A Scrapped What If...? Season 2 Episode Would Have Been Too Dark For Young Marvel Fans
Marvel's "What If...?" has brought fans some fun alternate universes in its first two seasons, but not every idea cooked up in the writers' room made it to Disney+. Season 2 features a wide range of adventures, including holiday hijinks, a "Death Race 2000" homage, and the introduction of an all-new Native American superhero, Kahhori, played by "Reservation Dogs" alum Devery Jacobs.
Overall, the season has been generally well-received. However, there have been some criticisms, primarily concerning the show's hesitancy to go all-in on its wilder ideas. In an interview with IGN, series head writer A. C. Bradley discussed her team's approach to "What If...?" Season 2 and alluded to some concepts that didn't make the final cut. Of particular interest was an episode Bradley wrote that she said was far too dark for the show's overall tone.
"It felt like the world was already ending and we didn't need to add to it," she said, explaining that Season 2 was written during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. "And so it became kind of an escape and a fun release. However, I did write an episode, which is forever going in a drawer, that was very, very dark. I was calling it 'Children of Men with Spider-Man.'" If you know anything about that particular film, you'll likely understand why the idea was ultimately scrapped.
What Spider-Man's dark What If...? Season 2 episode could have been about
A. C. Bradley didn't go into more detail about her "Children of Men with Spider-Man" episode, but there are some clues regarding what it might have contained. For those who don't know, "Children of Men" is a 2006 dystopian thriller from acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón. The plot follows Theo (Clive Owen), who must escort a pregnant woman named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) through a grim United Kingdom as the world collapses into chaos. Widespread environmental devastation and economic depression have encased the world in an apocalyptic grip, and Kee — the first human to conceive a child in years due to global infertility — is the only hope for the future.
If Bradley's episode was comparable to "Children of Men," it's obvious why the script wouldn't have moved forward in production. "What If...?" is still a kid-friendly show, after all. It's still interesting to consider what might have happened and how it could have connected to other "What If...?" storylines and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One possibility is that it would have connected to the zombie storyline from "What If...?" Season 1, which features Spider-Man prominently. The Marvel comics are also filled with alternate universe arcs and world-destroying threats, any one of which could have served as inspiration. Perhaps Thanos' snap sent Earth into a proper societal collapse, or maybe Ego brought his dark powers to bear on the planet.
Would What If...? be better with darker episodes?
Theoretically, the potential of Marvel's "What If...?" is limitless. The show could represent any number of alternate realities, shuffling superpowers or turning classic heroes into aliens, exploring new romantic connections between characters, and even creating entirely new realms. While several episodes have gotten pretty creative, some viewers have complained that the show stays too close to the material of the core MCU. In part, that may be why A. C. Bradley's dark Spider-Man episode never happened.
Nearly every MCU project is appropriate for younger audiences, which is by design. "What If...?" has some darker moments, but as a cartoon on Disney+, it also feels particularly targeted at children, removing some potential for new ideas. In her IGN interview, Bradley mentioned that Season 2's Nova Corps episode was initially very intense, but they made it more palatable for the show's tone. "The first draft was really dark," she said. "It almost ended in a tragedy. And then we lightened it up."
No one would deny that the MCU is in a weird moment. Disney's year of movie and TV show bombs in 2023 and the firing of Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors following his assault and harassment conviction has put the franchise on uncertain terrain. A "What If...?" season targeted at older viewers could be a great way to drum up new interest, but it seems like an unlikely move from Disney.
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