What If (comics)
| What If | |
|---|---|
Cover to What If? #1 (February 1977). Art by George Pérez and Joe Sinnott.
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format |
(vol. 1-2) Ongoing series (vol. 3-9) One-shots |
| Genre | |
| Publication date |
(vol. 1) February 1977 – October 1984 (vol. 2) July 1989 – November 1998 |
| Number of issues |
(vol. 1) 47 (plus # 0) (vol. 2) 114 (plus # -1) (vol. 3-4) 6 (vol. 5-9) 5 |
| Collected editions | |
| What If? Classic: Volume 1 | |
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics whose stories explore how the Marvel Universe might have unfolded if key moments in its history hadn't occurred as they did in mainstream continuity. What If comics have been published in eleven series (volumes).
The stories of the inaugural series (1977–1984) feature the alien Uatu the Watcher as a narrator. From his base on the moon, Uatu observes both the Earth and alternate realities.
Most What If stories begin with Uatu describing an event in the mainstream Marvel Universe, then introducing a point of divergence in that event and then describing the consequences of the divergence. Uatu was used similarly in the second series (1989–1998) until a point where, in the Fantastic Four comic book, Uatu was punished for destroying another Watcher. This made the use of Uatu improbable so the character was phased out to its last appearance in issue #76. Without a framing device, the stories themselves became the focus.
In later series, some writers chose to introduce alternative narrators. For example, in Volume 3, in What If Karen Page Had Lived?, What If Jessica Jones Had Joined the Avengers? and in Daredevil (2005), Brian Michael Bendis, the writer himself, makes a cameo as narrator. In the early 2006 series, a hacker, whose online alias is "The Watcher", opens each of the six issues.
Some points of divergence in plot occur when a character's action differs from (or is even opposite to) the corresponding mainstream Marvel event. For example, in a 1980 Captain America storyline, the hero declines an invitation to run for President of the United States as a third-party candidate. In the What If Captain America Became President? (issue #26 1980) storyline, he accepts the nomination and wins the 1980 Presidential Election.
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