‘What If…? – Season 2’ Episode One Recap: “What If…Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the first episode of What If…? – Season 2.

It’s safe to say the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t had its best year, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels both flopping at the box office and Secret Invasion receiving their worst reviews yet. I won’t lie and say I have been mostly disappointed at their offerings this year, minus Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, and Loki – Season 2, which were spectacular. 

But onwards and upwards, right? Hopefully, their next few projects will be worthwhile. In the meantime, here’s What If…? – Season 2, which picks up after the first season’s events left off with The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) observing more stories in an ever-expanding Multiverse. One episode will be released every day from December 22 to December 30, marking a new approach in how some Disney+ shows will be distributed, while next month’s Echo will be released in a binge format. 

Its first episode, What If…Nebula Joined the Nova Corps? imagines a world where Nebula (Karen Gillan) didn’t grow up to be the daughter of Thanos and was plucked by the Nova Corps to become an officer of Xandar. In that world, Ronan the Accuser killed Thanos before Avengers: Infinity War, with Nova Prime (Julianne Grossman, replacing Glenn Close) sealing off Xandar to protect itself from a Ronan invasion. 

One day, Nebula finds the body of Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker) and investigates his death. She frees Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) from prison and enlists his help to break into a mainframe that Yondu was looking into. However, Yon-Rogg [predictably] double crosses Nebula, who is in cahoots with Nova Prime, who plans to open the gate to allow Ronan to invade Xandar. 

Nebula then teams up with Howard the Duck (Seth Green), Korg (Taika Waititi), and Groot (Fred Tatasciore) to take them down, and the rest of the episode is a relatively conventional space opera with splashes of Blade Runner as a primary inspiration. I’ll admit to not being a fan of the first season of What If…?, but I seem to be in the minority with this, as it was praised by most critics when it was released and was nominated for several awards. 

However, the first episode of What If…? –  Season 2 is already better than most of the stuff in the first season. The animation, in particular, is a massive improvement over the lifeless environment of season one. There’s more movement in the frame, the edges around the characters, and the environments feel more detailed than what looked like a rushed and unfinished product in season one. In that regard, the action scenes feel more tactile and kinetic, whereas the first season had some neat flourishes that didn’t feel as polished as they should be. 

The voice cast also improved their skills more than in the first season. While the soundalikes are known to do a good job in animation work, Marvel wants as many original actors as possible to reprise their roles in the animated shows. While that’s a laudable approach, many seem to approach their voices like they do, from live-action to animation, which garnered mixed results in the first season. However, Gillan and Rooker are particularly effective here, with Wright bringing the same deep-voiced energy he did in the first season (and the second season of I Am Groot) as The Watcher. 

Time will tell if the stories of this season will merge into a crossover event like the first, but the season is off to a good start. The good thing about season two is that we won’t have to wait long for episodes, as one will come out tomorrow until the 30th. In the meantime, stay tuned at Awards Radar for more recaps like these as the season progresses!

The first episode of What If…? – Season 2 is now available to stream on Disney+.