Continuing from the What If…? episodes, Marvel Zombies is a quick-paced and thrilling animated mini-series on Disney+.
The three-season What If…? animated series on Disney+ was a fascinating exploration of various corners and new approaches to the Marvel Cinematic Universe across its 26 episodes. Technically, there are comics they are based upon (both generally and the specific “what if…” titles, but the MCU is the springboard for actions, personality, and design of the likes of Hawkeye, Captain America, Ant-Man, Thanos, and the rest. Within the series, some episodes are one-offs and others continue in arcs, with connected stories and characters coming and going across the whole. It’s a very well-put-together show, filled with surprises and a slew of just awesome moments and ideas based on the premise. One of those stories was Season 1, Episode 5, “What if… zombies?”, based on the “Marvel Zombies” comic series from the mid-00s. It was a good series that achieved cross-cultural appeal, which meant Marvel ran it into the ground with overexposure and too many spinoffs and sequels. Sigh. Source issues aside, “Marvel Zombies,” the TV show, sequels from that episode for a four-episode (about two hours total) mini-series event. It’s a good show (TV movie?), using the concept in inventive ways. Mainly following Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, as she and various groups attempt to get a possible cure to space.
Yes, there is a gimmick in seeing how our favorite heroes and villains alter their outlook and powerset uses either to fight zombies or as a zombie. Or both, just as often, as it is a zombie show, and what’s a zombie property if people we care for don’t get bitten and change? Do zombie bites give Spider-Man zombie powers as well? I appreciate the heroes being mainly from later entries in the property. Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Kate Bishop, the folks would be the Thunderbolts if they existed in this universe, even Blade. I wonder if that shows how long it’s been in production, since the Marashal Ali Blade film keeps getting pushed back, possibly off the schedule. Nice to see the Daywalker here, though.
But the heart of the story is well presented, with big pushes and moments, in an engaging, quick, often fun and quippy (it is the MCU after all) manner. It’s a lot to look at; incredibly fast-paced, dealing with the troubles of zombie survivors, and how to survive a different sort of zombie apocalypse. Any real safety is temporary; the terror of what lies outside the gates, or even just on the other side of a door or window, is a looming presence. With animation over live-action, Marvel Zombies allows a globe-trotting adventure of water fortresses, Mad Max-style survival chases, and a flood of endless zombies.
Animation-wise, I’ve never been quite sure if I’ve liked What Ifs and Marvel Zombies style. There’s an eerie sort that slides into the uncanny valley from an odd rotoscoping look. The replication of cut-and-paste CG work is off-putting, along with the unreal movements and gleam of computer-based animation, moving a little choppy. But it also provides a hell of a lot of detail. So it’s a double-edged sword.
Iman Villani is great as always; her cheery chipmunk enthusiasm shines even in the dire citations of Ms. Marvel and the gang. She’s only seen or heard her in this role, but it was one she was born to play, given how comfortable she is as the hero. Villani isn’t the only live-action character to return to play their animated counterpart: Simi Lui, Awkwafina, Hailee Steinfeld, Tessa Thompson, and Florence Pugh acquit themselves fine, if a little off in translation. David Harbor continues to have a blast as the Red Guardian, giving as much of a scene-stealing energy as he does on screen. Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch readings don’t feel real, though (an apology to my Wanda Maximoff fangirl wife). I particularly liked Todd Williams’s Blade.
Marvel Zombies is a great, bloody (very gory, not for littles) way to see our favorite heroes and villains in a new life, or death, undeath, however you slice it. While the animation is sometimes off-putting, the story around it is quick, quippy, and fun. All episodes are now streaming on Disney+.