What If…?
Summary
wonder Comics’What If?series has been a lynchpin for the newspaper publisher for decennary , with a timeless premise that ’s still captivating fans to this Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . What if thing in Marvel canyon were just a little different ? That ’s the question each issue asks , and sometimes even the most seemingly innocuous change give drastic consequences for the broad Marvel Universe .
TheWhat If?series set up in the late ‘ 70s , but it arguably would n’t hit its stride until the ‘ LXXX , with the other ‘ eighty kicking off an geological era of genuinely innovational and bizarre alternative fates for a number of fan - favorite Heron . Not only that , but a fewWhat If?ideas were way ahead of their time , as those storyline were in effect folded into the main Marvel Comics canyon . While this particular era ofWhat If?can be graph through issues # 20-#47 , there were some obvious standouts . Here are the 10 best MarvelWhat If?stories from the early ‘ 80s !
Related : Top 10 Marvel Comics What If taradiddle , According to Ranker
10Doctor Doom Never Becomes The Fantastic Four’s Greatest Foe
What If?#22 - “What If Doctor Doom Had Become A Hero?” by Don Glut and Fred Kida
The title of this issue is a bit of a misnomer , as Victor Von Doom does n’t needfully become a zep , he just does n’t become a baddie , and rather decides to focalize his brilliance on one vicious entity : Mephisto . The event in his original origin story that change state Victor into Doctor Doom was the failure of his college experimentation to reach hell and keep his mother from Mephisto . Doom blame Reed Richards , and consecrate to put down him and his family .
In this issue , Doom accepts Reed ’s help on his auto in college , and he get it to work ! He speak to his mother , and vows to destroy Mephisto to save her . Plus , since the simple machine did n’t explode , there was no need to cover his font and eubstance in armor , allowing Doom to retain his man .
9If Spider-Man Saved Gwen Stacy, It Would Be His Life That Ended
What If?#24 - “What If Spider-Man Had Rescued Gwen Stacy?” by Tony Isabella, Gil Kane, and Frank Giacoia
Every Spider - Man fan is cognisant of the grievous moment when Spider - Man fail to lay aside Gwen Stacy after Green Goblin make her off the George Washington Bridge . They ’re also aware that , immediately follow Gwen ’s death , the Green Goblin was also killed . However , thisWhat If?saves the lives of both Gwen and Gobby , at the disbursal of Peter Parker ’s . Since Gwen lived , Spider - Man did n’t pursue Osborn as fiercely as he originally did , so Green Goblin ’s life was spare . However , that became a trouble since Gobby acknowledge Spider - Man ’s secret identity , and he exposed it to the press .
When Peter saw that Gwen was alive , he require her to marry him on the smirch , and she said yes . But , after what Green Goblin leaked to the press , the police arrived to arrest Peter at his own marriage ceremony , coerce him to flee and become a fugitive from justice . Gwen Stacy might have been saved , but Spider - Man ’s life was effectively over .
8Captain America Becoming President Was Literally The Death Of Him
What If?#26 - “What If Captain America Had Been Elected President?” by Mike W. Barr, Herb Trimpe, and Mike Esposito
Captain America was once ask if he ’d consider running for President of the United States , and primitively , he refused . However , this outcome reimagines that scenario , and chart Captain America ’s life if he had decided to run for President - and profits . unluckily , Captain America never block up being a superhero even after taking office , something that was exploit by the Red Skull , who was capable to enchant Cap and efficaciously give the entirety of the United States hostage .
In the end , Captain America sacrifices himself to lay off Red Skull and save the country to which he pledged his liveliness and trueness .
7If Jean Grey Wasn’t Killed, The Phoenix Would Have Obliterated The Earth
What If?#27 - “What If Phoenix Had Not Died?” by Mary Jo Duffy and Jerry Bingham
The shocking death of Jean Grey / Phoenix has been burned into the minds of old - schoolhouse ten - Men fans since that groundbreaking issue . However , what happened if she had make it her foreboding encounter with the Shi’ar Empire is far more tragical than the original fallout of her decease . In this issue , it ’s shown how Jean ’s telepathic abilities - along with the Phoenix Force itself - were deliberately repress within her mind by Shi’ar scientist . However , that did n’t hold the Phoenix for long , and she eventually train to the cosmos and consumed another lifespan - giving star far off in infinite ( which is why the Shi’ar predict for her death in the first place ) .
When she was confront by Kitty Pryde , Phoenix vaporized her in front of the tenner - man . Each fellow member then attack Jean , and she killed them like they were nothing . Then , upon realizing what she ’d done , Jean Grey exploded with power , and the Phoenix kill the entire Earth .
6Spider-Man Experienced A Compressed ‘Clone Saga’ Long Before The ‘90s Storyline
What If?#30 - “What If Spider-Man’s Clone Had Survived?” by Bill Flanagan, Rich Buckler, Jim Mooney, and Pablo Marcos
While Ben Reilly and theClone Sagahave been ingrain in modern Spider - Man fans , the beginning of that ‘ 90s storyline was actually decades before that , when the nefarious Jackal created a clone of Spider - Man to take out the original . That plot line end with Spider - Man disposing of his dead ringer , and going back to being the one and only Spider - Man . While theClone Sagawould eventually reveal that the dead ringer ( Ben Reilly ) subsist that ordeal , thisWhat If?storyline beat that notorious bow to the punch with a single - topic fib that was essentially a compressed version of the entireClone Saga .
In this comic , the original Peter Parker was knocked unconscious rather than the clone , and the clon Peter go away off to live his lifespan thinking that he was the original . However , he soon learned that he was the ringer , but instead of chuck out of the original ( as Peter canonically did to him ) , the knockoff revive Peter . Then , they decide to be like comrade and take turns being Spider - Man , which is n’t unlike the introduction of Scarlet Spider .
5Wolverine Would Have Suffered A Grisly Fate If He Killed The Hulk
What If?#31 - “What If Wolverine Had Killed The Hulk?” by Rich Margopoulos and Bob Budiansky
Wolverine made his Marvel Comics entry in a Hulk comic , as he was primitively hired to kill the Jade Giant on behalf of the Canadian governing . While originally the two team up to block the Wendigo , this storyline shows what would have happened if Wolverine win in slaying the Hulk - and that rejoicing kill was perhaps the least interesting matter about it . After Wolverine kill the Hulk , the whole earth took notice , including and specially Magneto . The Master of Magnetism see it was Wolverine who did the human activity , and he hired him to do another : pass through the X - man .
Wolverine was accept onto the X - man , handicap the security measure arrangement , and allowed Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to enter . However , Wolverine had become a part of the X - Men family , and fought back against Magneto . While Wolverine managed to shoot down a killing blow , Magneto used his dying breathing space to turn Wolverine ’s own claws against him , force Logan to stab himself in the head , killing him minute afterwards .
4The Fantastic Four Are Just As Fantastic Without Their Powers
What If?#36 - “What If The Fantastic Four Had Not Gained Their Super-Powers?” by John Byrne
Originally , the Fantastic Four decide to blast off into space even when condition were n’t dependable because they were concerned about funding , something which clouded Reed ’s mind enough for him to make a mistake that would mutate himself and his category . However , in this fictionalise , Reed take a step back and decide to waitress to do the blank flight . A few weeks later , the team launches safely , and they complete their mission without incident . This not only prevents them from draw major power , but also sets the stage for a fresh technological era for the entire major planet . However , just because the Fantastic Four did n’t get powerfulness , does n’t mean their villains ceased to live .
Mole Man still attacked just as he did inFantastic Four#1 , though the Fantastic Four still defeated him all the same . In the remainder , it was revealed that the FF do n’t need their power to be fantastic , as their brilliant teamwork was enough to keep start the daylight .
3If They Mutated Further, The Thing Would Be Healed & Beast Would Be Doomed
What If?#37 - “What If The Beast And The Thing Continued To Mutate?” by Tom DeFalco, Arvell Jones, Sam DeLaRosa, and Alan Weiss
When the Thing was exposed to MODOK ’s ‘ Virus X ’ in the original persistence , the Fantastic Four were capable to cure the sickness before it really took effect . However , in this reimagining , they are n’t able to come up with a remedy so quickly . This means that the virus continued to mutate the Thing ’s cosmically - irradiated cells , turning him into a clumpy , monstrous shape of his former self . Once he has finish mutating , it ’s revealed that Virus X actually healed the Thing , and he revert to his human self .
Beast , however , was not so lucky . If his sport continued along the trajectory prove in the original continuity , then his body was n’t the only thing that became beast - like , but also his mind . Beast assault his fellow XTC - Men , and in the last , the only thing to do with him was to expatriate Beast to the Savage Land , where he ’d hold out out the rest period of his Clarence Day truly living up to his namesake .
2Conan Battles The Avengers In Modern Day Rather Than Joining Them
What If?#43 - “What If Conan The Barbarian Were Stranded In The 20th Century?” by Peter B. Gillis and Bob Hall
While today ’s fans are familiar with Conan being stuck in the modern daytime from theSavage Avengerscomics , thisWhat If?came up with that concept way earlier , and with a immensely dissimilar termination . Rather than align himself with modern day superheroes / antiheroes , Conan the Barbarian only takes to the street of New York and does what he ’s best at : being a thief . Conan finds that modern day cities are n’t too dissimilar to what he ’s used to , and after he learns the language , he boom just as well as he would in any other city of the Hyborian Age .
canyon eventually commence his own street gang called the Barbarians , becoming a ‘ Warriors - esque ’ mob drawing card that rules a near portion of New York City ’s vicious underbelly . Before long , his way crosses with the Avengers - specifically Captain America - and they fight for their several movement rather than coming together and fight a greater evil - comparable inSavage Avengers .
1Uncle Ben Would Have Been A Hindrance To Spider-Man’s Heroism
What If?#46 - “What If Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben Had Lived?” by Peter B. Gillis and Ron Frenz
The decease of Uncle Ben is easily one of the most iconic and well - known moments in laughable al-Qur’an history , as it coiffure Peter Parker on the course to becoming the spectacular superhero Spider - Man . However , thisWhat If?issue demonstrate what would have happened if Uncle Ben had n’t been killed by the vicious Spider - Man let get by , but if Aunt May had been the one to die instead . Peter still became Spider - Man , and his lifespan was more or less the same . That is , until Uncle Ben find out that Peter was Spider - Man . At that point , Ben made a deal with Peter ’s boss , J. Jonah Jameson , where he tell Jonah Peter ’s mystery in exchange for a money quite a little . wanderer - Man would provide the Daily Bugle with exclusive newsworthiness and Jameson would share the riches more liberally with Peter and Ben .
Uncle Ben ’s share to Peter ’s ( and Spider - Man ’s ) aliveness was n’t the most virtuously wakeless , even if it was lucrative . In the close , thisWhat If?proved that Uncle Ben was a full help to Spider - Man as a retention of a virtuously righteous human race , rather than the reality of someone who would sacrifice his own nephew ’s morals just for cash . Shocking revelation like this are why theseWhat If?stories are the 10 best inMarvel Comicsfrom the other ‘ 80s .
