Bruce Banner confronts an undead version of The Avengers in a new clip from the upcoming fifth episode of Marvel animated series, What If…? Shared by Mark Ruffalo, who returns to voice the character for the Disney+ series, the clip picks up at the beginning of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War…but with a few differences.
If you’re still here, I hope you can keep a secret about tomorrow’s episode of #WhatIf… pic.twitter.com/AhuZ8xHACM
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 7, 2021
Much like in the movie, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian begin their invasion of Earth on the streets of New York, more specifically outside Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Santorum. And, much like the movie, Bruce Banner faces them down, attempting to unleash an uncooperative Hulk. This is where things begin to diverge, as a silhouetted Iron Man, Doctor Strange and Wong emerge from a portal and take down The Black Order…with brutal results.
While the savagery is obscured by dust and shadow (this show is also for kids after all) it’s pretty clear that The Avengers now have some rather unorthodox dietary requirements, as Tony Stark and the others devour the alien invaders before turning to face a shocked and confused Bruce Banner, with Stark revealing his now undead face.
The fifth episode of What If…? Will introduce audiences to a zombie-ravaged variant of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, taking inspiration from a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. Written by The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam, Marvel Zombies is set in an alternate universe where the world’s superhero population has been infected with a virus which turned them into zombies.
However, unlike the mindless zombies often seen on page and screen, and unfortunately for the inhabitants of the MCU, the Marvel Zombies maintain their personalities and powers, making them even more of a threat than the armies of the undead usually are, as demonstrated in this clip by Tony Stark’s continued use of the Iron Man armor. While they are still driven by a hunger for human flesh, the former superheroes often discuss their remorse for eating all the people they used to save.
What If…? is led by main character Uatu, known as The Watcher, voiced by The Batman star Jeffrey Wright. A member of the alien Watcher race who observe the multiverse but do not interfere, each episode of the series asks the deceptively simple question “what if?”, and explores alternate stories involving familiar Marvel characters, whose lives are greatly affected when one thing is changed.
The series has amassed quite the ensemble cast, with over fifty familiar names returning to reprise their respective MCU roles. These include Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, Evangeline Lilly as The Wasp, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and many, many more.
Created by A.C. Bradley, the first season of What If…? debuted its first episode on August 11, 2021 on Disney+ and will consist of nine episodes as part of Phase Four of the MCU. The fifth episode of What If…? is scheduled to premiere on Wednesday, September 8 on Disney+. A second nine-episode season is already in development. This comes to us courtesy of Mark Ruffalo’s official Twitter account.