What If…? Episode 3 Review

by Fanboy SEO · August 25, 2021

Here’s my What If…? Episode 3 Review which is now airing on Disney+ and features the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston and more!

Before we proceed, let me just raise my SPOILER ALERT for this review.

spoiler alert photo

This episode is a “What If” focusing on the MCU special titled “Fury’s Big Week” which was a special comic book series all the way back in Marvel Studios’ Phase 1.

That being said, that was a critical lynchpin for all the things that has happened leading up to 2012’s Avengers movie directed by Joss Whedon and starring the initial ensemble cast of Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk. The limited series also tied in directly with films like “Iron Man 2”, “Thor” and “Incredible Hulk”.

So what happened here is that there were some differences that totally changed the story from what we know and love. The whole episode for What If…? episode 3 plays like a “whodunit” running parallel with how “Fury’s Big Week” played out. Fury not only has to solve the murders of the various candidates for his “Avengers Initiative” but also get ready for any and all threats that he’s been paranoid about especially after all he’s been through in the “Captain Marvel” movie.

Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Michael Douglas, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Jeremy Renner and more show up to reprise their MCU roles although we don’t have RDJ here. But that’s OK because he’s barely in it. The main focus really is Nick Fury. If anything, What If…? episode 3 paints a clear picture that whatever happens, Fury will always have a plan and will never waver with his belief.

At the same time, he’s willing to make uncomfortable deals to follow through on the mission; like the time he partnered up with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to find Thor’s murderer.

ScarJo’s voice is sorely missed here especially with her current situation with Disney and Marvel but hearing other actors play their part albeit in animated form sure was lovely.

Missed Hawkeye and hearing Renner reprise his role makes me all excited for Hawkeye also starring Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. If there’s one gripe, the animated version doesn’t do justice to Renner’s mug.

As for the surprise villain for this episode, turns out this is what happens to Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym when his loved ones fall in the line of duty. He snaps and shows how deadly the Ant-Man and the Pym Particles can be when used right (or wrong). Douglas also does incredible voicework here.

So that’s another interesting bit that the What If series tries to explore.

Honestly speaking, this was the weakest episode among the three episodes that are already streaming on Disney+. Sure it looks cool and there were a lot of concepts that are great for exploration but it doesn’t have the oomph that we needed compared to last episode which was stellar in execution and narrative.

I liked the Avengers movie and I liked Fury’s Big Day and how it all tied it up nicely but throwing an episode towards that makes it feel less compelling. What was the series trying to say in this episode?

I guess it all comes down to taste.

That tease at the end with Fury upgrading and calling in the “Captains” sure had a big promise and once again shows one flaw with the series; sometimes it shows fans something that they really wanted to see more rather than what we’ve been through in the last 30 or so minutes. I’d rather see an MCU Avengers team with Steve Rogers and Carol Danvers in it but that may never happen…

If there’s anything cool from this week’s episode, its that Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury will always be the top spy and the top agent for the MCU no matter what time or dimension it may be even if he’s just running a resistance against Asgardian forces for with two superheroes in tow.