Round Two: What If…?

What If…? Season 1, Episode 2 “What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?” (B+)

I’m not sure whether this show is inspired by ideas that have been previously posited or merely just concepts they think audiences will find exciting. While I missed a few Marvel movies, namely “Captain America: Civil War” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” I have seen both “Guardians of the Galaxy” films and “Black Panther,” so theoretically that should have given me all the context I needed for this episode. T’Challa did seem to be quite amenable to his situation and managed to be a friendlier version of Star-Lord, one who shared a real connection with Yondu. I liked that Nebula was more of a hero from the outset here, and that her relationship with Thanos was considerably better, one that may have needed therapy rather than horrific mistreatment and torture. Hearing Thanos try to defend his worldview as not being genocide because it’s random and efficient to Okoye was entertaining, and I like that major characters like that made only minor appearances rather than being overly emphasized when they’re not as central to this particular story. It was fun to be able to hear recognizable voices like Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, and Josh Brolin, while a few, like Chris Pratt’s, were absent, which wasn’t a problem. Most of all, it was nice to have the late Chadwick Boseman back even just briefly as the voice of this very likeable hero who was just as endearing in a different costume and a different identity than we’re accustomed to seeing him wear in the MCU.