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What If? Classic #7
What If? Classic, Vol. 7
In the life of every hero, there are crucial choices made and victories narrowly achieved. But what if things happened another way? What if Uncle Ben survived, and Aunt May died? What if the Invisible Girl died in child birth? What if Loki found the hammer of Thor? See your favorite heroes in worlds that never were! Featuring the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk, Dr. Strange, Captain America, Phoenix and more!
Collecting:
What If? (1977) #40-42, #43 (backup story only), #44-47
Collecting:
What If? (1977) #40-42, #43 (backup story only), #44-47
300 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 2011
About the author
Peter B. Gillis
365 books21 followersPeter B. Gillis (born December 19, 1952) is an American comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and First Comics in the mid-1980s, including the series Strikeforce: Morituri and the digitally drawn comic series Shatter.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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February 2, 2016Spent all day reading this. What's great about the What if? comics is the entire ensemble of Marvel is up for grabs, so if you don't like the tone and characters in one story, you might like the next one. It's a comic where writers are free to do pretty much whatever they want with no repercussions. Because What if? stories have no effect on the "real" Marvel universe, they are almost always epic in scope AND PEOPLE DIE! Also, they can end as downers, and how great is that?
I didn't like a lot of the art in here, although I did appreciate the mimicking of Ditko's art for the Spider-Man tale. I must be hormonal because "What if Susan Richards Died in Childbirth?" and "What if the Hulk Went Berserk?" made me tear up a bit.
The best story by far, though, is What If? #44, "What if Captain America Were Not Revived Until Today?", the today in question being 1983. You can find a more complete synopsis and "reading" of this story on the web, but suffice to say it's a paranoid (?) and heavy-handed left-wing rant against some pretty present-day tyranny more than worth the initial price of admission ($1.00) and a really fun and intriguing read.
I didn't like a lot of the art in here, although I did appreciate the mimicking of Ditko's art for the Spider-Man tale. I must be hormonal because "What if Susan Richards Died in Childbirth?" and "What if the Hulk Went Berserk?" made me tear up a bit.
The best story by far, though, is What If? #44, "What if Captain America Were Not Revived Until Today?", the today in question being 1983. You can find a more complete synopsis and "reading" of this story on the web, but suffice to say it's a paranoid (?) and heavy-handed left-wing rant against some pretty present-day tyranny more than worth the initial price of admission ($1.00) and a really fun and intriguing read.
July 6, 2017
The end
This was a series that should have been much better. Many of the stories are bland, our have a weak ending. Others have poor art. Most are just below average. A series that should have towered, but pales next to DC's Elseworlds.
This was a series that should have been much better. Many of the stories are bland, our have a weak ending. Others have poor art. Most are just below average. A series that should have towered, but pales next to DC's Elseworlds.
June 14, 2016
This book collects Issues 40-42 and 44-47 of What If? The final issues of the classic What If? Series:
#40: What if Doctor Strange Had Never Become Master of the Mystic Arts?: I’m not really a Doctor Strange fan but I found this to be an interesting story. I understood the basics because of another Doctor Strange What If? This one sees Baron Mordo getting the honor from the Ancient One. The only complaint is that the Ancient One has to be incredibly dense to Mordo’s obvious evil to make this story work. Still, Strange gets involved in an interesting way at the end and this is a well-thought out yarn. Grade: B+
#41: What if the Submariner Saved Atlantis From its Destiny?-Examines what had happened if the Submariner had stayed in Atlantis and saved it. A good action story with a bit of a downbeat (and not too believable ending. Grade: B
#42: What if the Invisible Girl had died? A look at what would have happened if Sue Richards had died in childbirth? The story was emotional, though occasionally overwrought. As is often the case in What If, they like to test concepts that might cause Reed Richards’ machine-like thinking to give way to emotion and do a fair job here. It shows how important Sue is the Fantastic Four. Grade: A-
#43-Since most of the book was Conan (for whom Marvel no longer owns rights and therefore can’t reprint), we only have a back-up feature which has three Marvel characters (Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, and Phoenix) flying around a blank page.. The story’s not horrible but it feels like a pointless filler piece. Grade: C
#44-What if Captain America were Not Revived until Today?- A similar theme has been explored a few times. What if Captain America remained frozen and an imposter had taken over for his own means. This isn’t the best take on that scenario but there are some interesting angles, but some odd choices as well. Grade: B
#45-What if the Incredible Hulk Went Berserk?: Short answer is that a lot of people die. The story is a little better than that pat answer but not by much. Grade: B-
#46-What if Spider-man’s Uncle Ben had lived?-A good premise that examines what would have happened had Aunt May and not Ben died at the hands of the burglar. The difference in character and approach leads to a different life for Peter Parker and Spider-man? Grade: QA
#47-What if Loki found the Hammer of Thor-The classic What If? Series comes to a conclusion with an Asgardian epic wherein Loki finds Thor’s hammer before Don Blake leading to disastrous consequences and a battle royale. Grade: B+
Overall, What If? was still a fine magazine at the end even if they were running a bit low on ideas.
#40: What if Doctor Strange Had Never Become Master of the Mystic Arts?: I’m not really a Doctor Strange fan but I found this to be an interesting story. I understood the basics because of another Doctor Strange What If? This one sees Baron Mordo getting the honor from the Ancient One. The only complaint is that the Ancient One has to be incredibly dense to Mordo’s obvious evil to make this story work. Still, Strange gets involved in an interesting way at the end and this is a well-thought out yarn. Grade: B+
#41: What if the Submariner Saved Atlantis From its Destiny?-Examines what had happened if the Submariner had stayed in Atlantis and saved it. A good action story with a bit of a downbeat (and not too believable ending. Grade: B
#42: What if the Invisible Girl had died? A look at what would have happened if Sue Richards had died in childbirth? The story was emotional, though occasionally overwrought. As is often the case in What If, they like to test concepts that might cause Reed Richards’ machine-like thinking to give way to emotion and do a fair job here. It shows how important Sue is the Fantastic Four. Grade: A-
#43-Since most of the book was Conan (for whom Marvel no longer owns rights and therefore can’t reprint), we only have a back-up feature which has three Marvel characters (Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, and Phoenix) flying around a blank page.. The story’s not horrible but it feels like a pointless filler piece. Grade: C
#44-What if Captain America were Not Revived until Today?- A similar theme has been explored a few times. What if Captain America remained frozen and an imposter had taken over for his own means. This isn’t the best take on that scenario but there are some interesting angles, but some odd choices as well. Grade: B
#45-What if the Incredible Hulk Went Berserk?: Short answer is that a lot of people die. The story is a little better than that pat answer but not by much. Grade: B-
#46-What if Spider-man’s Uncle Ben had lived?-A good premise that examines what would have happened had Aunt May and not Ben died at the hands of the burglar. The difference in character and approach leads to a different life for Peter Parker and Spider-man? Grade: QA
#47-What if Loki found the Hammer of Thor-The classic What If? Series comes to a conclusion with an Asgardian epic wherein Loki finds Thor’s hammer before Don Blake leading to disastrous consequences and a battle royale. Grade: B+
Overall, What If? was still a fine magazine at the end even if they were running a bit low on ideas.
May 16, 2015
Muy interesante! Me gusta la alternativa del tío Ben vivo xD
January 29, 2016
I love the What If? series of comics. Most of the odd ideas I wondered about my favorite heroes get given their own story. Here I can see the other choices explored. Very recommended
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews