Blue Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' Peter Parker: The Amazing Spidergramps! Suddenly I flashed on Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, form the What-if Comedy issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigil Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' For me, hands down, it's What If #3, "What if the Avengers had Never Been". IMO, it's a perfect example of powerful storytelling told in a quick, economical style and it has the best Gil Kane/Klaus Janson art ever rendered to boot. I was about 13 years old when it came out and it's become one of my top 10, maybe top 5 comics since. More happened in that single issue than has in the entire runs of many modern books. Plus the characterization of Tony Stark is possibly the best I've ever read. It balanced his egocentricity and intellectual arrogance with his essential heroic ability to sacrifice himself for the good of others. The final sequence of him using the last reserve of his life support power to renergize Giant Man in order to save the others is one of the most striking examples of the pure heroic archetype ever shown in comics. To me, one of the most striking things about the first 30 or so issues of the first run if "What If?" was the fact that while the stories were one shots they were not treated as filler or as throwaways. Every one was as carefully constructed as the best issues of any other series and. at times, I think "What If" was the best thing being published in any given month. Add that to the fact that the one shot format made each story even more special and, to me at least, you have the formula for one of the best books ever published. No wonder they're reprinting them now in our current age of storytelling which has become so "decompressed" that you get the bends just reading half the books on the market. Great thread. It brings back a lot of really great memories. Vigil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckg Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' "What if Captain America had formed the Avengers?", as the second half of a story begun in 'What if The Super-Soldier Serum Hadn't Been Lost?" Granetd, it had a depressing ending, what with everybody dying heroically (heroically, yes, but still dead), but damned if Thor didn't get some really cool moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigil Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' Yeah, issue 25 (if I recall correctly) was another great What If? Like I said, the first 30 issues or so were pretty much flawless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted December 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' "What if Captain America had formed the Avengers?", as the second half of a story begun in 'What if The Super-Soldier Serum Hadn't Been Lost?" Granetd, it had a depressing ending, what with everybody dying heroically (heroically, yes, but still dead), but damned if Thor didn't get some really cool moments. Yes, I thought that one was cool. Frank Castle as Iron Man, Logan as the Hulk/Wendigo, Falcon/Sam Wilson as Giant-Man, Namor as an Avenger... very cool story. And the whole "America = Red Skull's Nazi Wonderland" was at least a new idea then. It's been beaten to death since by some writers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trained Chicken Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' What if Marvel enforced continuity? ... What? LOL they'd have to reboot it every eight to 10 years, like DC does! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sls1969 Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' My favorite Marvel "What If?" was What if the Hulk went berserk. That one was awesome and the fight with Thor was incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooligan x Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' My favorite was "What if Jim Shooter had to be forcibly removed from the building by security?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted January 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' My favorite was "What if Jim Shooter had to be forcibly removed from the building by security?" "What if Mark Millar and Joe Quesada were flung off the roof of the Marvel Offices?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' TheQuestionMan's Top 5 Favorites: 1. "What If... Daredevil Was The Disciple Of Doctor Strange For The Love, Honor And The Soul Of Elektra" http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:What_If%3F_Vol_2_83 2. "What If... Captain America Were Not the Only Super Soldier in World War II?" http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:What_If%3F_Vol_2_28 3. "What If Annihilation Reached Earth?" http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:What_If%3F_Vol_6_2 4. "Last Light" http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:What_If%3F_Vol_2_97 5. "What If... Wolverine Had Married Mariko?" http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:What_If%3F_Vol_2_43 Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quozaxx Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' I loved the What If series. I still have most of them just sitting in my attic. (I wonder if they are worth anything?) I liked them all (even the corny ones). I think my favorite was "What if the Fantastic 4 had different powers?" What I didn't care for is what it changed into after they dropped the "What if..." and changed it to "What if starring..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahuna's bro Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' my favorite was "WHAT IF THE AVENGERS HAD BEEN FORMED IN THE 1950'S" issue #9 3d man ,the human robot,,venus,andmarvel boy were recruited by FBI agent jimmy woo to rescue a kidnapped president eisenhuaer[excuse any mispelling] from the yellow claw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' I wish I could find the issues of What The--? my brother and I had when we were kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' My favorite What If? Was a toss up between, What If Thor battled Conan, and What if the Beast and the Thing continued to Mutate. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' My favorite was the pure comedy issue someone mentioned before, with such classics as: -- What If Iron Man had an Eating Problem Instead of a Drinking Problem? -- What If Mr. Fantastic Never Invented Unstable Molecules? -- What If All the Heroes in New York Moved to Cleveland? On a more serious note, the one with alternate people getting bitten by the radioactive spider was handled well, as was the one where Gwen Stacy didn't die. (I've always been a big Spidey fan.) IIRC, the one with Aunt May becoming a herald of Galactus wasn't a What If, but a Marvel Team-Up (Aunt May and Franklin Richards) during Assistant Editor's Month. But it was a fun issue, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' my favorite was "WHAT IF THE AVENGERS HAD BEEN FORMED IN THE 1950'S" issue 25 of volume 1 ifmemory serves 3d man ' date='the human robot,,venus,andmarvel boy were recruited by FBI agent jimmy woo to rescue a kidnapped president eisenhuaer[excuse any mispelling'] from the yellow claw Issue 9, actually. My favourite too. Any team containing a robot, a gorilla, and a love goddess is pure win. The only thing missing was a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' #32, What if the Avengers had become pawns of Korvac? "And the number of possible universes shall forever be -- one less than infinity!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' My favorite was the pure comedy issue someone mentioned before What if the Watchers were Watching each other? (be vewwy vewwy qwiet - I'm watching watchers!) I liked the one where Spidey kept his extra arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' I also seem to recall (from that issue) What if Moon Knight fought Wendigo in a Snow Storm, What If Blackbolt were a Rockstar, and Aunt May as various superheroes (Aunt Ant, et al) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahuna's bro Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' Issue 9, actually. My favourite too. Any team containing a robot, a gorilla, and a love goddess is pure win. The only thing missing was a dog. thank you for the corection assault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt the Bruins Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' I think "What If Doctor Doom Had Become a Hero?" was my all-time favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' That was a good one. It would be on my top 10 list. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorKnight Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' I was always a fan of "What if someone else had been bitten by an irradiated spider", because it basically established that, in any world with a Peter Parker, he eventually became Spider-Man. And that's cool. I loved that issue(its in with my Champions characters. )One of my friends wrote up the Peter Parker Spiderman & played him for a few years before he moved away.When he left I wrote up a Spiderman using the Flash Thompson version of Spiderman.Since I wrote him up in '87 I've only run him a hand full of times.(he started as a 300pt character has only earned around 75pt or so.)That actually the only issue of "What If" I ever bought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mackinder Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' -- What If All the Heroes in New York Moved to Cleveland? Pretty sure it was Toledo (Ohio) that they moved to. As in the John Denver song extolling the many virtues of that city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagged Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 Re: Favorite Marvel 'What If?' I pretty much loved any "What If" that featured Doc Doom. That so many did is just more proof as to what an awesome character he is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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