If Season 3 feels like the most unconnected and self-contained standalone season so far. It’s less of a continuation or sequel to the first two seasons, so it finally feels like an actual anthology series anymore. For an anthology series to be classified as an anthology, each season usually features different storylines that aren’t connected to each other. Thankfully, this season doesn’t overuse certain characters (cough Captain Carter cough) and gives other MCU characters more focus, especially those who were introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest phases, such as Agatha Harkness, Shang-Chi, the Eternals and others.

Unfortunately, most of the episodes in Marvel’s What If Season 3 are still predictable and play it too safe. The potential of the series is still very much limited by only adapting from or riffing on the MCU. This series could be so much more if it’s not limited by the MCU. It limits the scope and potential of the series, and with the MCU dangerously close to crumbling due to increasing superhero fatigue, Marvel’s What If Season 3 could have done a lot more to make itself stand out and be more unique.

The team behind What If should have learnt from X-Men 97. The reason why that series was so well-received and beloved earlier this year was more than just nostalgia, it embraced the old and the new, as well as actually adapting the comics and source material while providing its own unique takes at the same time that keeps the series feeling refreshing and exciting with every new episode. That should have been what the What If series should have done from the beginning instead of merely riffing on what we’ve already seen in the MCU.

It’s also funny because it’s clear that the folks at Marvel Animation know all that about X-Men 97, which is why, firstly, this is the final season of What If, and secondly, the reason why they were so adamant about promoting that a Mjolnir-wielding Storm would be the biggest highlight of Marvel’s What If Season 3 in all the trailers. And they were right, the best episodes in Marvel’s What If Season 3 are the final two episodes when we finally get Storm and a more serialized climax.

The rest of the episodes are just standalone and self-contained episodes, including a mecha Avengers episode, an Old Hollywood episode, a cowboy western-themed episode and other similarly uninspired bland concepts. The Children Of The Atom and the mutants were the injection spark that the MCU required all along; both X-Men 97 and Deadpool & Wolverine are proof of this. It’s high time that Marvel Studios grows beyond the MCU, even the Multiverse feels small when you’re just deriving on what’s already been established.

(L-R): The Executioner (Darin De Paul), The Eminence (Jason Isaacs), and The Incarnate (DC Douglas) in a scene from Marvel Animation Television’s WHAT IF…? Season 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

The Mutant Spark

Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) iMarvel Animation’s WHAT IF…? SEASON 3, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

My biggest issue with Marvel’s What If Season 3 remains the same as it was with the first two seasons. It’s disappointing that the series is still limited and restricted to spinning off from events in the MCU. The comics are there for a reason, none of the episodes here are as creative as they could have been.

I’m glad that this is the final season of Marvel’s What If. The future of Marvel Animation lies with shows like X-Men 97, which aren’t tied and limited to the scope of the MCU.

I remember one of the Watcher’s lines, which is ironic and somewhat apt to this day;

“What’s the point of revisiting the story when there are infinite stories to be told?”

FINAL SCORE: 50/100

We received an early access screener of Marvel’s What If Season e courtesy of Disney+ Hoststar Malaysia. The first episode is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia, with new episodes debuting every day until 29 December 2023 for a total of 8 episodes.