What If was a unique comic that required an endless supply of ideas and creators, plus an innate knowledge of Marvel history. No surprise then that Peter Gillis, a fount of Marvel knowledge, loved contributing to What If, effectively making the title his own by its final year. In total, he penned a quarter of the original 48 stories (including the special). Later in his Marvel career, Gillis would mostly find himself pigeonholed writing odder C-list characters, but What If was his opportunity to work with A-list heavy hitters and revisit some of his favourite childhood stories.
Gillis' first two What Ifs share a common theme: Stephen Strange and Peter Parker both started out as jerks. What if they continued down that path?
What if Dr. Strange Had Been a Disciple of Dormammu? #18 (1979)
Pencils: Tom Sutton
Inks: Bruce Patterson
Doctor Strange was Gillis' favourite comics character, so no surprise he wrote Dr S whenever the opportunity arose. Here the not so good doctor's hands are healed by Mordo, which turns him away from the Ancient One towards the dark path of Dormammu. Strange's arrogance and egotism isn't motivation enough to convincingly explain this heel turn, and a plot heavy 33 pages provides scant room for character development. There's some very fun moments though, such as Stephen and Uma becoming lovers, while plotting to stab each other in the back. Eventually Strange sees the light (literally) and switches sides, sporting a fairly hideous take on Mordo's outfit in the finale. Rather poor taste (in more ways than one) after he offed the Baron. Sutton's art is also an acquired taste, and this isn't his best. It's a very cool story though, always entertaining when good guys turn bad.
What if Spider-Man Had Stopped the Burglar Who Killed His Uncle? #19 (1980)
Pencils: Pat Broderick
Inks: Mike Esposito
I'd forgotten what gloriously insane fun this issue is. A real zip along treat which hasn't aged a day in its depiction of the fleeting vacuous nature of fame. Spidey stops said burglar backstage just for the glory, which propels him into Hollywood stardom. In a prescient sequence, this proto Kevin Feige becomes a big time producer, securing the rights to the FF, Avengers and X-Men, before producing a Daredevil TV show. He even buys up Marvel Comics. Spidey's only enemy here is bad press, provided by a typically embittered J Jonah Jameson. Pete uses his star power to ruin JJJ, which is when the wheels come off...
Gillis is known for dramatic, off kilter scripts, so it's easy to forget how equally adept he was at lighter material, like this semi-parody. Pat Broderick turns in typically detailed pencils, if a little cartoony in places. One of my all time favourite What Ifs.
What if...Jarella Had Not Died? #23 (1980)
Pencils: Herb Trimpe
Inks: Mike Esposito
What if Thor Fought Odin Over Jane Foster? #25 (1981)
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Dave Simons
As Peter Gillis pointed out, Jane Foster got royally stitched up by Odin (not to mention Stan & Jack, when they decided to write her out for good). Thor wanted to marry Jane, so Odin transformed her into a goddess. Jane understandably freaked out when then challenged to fight a giant monster. Therefore Odin concluded she wasn't a fit match for his son and mindwiped her, sending her back to her day job. By the end of the issue, fickle Thor was busy making moony eyes at Sif.
In this timeline, rather than acquiesce to his controlling father as usual, Thor rebels, declaring civil war. Thor's allies include the Avengers, while Odin hides behind Loki and Balder's army. After tragic deaths in battle, Thor and Odin have it out, and agree to go their separate ways, with a crestfallen Thor forming his own kingdom (Thorgard?). It's an effective tale that hammers home the point that many of Asgard's woes over the years have been self inflicted by Odin's consistently awful parenting. That said, in both realities Thor is a jerk who forgets the one thing he's ultimately fighting for, love.
Next time: more worlds gone wrong, less jerks.
Comments
Post a Comment