Three in and only now finding its way, this latest revival of What If...? I don’t know, it’s my instinct to nitpick and that’s where my mind goes immediately despite this being an improvement over the first two issues. What we have here is pretty much a Proper What If...? comic that follows Proper What If...? logic to tell a Proper What If...? story. In as much as we can call it a story. That’s where I keep lingering. That it isn’t really a good story. For all that What If...? Secret Wars #1 does right, it doesn’t actually do much more than pitch a high concept. Plenty of What If...? issues have fallen into that trap, mind. Come up with a clever idea and focus more on the cleverest way to convey that clever idea, never mind if the story is actually good or told well. But, I’m a tough audience.
Alex Paknadel gets one big thing right in What If...? Secret Wars #1 and it’s following the logic of what this comic is meant to be. As I’ve harped on over the first two installments of this look at these comics, the way What If...? works is that there is a point of divergence (usually the question that Uatu the Watcher asks) and, from that point, the issue plays out, but still follows the vague logic of a Marvel comic. Bad versions of this just do whatever the fuck they want like “What if Peter Parker got bitten by Dracula?” and, then, suddenly, Adam Warlock vampire hunter appears out of nowhere like that makes a lick of sense. This issue changes the ending of Secret Wars and proceeds from there in a logical fashion. However, like this year’s What If...? Thor #1, it kind of has a secret question at its heart and that’s the big twist that overshadows the issue. It’s a bit of a subtle tweak that is what leads to the Ultimate Universe surviving: What if the Maker didn’t betray Mr. Fantastic? That lack of betrayal meant that it was both Reed Richards confronting Doom and the one to emerge with the godlike powers was the Maker, not Mr. Fantastic – meaning, the multiverse is now being managed/rebuilt by the Maker, hence why his home Universe survived.
It’s a clever twist that the entire issue revolves around. Paknadel follows the logic of the real comics by having Peter Parker survive similar to Miles due to their kindness to the Molecule Man and uses his presence in the Ultimate Universe to analyse its differences to the regular Marvel Universe. It’s a darker, more chaotic place. More violent. Crueler. Highlighted are the endless events of mass destruction as Parker learns the history of the world as part of Nick Fury’s pitch to recruit him to SHIELD, where he operates at the Scarlet Spider. It gets darker when Peter’s physiology turns against him in this world and the radioactive blood in his veins gives him cancer. Learning that the interdimensional portal that could take him back to his universe is actually still active, Miles and Ultimate Peter’s friends team up to get Peter to it... and that’s the big reveal for the Maker and that Peter’s universe is no more. From there, it’s a bit of a lecture on the nature of the Ultimate Universe and it’s chaotic, destructive nature, and that leads into a tease where it suggests the birth of the Ultimates ala the second, recently-ended Ultimate Universe.
I admire the larger ideas at play and the core idea at the heart of the point of deviation (the Maker’s betrayal of Mr. Fantastic actually occurs after the defeat of Doom instead of before), and even the way it seeks to play off the concept of the second Ultimate Universe with the Maker trying to improve upon his home universe. But, as a story, it doesn’t quite hold together. Peter is told the portal is destroyed instead of simply that it’s being used to monitor the Maker, and the ensuing conflict that destroys the Triskelion is there just to prove the point that the superhumans on the world will eventually destroy it – there’s no real logic at the core of this, though, except as a way to showcase the big twist.
What I’ve been pondering is if that’s a problem or not. Like I said, plenty of What If...? stories are no more than a high concept wearing the bare minimum of compelling storytelling. The core appeal of the comic is the clever high concept and the twists that come with it. In that regard, Paknadel nails it. You read the question for the issue and you think, perhaps, it’s Mr. Fantastic showing a kindness and restoring the Ultimate Universe, and Paknadel delivers a much better explanation, gives a quick thesis on the nature of the Ultimate Universe, and ties it into the second one. I mean, how can you not be a little impressed? Even the lack of a compelling story logic can be handwaved away to a certain extent by muttering a few words about how Nick Fury is a bastard who doesn’t trust Peter or was worried about his mental state if he learned his entire universe was no more. Still.
A few words about Cafu, an artist that I’ve long been an admirer of, going back at least to his work with Nick Spencer on THUNDER Agents for DC... He’s always struck me as bit of a cross between the weird not-quite-right realistic elements of Gary Frank and the cartooning of Frank Quitely. In this issue, the former remains, but the latter is excised as it seems like he tries to channel some Bryan Hitch bits here and there. It fits well for the Ultimate Universe, but also the way that Paknadel’s story plays up the dark elements of it. Things don’t look right. They look realistic but also twisted and a little freaky. We’re told that this is a bit of a universe-gone-wrong and it looks that way. I can’t think of a better choice of artist, honestly.
This issue comes pretty damn close to hitting all of the notes for a What If...? comic, save a story that really stands on its own. But, I’m a sucker for clever high concepts and great visuals. I hope this isn’t the high point of these issues as we’ve got five more to go...
