We pile out of Loki with a new multiverse unfolding all around the MCU. The implications are not clear (although the final post credits scene of WandaVision gives us a hint) but Loki leaves the MCU radically altered.

What If? comes on the heels of that change and, although based solidly on the eponymous comics series, this is also tied very closely to the MCU and the differences therein.

So what better place to start an exploration of the multiverse and what might be going on ‘out there’ than with a retread of Captain America: The First Avenger – which chronologically speaking (and setting aside the impact of Isaiah Bradley) is the earliest of the Avengers.

The episode asks What If instead of Steve Rogers becoming Captain America, a small, simple decision ends with Peggy Carter becoming the super soldier Steve was selected to be.

A rehash of that movie, we get in half an hour, the contents of the entire film delivered at breakneck speed with all the fluff excised. It could have been delivered as a montage but somehow the show manages to serve up a coherent story with its own emotional beats while still seeing the newly christened Captain Carter follow the same arc as Steve Rogers.

The nods to existing timeline are legion – from punching a bag off its hook to the scene with the train and Bucky falling off the side. I particularly laughed at a Where Eagles Dare joke and a lovely little Raiders of the Lost Ark visual reference.

The animation style of full blooded, a 2.5D computer animated approach which is gorgeous to see, with lovely popping colours and an aesthetic that gives people emotional, open faces. It reminded me of some of the styles used in Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots series.

My only gripe is I didn’t feel they quite nailed Carter’s physicality. I loved that they made her bigger, gave her muscles and most of the time she looked brilliant but occasionally there’d be a shot where her upper body appeared to be made entirely of bust or strangely thick (rather than thicc). It’s a minor quibble because by making Peggy larger because of the serum and leaving Steve (who still gets a decent billing in this version of the story) a ninety pound weakling we’re given a delicious reversal of the usual muscly man and tiny, malnourished woman and they lean into it brilliantly.

So far so good. Yet I found myself wishing for something more. This was just Captain America with enough changes to explain it being Captain Carter instead. The bigger shifts come in trying to keep Steve in the story which kind of de-centres her and is unfortunate. I can understand why they did it, but I would have preferred to have her story told in a way which didn’t need to give Steve his own superhero moment. I may just be wanting something the show didn’t want to give but like I say, somehow in a show about Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers still managed to be all over it in that way men do when women try to take centre stage – which is a bit of a shame.

The voice acting is brilliant with many of the original cast of First Avenger returning for the show including Toby Jones as Zola and Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter. Ross Marquand also does a decent enough job channelling Hugo Weaving chewing the scenery. I also thought Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark was brilliantly played – it’s not a given that a person who is a good physical actor can do good voice work.

There’s a star turn from Bradley Whitford who brings a hugely disingenuous and sexist general to the table and is, perhaps, the biggest villain in the episode, stealing every scene he’s in.

This is a solid start to the series. I would have liked it if they’d been a little more out there with their creative choices, but the action was kinetic, exciting and the story thrilling. It if leaned a little too much on stories we already knew I can forgive it that although if you don’t really remember First Avenger I can understand if a lot of this episode felt rushed or messy to you.

One final note – the Watcher. In the prologue to the episode he mentions ‘this new multiverse’ which places this firmly on the heels of the end of Loki. It also suggests the Watcher has his own story to tell and I think we will definitely see more of that as the series unfolds.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.

Rating? 8 tentacles out of 10

Stewart Hotston