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Marvel’s What If…?- Season 1 Episode 4 Review

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What If…?  is the latest Marvel Studios project to arrive on our small screens on Disney +.

The animated anthology series, created by Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia writer A.C. Bradley and Marvel vet Bryan Andrews flips the script on the MCU as following the creation of the multiverse in Loki’s first season finale, What If…? reimagines famous events from the films in unexpected ways.

With each episode centred around different characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, What If…? has truly told each of the stories within different genres beginning with Captain Carter set in WWII, then a space heist with T’Challa’s Star-Lord, and last week an Avengers murder mystery with a shocking twist. 



Episode four takes my favourite Bleecker Street sorcerer, Dr. Stephen Strange and sees his origin retold and reshaped in this alternate universe. The Watcher is carefully keeping an eye on Strange as although a tiny bit different, Doctor Strange’s origin story from the 2016 movie is still here. The Nexus point aka The What If…? moment is that Christine and strange never parted ways. So this means instead of Strange going to his award ceremony alone on that tragic night, Christine was with him and unfortunately now in that car crash. 

This episode does a brilliant job of showing us the circumstances that would end up making Dr. Stephen Strange a much darker sorcerer in this alternate timeline. It truly was an emotional rollercoaster and definitely gives us hints on what we can hopefully expect In The Multiverse of Madness. 

©Marvel

This episode is the most human one yet. The lessons episode four tell is that love can truly break more than just your heart , it can shatter your mind. Its a relentless heartbreaking story of love, grief and shows a fine line between devotion and delusion. 

“We have watched how one moment, one choice, can ripple across space and time, giving birth to new stories, heroes, whole universes. But what if it’s the wrong choice? What if the best of intentions has very strange consequences?”

The watcher

What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

Synopsis

A grief-stricken Doctor Strange uses the Eye of Agamotto in a dangerous effort to change the past.

Review

The core of this what If…? episode takes place after the events of Doctor Strange with Stephen using the Eye of Agamotto in a desperate attempt to save the love of his life, Christine. He becomes consumed with finding a spell that can bring her back to life. 

A montage then occurs as Strange uses the time stone by changing realities and to save Christine. Unfortunately no matter how many times he goes through the loop, Christine dies no matter what he does, this is truly heartbreaking.

©Marvel

This episode also features the returned MCU actors who lend their voices to their titular character. 

Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong and Tilda Swinton. The latter as the Ancient One who warns Strange about the laws of time travel and establishing that moments like these must happen and cannot be changed. So if Stephen did save Christine he would never find the mystic arts, never defeat Dormamu and ultimately Strange would never become the Sorcerer Supreme. 

Strange however refuses to give up and instead finds a way to defeat the laws of the universe.

Without spoiling any more, this episode perfectly represents the type of stories What If…? should continue with. It adds tons of depth and dimension to the character which ultimately is talking plenty of risks. We realise how far the manipulation of time can go, It shows just like Wanda that Stephen is so powerful that he too can alter the reality around him. Both Wanda and Strange have done this in order to safe the life of or preserve a love one. 

Episode 4 is definitely my favourite of the series so far.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem | Teaser Trailer – Paramount Pictures

The Turtle brothers as they work to earn the love of New York City while facing down an army of mutants.

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Genre:

Animation, Action, Adventure

Release Date:

August 4, 2023

Director:

Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears

Cast:

Paul Rudd, Giancarlo Esposito, Rose Byrne

Plot Summary:

The Turtle brothers as they work to earn the love of New York City while facing down an army of mutants.

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Animation

Netflix to Team with Legendary Entertainment for Live-Action Feature of ‘My Hero Academia’

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Netflix seems to be in on almost everything anime or manga-related including live-action iterations for some of the more popular franchises. First, having made a Death Note film back in 2017, followed by a live-action Cowboy Bebop series before pivoting to focus on the One Piece and Avatar the Last Airbender series, it seems that they are taking another swing on a big anime property for their streaming service.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix will team with Legendary Entertainment, best known for their monsterverse films centering on Godzilla and King Kong on a live-action feature film based on the popular manga, My Hero Academia. Joby Harold (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Army of the Dead) will write the script as Shinsuke Sato (Alice in Borderland, I Am a Hero) will make his English-language debut as director for the film. My Hero Academia debuted in 2014 and has quickly ascended into one of the more popular manga titles before gaining attention and turning to anime where its currently in its fifth season. 

Legendary boarded the property all the way back in 2018 aiming to create a live-action movie and will aim to generate a wide-scale audience by teaming with Netflix. My Hero Academia revolves around a world in which 80 percent of people have a power called “quirks.” Lead character, Izuku Midoriya, or Deku, is a superhero fanboy who happens to be a part of that unfortunate 20 percent without powers and is discouraged. However, after meeting the legendary hero, All Might, he sets on a path to become the ultimate hero himself.

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DC and Warner Bros. Discovery on Cusp of Animation Deal with Amazon

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There has been much anticipation in waiting to see the unveiling of the structure of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the new heads of DC for Warner Bros. News came just this week from Gunn that the comic book flagship money maker for Warner Bros. that he and Safran are aiming to make everything cohesive within their vision connecting movies, television, video games and animation throughout the universe. However, a new report from Deadline sees that they may be looking at a new (or additional) streaming home for animated content surrounding their heroes and villains.

In an article originally reported from Deadline, Channing Dungey, the Chairwoman of Warner Bros. Television, has alluded to “closing a big deal” with Amazon featuring DC branded content in animation on their streaming platform, Amazon Prime Video. Though she also explained that HBO Max will be the “first stop” for all things DC, it’s interesting to note a deal such as this potentially going through with a company and competitor as big as Amazon, no less.

While it’s hard to imagine any major DC characters synonymous with the brand such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman or Green Lantern getting animated foray onto Prime Video, it begs the question, could we see Amazon as a pipeline to popularity for some lesser-known characters getting introduced to a larger audience? There is so much potential and richness of characters within the DC landscape that have yet to be introduced through live-action or animation so this seems like a risk that might be worth taking, especially considering the financial troubles that Warner Bros. Discovery has been reported to have. 

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