The third episode of What If…? follows a huge week in Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) life. What was originally a week of Avengers recruitment has turned into a week from hell; with all the original Avengers being continuously hunted and targeted by an unknown serial killer and other threats on the horizon.
What If…?’s third episode may just be it’s best so far, something especially impressive considering its stellar outing last week. The premise here is bound to attract more attention than the previous episodes as well, with many fan favorite characters either appearing or ending up on the chopping block.
What’s even more impressive is how the episode juggles all the questions that come along with its central premise. Everything feels earned and makes sense, even in just a half-hour time frame. Starting off with big deaths is a gamble, but when the show has all the right cards, it might as well play them to the best of its ability; which it does in often glorious fashion.
This episode covers what has been referred to as “Fury’s Big Week,” which was a comic tie-in to the original Avengers film. That tie-in shows what Fury was up to during the chaotic week where the events of Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk and Thor were all taking place, but of course it’s now being flipped on its head. Tying into such a niche piece of the MCU for a big episode is a great idea and something they hopefully will continue to do.
The voice cast, while not having all of the original cast return for the episode, is great. Samuel L. Jackson kills it as Nick Fury, somehow maintaining his charisma and likeability despite the change in medium. Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Clark Gregg all do well in their respective roles, but they each have limited screen time. Other cast members, who I will not spoil, give great performances across the board.
Lake Bell fills in for Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, the results are mixed. Her voice doesn’t sound similar enough to make her performance feel like an impression, but her vocal inflections mostly hit the mark; it’s distracting, but not bad in the slightest. Johansson’s exclusion feels out of place given her front-and-center role in the episode, whether it’s due to the ongoing lawsuit between her and Disney is unknown, but that would certainly be the most-likely motive.
The animation is about as good as last week’s, still great, but with some cracks showing. The style is gorgeous and fittingly comic-booky, but the lip-syncing is occasionally spotty and some of the dialogue-heavy scenes look a bit stilted. All the highlights are in the action scenes, which is often the case with animated shows like this. They’re what get the most time and attention from animators, and for good reason: they’re what the audience wants to see most.
Even though the action scenes are the standouts here, this is a mostly action less episode. There are quick bursts here and there, but the majority of the action is in the final moments. This works because the plot is so engaging and is moving at a breakneck pace. Five days worth of events is covered within a half hour story, it’s jam-packed to say the least.
There’s no real negatives to this episode, aside from the missing original cast members, which the writers and showrunners probably didn't have much say over. The replacements they got work for the story they’re telling, for the most part, even if the new voices are occasionally distracting. Overall, the episode does a great job at telling its story and then making that story feel like it matters, even if it doesn’t directly tie-in to the main MCU’s continuity. This is what every episode should aim to do, though surely not every single one will hit this high mark.
