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What If? The Complete Collection #2
What If? Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
Classic tales of boundless imagination from the Marvel Multiverse! Uatu the Watcher asks some of the biggest "What if?" questions of all - beginning with: What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today?! Join Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos - in space! Consider the possibilities if someone else had become Nova! And find out what would have happened if Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel had remained villains! Stephen Strange becomes a disciple of Dormammu, Spider-Man stops the burglar before Uncle Ben is killed, and the Avengers fight the Kree/Skrull War without Rick Jones! But can you visualize a world where Susan Storm marries Namor, the Sub-Mariner? Or one where Doctor Doom becomes a hero? Plus, what if the Hulk's girlfriend Jarella didn't die - and what if the radioactive spider bit Aunt May?! COLLECTING: WHAT IF? (1977) 13-15, 17-23
376 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2019
12 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Donald F. Glut
237 books50 followersDONALD F. GLUT has been professionally active in both the entertainment and publishing industries since 1966.
Born in Pecos, Texas, Don grew up in Chicago, IL. At age nine, already bitten by the film-making “bug,” he made Diplodocus at Large, the first of 41 amateur movies featuring dinosaurs, human monsters (Frankenstein’s Monster, Teenage Werewolf, etc.) and superheroes (Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc.) Some of these films made during the late 1960s (e.g., Spy Smasher vs. the Purple Monster) were eventually shown in theatres and on TV.
Moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, Don professionally entered show business as an “extra” (a POW) in the movie Von Ryan’s Express (1965), the first of several such “roles.” He began his professional writing career in 1966, writing articles for and finally editing the magazine Modern Monsters. In 1967, after graduating from the University of Southern California with a BA degree (for Cinema) in Letters, Arts and Sciences, Don worked as a musician, singer and songwriter in The Penny Arkade, a rock band produced by “Monkee” Michael Nesmith. Shortly after that he briefly furthered his acting career, having a speaking role in a national television commercial starring Dick Clark.
However, most of Don’s professional life has been as a freelance writer. To date he has authored numerous motion picture and television scripts (Shazam!, Land of the Lost, and animation, e.g., Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Transformers, G.I.Joe, Duck Tales, Jonny Quest, X-Men, others), comic-book scripts (Captain America, Tarzan, etc., including creating for Gold Key Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor and Tragg and the Sky Gods), more than 35 novels and nonfiction books, also numerous short stories, articles, songs, album-liner notes, etc. The Dinosaur Dictionary (1972) and Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia (1997), two of Don’s many non-fiction books about dinosaurs, both were listed by the American Library Association among the best reference books of their years of publication. With The Dinosaur Dictionary Don created the much-imitated book format based upon an alphabetical listing of dinosaur names. Perhaps Don is best known for his novelization of the movie The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the nation’s No. 1 bestseller for almost two months, which to date (still in print) has sold over 3.5 million copies. In 1982 he created characters and back story for Mattel’s “Masters of the Universe” toy line. Among his more recent books is Chomper, an entry in the popular “Dinotopia” series.
Don produced, wrote and directed various videos (including the documentaries Dinosaur Movies and Hollywood Goes Ape! and the music-video compilation Dinosaur Tracks®), theatre and movie projects. He has worked as a consultant on numerous other video, film and TV projects, and was “Dinosaur Consultant” on Roger Corman’s movie Carnosaur (1993).
In 1990, Don and Pete Von Sholly founded Fossil Records, which has already produced a half dozen albums. These include Dinosaur Tracks®, More Dinosaur Tracks® and Dinosaur Tracks® Again, featuring paleontology-related rock music written mostly by Don (Dinodon Music/BMI), performed by Don and Pete (as the Iridium Band).
More recently, Don became president of Frontline Entertainment (www.frontlinefilms.com), for which he wrote, directed and co-produced the comedy/fantasy motion picture Dinosaur Valley Girls™, which has already achieved “cult movie” status, and Before La Brea, a documentary commissioned by the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries in Los Angeles. In 2000, he was commissioned by Irena Belle Productions to direct the movie The Vampire Hunters Club, featuring an all-star genre cast.
Born in Pecos, Texas, Don grew up in Chicago, IL. At age nine, already bitten by the film-making “bug,” he made Diplodocus at Large, the first of 41 amateur movies featuring dinosaurs, human monsters (Frankenstein’s Monster, Teenage Werewolf, etc.) and superheroes (Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc.) Some of these films made during the late 1960s (e.g., Spy Smasher vs. the Purple Monster) were eventually shown in theatres and on TV.
Moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, Don professionally entered show business as an “extra” (a POW) in the movie Von Ryan’s Express (1965), the first of several such “roles.” He began his professional writing career in 1966, writing articles for and finally editing the magazine Modern Monsters. In 1967, after graduating from the University of Southern California with a BA degree (for Cinema) in Letters, Arts and Sciences, Don worked as a musician, singer and songwriter in The Penny Arkade, a rock band produced by “Monkee” Michael Nesmith. Shortly after that he briefly furthered his acting career, having a speaking role in a national television commercial starring Dick Clark.
However, most of Don’s professional life has been as a freelance writer. To date he has authored numerous motion picture and television scripts (Shazam!, Land of the Lost, and animation, e.g., Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Transformers, G.I.Joe, Duck Tales, Jonny Quest, X-Men, others), comic-book scripts (Captain America, Tarzan, etc., including creating for Gold Key Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor and Tragg and the Sky Gods), more than 35 novels and nonfiction books, also numerous short stories, articles, songs, album-liner notes, etc. The Dinosaur Dictionary (1972) and Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia (1997), two of Don’s many non-fiction books about dinosaurs, both were listed by the American Library Association among the best reference books of their years of publication. With The Dinosaur Dictionary Don created the much-imitated book format based upon an alphabetical listing of dinosaur names. Perhaps Don is best known for his novelization of the movie The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the nation’s No. 1 bestseller for almost two months, which to date (still in print) has sold over 3.5 million copies. In 1982 he created characters and back story for Mattel’s “Masters of the Universe” toy line. Among his more recent books is Chomper, an entry in the popular “Dinotopia” series.
Don produced, wrote and directed various videos (including the documentaries Dinosaur Movies and Hollywood Goes Ape! and the music-video compilation Dinosaur Tracks®), theatre and movie projects. He has worked as a consultant on numerous other video, film and TV projects, and was “Dinosaur Consultant” on Roger Corman’s movie Carnosaur (1993).
In 1990, Don and Pete Von Sholly founded Fossil Records, which has already produced a half dozen albums. These include Dinosaur Tracks®, More Dinosaur Tracks® and Dinosaur Tracks® Again, featuring paleontology-related rock music written mostly by Don (Dinodon Music/BMI), performed by Don and Pete (as the Iridium Band).
More recently, Don became president of Frontline Entertainment (www.frontlinefilms.com), for which he wrote, directed and co-produced the comedy/fantasy motion picture Dinosaur Valley Girls™, which has already achieved “cult movie” status, and Before La Brea, a documentary commissioned by the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries in Los Angeles. In 2000, he was commissioned by Irena Belle Productions to direct the movie The Vampire Hunters Club, featuring an all-star genre cast.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 8, 2026
This collects What If series 1977 13-15 and 17-23. 16 has a character Marvel ni longer has the rights to.
A soild collection. I loved What If stories growing up, some of these I had read before but others I hadn't.
Some of the better or unique ones include What if Conan Walked the Earth today?
A fun tale of 4 others getting the Nova powers including Peter Parker
What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu?
What if Spider-Man had never become a Crimefighter? This was goes in a unique direction I really enjoyed.
Then a Sequel to What If number 1 with a follow up as we see what happens if Sub Mariner married the Invisible girl? This one goes dark, decades before Maker Reed Richards or Civil War version we see Reed take a dark path out of jealousy with The Human Torch on his side. Its a great look at a darker FF.
A soild collection. I loved What If stories growing up, some of these I had read before but others I hadn't.
Some of the better or unique ones include What if Conan Walked the Earth today?
A fun tale of 4 others getting the Nova powers including Peter Parker
What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu?
What if Spider-Man had never become a Crimefighter? This was goes in a unique direction I really enjoyed.
Then a Sequel to What If number 1 with a follow up as we see what happens if Sub Mariner married the Invisible girl? This one goes dark, decades before Maker Reed Richards or Civil War version we see Reed take a dark path out of jealousy with The Human Torch on his side. Its a great look at a darker FF.
August 2, 2021
I used to buy What If comics in the bargain pile at a place called the Book Attic when I was a kid. They introduced me to the wider Marvel universe. Some of the stories definitely were hard to get through, but others were a lot of fun.
October 23, 2025
A hodge-podge of stories, some solid, some pointless..., many just sorta "meh". Here's a breakdown, IMO:
(13) "What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today?" A dynamite story, start to finish. Easily one of the best the original What If? series ever produced. Aside: Danette is not only smoking hot, but a great partner for our favorite Cimmerian.
5 stars.
(14) "What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War II in outer space?" Well hell..., I don't know, and this story doesn't make me want to care. This never explains how Earth is somehow 150+ years more advanced than in reality. This just dumps the Sgt Fury mob squad in spaaaaaace.... Gah.
1 star.
(15) "What if Nova had been four other people?" Another case where I don't care about the "real" Nova. So alternate takes don't mean anything to me.
2 stars, I guess?
<<<<
(16) *Missing in action from this collection*
"What if Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, fought on the side of Fu Manchu?" I assume this was omitted from this collection due to licensing issues. Might have been an interesting read.
>>>>
(17) "What if the Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel were villains?" The Captain Marvel short was okay. The other two characters (Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman) I've always been completely indifferent about. So remixes of those characters is a big ol' "Meh" for me.
2 stars.
(18) "What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu?" Was never a huge Dr. Strange fan, but this was a pretty great story.
4.5 stars.
(19) "What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter?" A bit of a mess, with Peter Parker turning into a bit of a prick. Perhaps mostly due to showing JJJ as a real human being here, call this 3 stars.
(20) "What if the Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones?" An excellent story, through and through, that does away with the "Rick Jones has one-time-ever-and-never-again super-duper whiz-bang special powers" that was the massive deus ex machina cop out in the canon storyline.
5 stars.
(21) "What if the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four had married the Sub-Mariner?" A sequel to What If? #1 (where she left due to Spider-Man joining the team). Reed Richards loses his fucking mind, his team, his best friend (Ben Grimm), and commits to a path of genocide. Pretty heady stuff here! The fact he does not win back Sue in the end is a huge plus here.
Call this one 4 stars.
(22) "What if Doctor Doom had become a hero?" I enjoyed this quite a bit.
4.5 stars.
(23) "What if the Hulk had become a barbarian?" Another fairly enjoyable story, though seemed like it could have been expanded to cover the entire span of the issue. I enjoyed the tacked-on Celestial stories, but seems like that add-on at the back end of these issues could have been reserved for another issue in order to fully tell (and thus properly finish) this Hulk story. All the same, another solid issue.
4 stars.
Overall: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars due to the strength the Conan and Avengers issues).
(13) "What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today?" A dynamite story, start to finish. Easily one of the best the original What If? series ever produced. Aside: Danette is not only smoking hot, but a great partner for our favorite Cimmerian.
5 stars.
(14) "What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War II in outer space?" Well hell..., I don't know, and this story doesn't make me want to care. This never explains how Earth is somehow 150+ years more advanced than in reality. This just dumps the Sgt Fury mob squad in spaaaaaace.... Gah.
1 star.
(15) "What if Nova had been four other people?" Another case where I don't care about the "real" Nova. So alternate takes don't mean anything to me.
2 stars, I guess?
<<<<
(16) *Missing in action from this collection*
"What if Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, fought on the side of Fu Manchu?" I assume this was omitted from this collection due to licensing issues. Might have been an interesting read.
>>>>
(17) "What if the Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel were villains?" The Captain Marvel short was okay. The other two characters (Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman) I've always been completely indifferent about. So remixes of those characters is a big ol' "Meh" for me.
2 stars.
(18) "What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu?" Was never a huge Dr. Strange fan, but this was a pretty great story.
4.5 stars.
(19) "What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter?" A bit of a mess, with Peter Parker turning into a bit of a prick. Perhaps mostly due to showing JJJ as a real human being here, call this 3 stars.
(20) "What if the Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones?" An excellent story, through and through, that does away with the "Rick Jones has one-time-ever-and-never-again super-duper whiz-bang special powers" that was the massive deus ex machina cop out in the canon storyline.
5 stars.
(21) "What if the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four had married the Sub-Mariner?" A sequel to What If? #1 (where she left due to Spider-Man joining the team). Reed Richards loses his fucking mind, his team, his best friend (Ben Grimm), and commits to a path of genocide. Pretty heady stuff here! The fact he does not win back Sue in the end is a huge plus here.
Call this one 4 stars.
(22) "What if Doctor Doom had become a hero?" I enjoyed this quite a bit.
4.5 stars.
(23) "What if the Hulk had become a barbarian?" Another fairly enjoyable story, though seemed like it could have been expanded to cover the entire span of the issue. I enjoyed the tacked-on Celestial stories, but seems like that add-on at the back end of these issues could have been reserved for another issue in order to fully tell (and thus properly finish) this Hulk story. All the same, another solid issue.
4 stars.
Overall: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars due to the strength the Conan and Avengers issues).
July 15, 2025
Collects What If? (1977-1984) issues #13-15 and #17-23
As far as I remember, an issue of "What If?" was the first comic book that I bought off of the spinner rack. Because of that, and my love of parallel universe stories, this series has always been a favorite of mine. Whenever I go to a comic book convention, I try to buy one (or more) issues of "What If." Even though I didn't love ever issue in this collection, I love this series as a whole.
Here are the stories that are included in this collection with my spoiler-filled mini reviews:
Read 1/10/22 - What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today? - Issue #13 - 3.5 stars - I have the True Believers reprint of this issue from around 2018.
Read 6/28/2022 - What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War Two in Outer Space? - Issue #14 - The idea for this comic is great, but the dialogue was almost unreadable. - 2.5 stars
Read 8/22/2022 - What if Nova had been four other people? - Issue #15 - Four short stories, all entertaining. - 4 stars
NOT INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION BECAUSE OF RIGHTS ISSUES - Read 9/14/2022 - What if Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu fought on the side of Fu Manchu? - Issue #16 - It starts out different, and then basically becomes what Shang-Chi always is. - 4 stars
Read 6/22/2024 - What if Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman, Captain Marvel were villains? - Issue#17 - Three short stories, all just OK. - 3.5 stars
Read 6/26/2025 - What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu? - Issue #18 - A retelling of Dr. Strange's origin story that I really enjoyed. Much like the Shang-Chi story two issues ago, it starts out different but ultimately gets Strange to where he typically is. - 4.5 stars
Read 7/8/2025 - What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter? - Issue #19 - Spider-Man is an arrogant movie producer. - 3.5 stars
Read 7/9/2025 - What if The Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones? - Issues #20 - I can't remember the original "Kree-Skrull War" story very well, so I didn't know what was different, but this issue felt like it would never end. - 2 stars
Read 7/10/2025 - What if Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four married the Sub-Mariner? - Issue #21 - 4 stars - A sequel to What If #1, and it is great, although there was more potential here to turn Reed evil.
Read 7/13/2025 - What if Dr. Doom had become a hero? - Issue #22 - 3 stars - Doom vs. Mephisto, and Doom is trying to be the good guy (even though he's still arrogant).
Read 7/14/2025 - What if The Hulk had become a Barbarian? - Issue #23 - 4 stars - I didn't know anything about this Hulk love interest, but there is a lot of potential with this story and the characters. Did this inspire "Planet Hulk?"
As far as I remember, an issue of "What If?" was the first comic book that I bought off of the spinner rack. Because of that, and my love of parallel universe stories, this series has always been a favorite of mine. Whenever I go to a comic book convention, I try to buy one (or more) issues of "What If." Even though I didn't love ever issue in this collection, I love this series as a whole.
Here are the stories that are included in this collection with my spoiler-filled mini reviews:
Read 1/10/22 - What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today? - Issue #13 - 3.5 stars - I have the True Believers reprint of this issue from around 2018.
Read 6/28/2022 - What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War Two in Outer Space? - Issue #14 - The idea for this comic is great, but the dialogue was almost unreadable. - 2.5 stars
Read 8/22/2022 - What if Nova had been four other people? - Issue #15 - Four short stories, all entertaining. - 4 stars
NOT INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION BECAUSE OF RIGHTS ISSUES - Read 9/14/2022 - What if Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu fought on the side of Fu Manchu? - Issue #16 - It starts out different, and then basically becomes what Shang-Chi always is. - 4 stars
Read 6/22/2024 - What if Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman, Captain Marvel were villains? - Issue#17 - Three short stories, all just OK. - 3.5 stars
Read 6/26/2025 - What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu? - Issue #18 - A retelling of Dr. Strange's origin story that I really enjoyed. Much like the Shang-Chi story two issues ago, it starts out different but ultimately gets Strange to where he typically is. - 4.5 stars
Read 7/8/2025 - What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter? - Issue #19 - Spider-Man is an arrogant movie producer. - 3.5 stars
Read 7/9/2025 - What if The Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones? - Issues #20 - I can't remember the original "Kree-Skrull War" story very well, so I didn't know what was different, but this issue felt like it would never end. - 2 stars
Read 7/10/2025 - What if Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four married the Sub-Mariner? - Issue #21 - 4 stars - A sequel to What If #1, and it is great, although there was more potential here to turn Reed evil.
Read 7/13/2025 - What if Dr. Doom had become a hero? - Issue #22 - 3 stars - Doom vs. Mephisto, and Doom is trying to be the good guy (even though he's still arrogant).
Read 7/14/2025 - What if The Hulk had become a Barbarian? - Issue #23 - 4 stars - I didn't know anything about this Hulk love interest, but there is a lot of potential with this story and the characters. Did this inspire "Planet Hulk?"
March 20, 2022
More tales of alternate outcomes to familiar stories featuring Marvel characters.
What If...?, by its very nature, was always a mixed bag of a series. There were different creative teams each issue and the concepts ranged from the intriguing to just plain ridiculous. Still, it was always interesting to see what we'd get.
This second collected volume still calls itself a complete collection, though it's missing an issue. (Issue 16 featured Shang-Chi and was excluded, presumably due to the rights issues surrounding the supporting characters from Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories.)
In some ways, despite a more eclectic range of stories, this volume is about average, leading off with a Conan story by thee classic Thomas/Buscema team. The rest of the stories vary in quality, with some forcing characters to act out of character to serve the plot, but some working better than the ideas seemed. The writing is up and down, but the art, for the most part, is solid if often unremarkable.
As with most of the series, this volume is mostly of value to Marvel Comics fans, who will usually find a few tales that will connect, with the others been of varying interest based on their interest in the characters.
What If...?, by its very nature, was always a mixed bag of a series. There were different creative teams each issue and the concepts ranged from the intriguing to just plain ridiculous. Still, it was always interesting to see what we'd get.
This second collected volume still calls itself a complete collection, though it's missing an issue. (Issue 16 featured Shang-Chi and was excluded, presumably due to the rights issues surrounding the supporting characters from Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories.)
In some ways, despite a more eclectic range of stories, this volume is about average, leading off with a Conan story by thee classic Thomas/Buscema team. The rest of the stories vary in quality, with some forcing characters to act out of character to serve the plot, but some working better than the ideas seemed. The writing is up and down, but the art, for the most part, is solid if often unremarkable.
As with most of the series, this volume is mostly of value to Marvel Comics fans, who will usually find a few tales that will connect, with the others been of varying interest based on their interest in the characters.
June 20, 2020
Particularly well-done "What If" story lines include the following:
#18: What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu? (based on Strange Tales #110)
#19: What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter? (based on Amazing Fantasy #15)
#20: What if the Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones? (based on Avengers #96)
#21: What if the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four had married the Sub-Mariner? (A sequel to What If? #1.)
#22: What if Doctor Doom had become a hero? (based on Fantastic Four #5)
#18: What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu? (based on Strange Tales #110)
#19: What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter? (based on Amazing Fantasy #15)
#20: What if the Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones? (based on Avengers #96)
#21: What if the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four had married the Sub-Mariner? (A sequel to What If? #1.)
#22: What if Doctor Doom had become a hero? (based on Fantastic Four #5)
October 28, 2021
Another 3.5, but this collection was noticeably better than the first. Maybe I just liked the stories they picked better? The only complaint was with the last issue in the book. The cover and tag line for it really seemed to miss the opportunity to do more with the Hulk. Instead, they went with a couple forgettable extra stories instead.
February 25, 2022
I like most of the What If's but some i am unfamiliar with all the cast.
September 5, 2022
Blended score from Sublime: Conan; to potential: interstellar Pearl Harbor; to sad swift descent. A glorious concept turned over to insufficient successors.
February 17, 2023
Comics used to have so many words in them.
February 14, 2024
3.5 out of 5. Slightly better than volume 1, at least to me.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews