We’ve had zombies, we’ve had Kaiju and we’ve even had an adventure set in 1602, so maybe the biggest surprise about What If…? finally turning its attention toward cowboys and gunslingers is that it didn’t happen sooner. That’s right, while the Watcher does what he does best, the MCU is taking a trip to the old west in order to keep us on our toes and throwing in a bunch of underutilised characters as it goes. It’s starting to feel like the showrunners have a big-ass list of newer characters and situations that have been shrewdly complied to either remind us about relevant plot points and faces that are due to show up in live action over the coming months. We’ve had repeated mentions of the Celestial Tiamut, we’ve seen Sam Wilson as Captain America two months before his solo movie, we’ve had a team up between the Red Guardian and the Winter Soldier before Thunderbolts* and we’ve even spent some time with Riri Williams prior to the launch date of Ironheart. However, can an episode set in the old west possibly give Marvel an opening to cram in yet another preview of things to come? Hey, this is Marvel; of course they can…
It’s 1872 – or at least, an alternative 1872 – and while lawlessness covers the acrid land, it’s said that if you find yourself in need of help, if you ring a bell ten times, legendary do-gooder Shang-Chi will appear and offer aid (ten rings, get it?). We get a good example of this when gunslinger John Walker and his gang attempts to lure Shang-Chi into a trap, but they haven’t reckoned on his sharpshooting partner Kate Bishop – aka. Hawkeye – whose quick draw is just as deadly as his blinding Kung Fu.
Their main aim is to track down an eliminate the Hood, a mysterious criminal that’s been kidnapping immigrants for his own nefarious ends and not only is Shang-Chi dedicated to locating his nemesis in order to find his missing sister, Xu Xialing, but Kate is anxious to avenge her family who were murdered by the cloaked crime lord. They finally get a massive lead in the form of young Jun-Fan whose family were recently kidnapped and soon track down the bizarre, ghostly train the Hood and his men use to transport their victims. When they discover that this Hood has been stockpiling tech stolen from the likes of Tony Stark, Justin Hammer and Darren Cross and has plans far more ambitious than just collecting slaves.
The Hood’s intermediary turns out to be Sonny Burch whose men manage to get the drop on our heroes, but when a strange, almost cosmic, act of fate manages to save Jun-Fan from certain doom, it seems like the team of Shang-Chi and Hawkeye might have a change to save the day. However, when the Hood’s true identity is revealed, it complicates things almost as much as the Watcher is trying to simplify them…
I have to admit, while on paper the more gimmicky, genre based entries of Season 3 have looked pretty damn enticing (c’mon man, Kaiju!?) they’ve weirdly ended up being the most basic instalments of the bunch so far. While the comedy episodes (2,3 & 4) have been rather charming and the token downbeat episode (5) managed to do some funky things with some discarded characters, the episodes which hang the entire story on a certain genre have proven to be missing something and feel a little empty. Unfortunately it’s an issue that’s found its way into 1872? and those hoping for a rootin’ tootin’ good time may long for something a little deeper. Of course, with a show that literally piles a ridiculous amount of content into every episode, there is much here to love and simply taken from a visual stand point, episode six stands as one of the strongest – which is quite the achievement when other installments concerned themselves with the golden age of Hollywood and the aftermath of the splitting of the Earth. Everybody involved has obviously gone to Western school and the rich colours and use of shadow provides a lush and fairly original backdrop for the usual types of superhero shenanigans if you choose to omit the awful Jonah Hex from your grateful brains.
Front and centre is a much needed starring role for Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi who is somehow still waiting for official word of a sequel and even though the character had a smaller role in episode 1, you can tell the actor is relishing a chance to put a twang of cowboy swagger into the hero’s voice and get to inject some Asian influence into that most American on genres.
Also making a lot of sense (after racking up a few more appearances than Liu) is the appearance of Hailee Steinfeld as Hawkeye who now is remained as the fastest (and most accurate) draw in the West and while her bow and arrow shtick would have still been valid, presenting her as a dead-eye shot with the reflexes of a pre-tuberculosis Doc Holiday fits her pretty good – it’s just a shame that her more famously excitable and fangirl nature has been sanded down into something more stoic.
Joining them are the usual gaggle of guest spots and while it’s nice to see Wyatt Russell’s John Walker pop up, it’s something of a nothing cameo that doesn’t really go anywhere. However, the surprising return of Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch is so right it’s positively genius as the toothy actor turns that iconic drawl of his up to the max to take full advantage of a secondary villain role that makes way more sense than the entirety of his role in Ant-Man And The Wasp. However, possibly the most intriguing aspect is that of the Hood itself, mainly because the cloaked antagonist is one who hasn’t even turned up in the MCU yet. The identity of the Hood turns out to be a possessed Xu Xialing and while she’s another character who is screaming out for more MCU time, it’s the controlling force of the malevolent fashion accessory that proves to be the most pertinent. You see, much like Riri Williams in the last episode, the Hood is destined to make a splash in the upcoming Ironheart streaming series with its latest host being played by Anthony Ramos and it’s getting a little weird that What If…? seems to be becoming an advertisement for future shows and films rather than a show that riffs on the already established aspects of this gargantuan universe.
Anyway, things move nimbly enough and the episode throws in Marvel twists on established genre tropes (the steam train runs on repulsor tech and that ten rings gag is *chef’s kiss) while wrapping things up in a refreshingly unpredictable way, but due to its rather basic nature, it soon becomes obvious that the most important act is actually performed by the Watcher himself. Up until now we’ve believed that the old cosmic chrome dome has only broken his oath whenever the Multiverse has been in dire peril, but it seems that the ability to see everything everywhere all at once has now made him horribly resistant to tragedy and he seems to be helping out all over the place now. While no one wants to see a child die, if Jun-Fan had bought it at the hands of Burch’s goon, the Multiverse would have kept right on spinning – however, the Watcher is now playing God willy nilly (does that make him the Doer, now?) and his peers have now noticed. This, of course, spins us into the final two episodes which will, as usual, try and tie everything together; but if What If…? wants to go out with a bang, it had better be packing a bit more firepower than a couple of six shooters…
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