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Post by sabongero on Jul 1, 2016 17:56:15 GMT -5
 What If…? #24: Spider-Man had Rescued Gwen Stacy? 75 Cents @ December 1980 Writer: Tony Isabella Artists: Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia Colorist: Gafford Letterer: Orzechowski Editor: O’Neil Editor-in-Chief: Shooter Watcher Quote: “I am the Watcher. And I too know something of responsibility. For years beyond reckoning, it has been my responsibility to observe and record the eternal tableau of history on the planet Earth. But recently I learned that there are other Earths than that which exists in your universe. Earths which diverge from one another at critical points to chart alternate histories. Examining the reality of these divergent Earths has often provided me insights into the men of your world. For these were the same beings until their lives took other paths. On your world, the costumed youth named Spider-Man feels remorse at his failure to save the woman he loved. But if he could see, as I can, that a reality away Gwendolyn Stacy had a different destiny. One that irrevocably altered his own. Would that knowledge comfort him or embitter him? That is not for me to decide. I fear that few human minds could even cope with the knowledge of the multiplicity of existence. Let us return to the fateful moments that led, in one reality, to Gwen Stacy’s death, and witness a world of difference.” Synopsis: The story begins with Spider-Man high above the Brooklyn Bridge “talking” to his deceased girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. He remembers their joyful times together, and says that he cherished those moments and did not want to be bitter because then all he will have is horror. He will be happy one day, but he will always remember Gwen and will always love her. At that he swung away. The Watcher then takes us into an alternate reality and we join the action in that fateful time when the Green Goblin held Gwen Stacy hostage high atop the Brooklyn Bridge. They battled. And then we arrive in the action where the Green Goblin pushed Gwen Stacy from atop the Brooklyn Bridge to fall to her death. Spider-Man was going to shoot a web to stop her fall, but then immediately changed his mind and instead pushed from atop and jumped to overtake and reach her to hold her and use his body to absorb the impact of the water below. The Green Goblin left the vicinity thinking he had finally killed him. A few minutes later, Spider-Man and Gwen emerged from the water and Spider-Man brought her to the pier. And seeing she’s not breathing he administered first aid breathing to Gwen, and she came through coughing out water. In this alternate Earth, Peter has saved the love of his life. Gwen recognized her boyfriend’s voice and when she opened her eyes to look at him, horror engulfed her eyes as she sees an unmasked Peter Parker but with the Spider-Man costume. They talked for a while, and their love won out in the end. Peter was so happy he proposed to her, and she accepted. At that Spider-Man left her for the time being to take care of business. In another part of the city, the Green Goblin was boasting to the criminals that he killed Spider-Man and for them to go spread the word. They didn’t believe him and they ask the Goblin for proof. At that, Spider-Man shone a Spider-Man web light on them. A battle ensued and a pissed off Spider-Man took down the criminals and overpowered the Goblin. In the middle of the melee the Goblin escaped, and when he passed a mailbox, placed a sealed envelope to mail evidence to Spider-Man’s worst enemy other than him. The Goblin made his way back to his home where his son, Harry Osborn is pleading with him to help him. The Goblin said they have to leave as Spider-Man would be there momentarily. And Spidey arrived, and they battled. Harry tried to attack Spidey from behind and Spidey’s automatic reaction was too much for Harry, yet he battled the superhero. Seeing his son in danger fighting for him, the Goblin reverted his psychotic personality back to His normal Norman Osborn self. Spider-Man tells them he has to take care of Norman, but Harry told Spider-Man he’ll help his dad, and give them time, he’ll be better and told Spider-Man that he won’t regret it. Spider-Man went back to Gwen Stacy. He and Gwen go to Aunt May and tell her the good news that they are getting married. We then fast forward to the wedding day, and in a room getting ready is the groom, Peter Parker, with his best man, Flash Thompson. Peter climbed down to the other floor to see the bride, Gwen Stacy to talk before the wedding started. And then the wedding took place, and it was a very joyful occasion. Two lovers finally tied the knot. The Peter Parker “luck” is over. Then Betty Brant asked Ned where is Jonah Jameson. Just then, J. Jonah Jameson with the Goblin’s envelope at hand and accompanied by cops arrived and pointed to Peter Parker and told the cops to arrest Peter Parker, the man known as Spider-Man. Hearing the news, Aunt May collapses. And Peter rushed toward her. Police officers have their guns drawn pointed at Peter who was holding Aunt May. Flash rushed to Peter’s side trying to talk the cops not to shoot and give Peter a chance to explain. Flash asked Peter to give up. Peter couldn’t believe his ears, give up for what. He jumped up at crashed through a window to escape outside. Robbie dismayed asked Jonah why he did this. And Jonah said for revenge. And at that Robbie Robertson punched Jonah in the stomach. Robbie went over to console a dismayed Gwen Stacy. We see Peter in some rooftop sad and depressed over what happened and how everything worked out. The Parker “luck” never left him after all. Comments: Let us rejoice as Gwen Stacy was saved. But what’s this? A tragic ending for our beloved wall crawler? Not again. But then that is how these what if comic book series are directed. They are geared towards retelling an alternate story if something else happened on a time altering decision. But the ending is always tragic. This is really a good what if story though, tragic ending aside. We can genuinely feel the weight removed from Peter’s shoulders when Gwen started breathing again after saving her. That alone made the story worth it for long time Amazing Spider-Man readers. After all, at the time of publication and before that, for many readers, Gwen Stacy was everyone’s girl next door and “girlfriend.” It just shows you how much damage an enemy can really cause other than physical injury during a battle. |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 1, 2017 14:41:17 GMT -5
 What If...? #26: Captain America had been Elected President?0.75 USD @ April 1981 Writer: Mike W. Barr Penciler: Herb Trimpe Inker: Mike Esposito Colorist: Carl Gafford Letterer: Michael Higgins Editor: Denny O'Neil Synopsis: It is election year, and the public is clamoring for Captain America to run for President of the U.S.A. The media coverage is a sensation. Captain America chose Senator Andrew Jackson Hawk as his running mate, not because he's black so Cap can obtain the minority votes, he just liked his votes in Congress and noted that being elected President is nothing, unless he can get along with Congress as well. As the campaign shifts into gear, Cap gets stressed out with a little doubt if he did the right thing by running for president. And as election day came, Captain America was voted as the new president, defeating Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. On the day he is sworn in, Captain America kept one of his campaign promises by unmasking in public and letting everyone know that he is Steve Rogers. An assassin has him in his sights, shot, and missed, as Captain America's battle honed instincts allowed him to dodge the bullet. He puts his mask on and shifts gears to go after the assassin, with U.S. Secret Service in tail. Swinging into action, Captain America crashed into the windows of a building where the assassin lay, and caught him. The U.S. Secret Service arrived too late. As the months progressed, Steve Rogers,as President of the USA, made Americans everywhere feel safer and secure as his team sends into orbit a new solar collecting space station that can benefit many people on Earth as a new source of cheap energy. One of his campaign promises was to rid the tyranny in a South American oil-rich country, called San Pedro. As he addressed the media, President America aka President Rogers advised that he will personally be going to San Pedro himself, if he's going to go to war with them. Back in the White House, Vice President Hawk cautioned him not to go, but couldn't convince Rogers. He wished him well. Captain America arrived in San Pedro and was driven to that country's presidential palace, where the president unmasked himself to reveal that he is Captain America's mortal enemy, The Red Skull, who zapped him with a ray gun, knocking Captain America unconscious. Cap finds himself shackled in chains and a prisoner of the Red Skull, who got control of the new U.S. space satellite and was blasting deadly lasers towards Washington D.C. from outer space. Captain America's shield was near his feet, and flips it to his hand and he sends the shield crashing to the ceiling, and freeing him from the chains. He and the Red Skull ensues in a melee. They went back and forth, and as the building around them caught fire, they continued to battle until the whole building blew up, with the only remaining part of Captain America was his indestructible adamantium shield. Both foes perished. In Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes are laid to rest, the group of the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and the X-Men, amongst many other heroes, bury the fallen superhero President. Nick Fury gives a euology to about their fallen comrade. Comments: Captain America proves that a third party candidate can win the presidential elections in this world's USA of 1980. Even a superhero gets stressed out in the campaign trail. No matter what he does, he will forever be intertwined with his mortal enemy, the Red Skull. And they die together in their never ending battle. There were funny moments in this issue. The best was when J. Jonah Jameson was going to publish some negative news articles on Captain America, and Spider-Man on his window told him not to do it, since the consensus is that Captain America is thinking of asking the Amazing Spider-Man to be his vice presidential running mate. A scared Jameson ran out of the office to have his staff immediately contact their Washington newspaper to confirm this. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 1, 2017 15:09:42 GMT -5
The concept is rife with potential, but if Cap was ready to change the traditional U.S. policy and actively move for regime change in another country, it would have been daft of him to do it alone... He should have sent the U.S. army, SHIELD and the Avengers!
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Post by sabongero on Sept 1, 2017 15:18:10 GMT -5
The concept is rife with potential, but if Cap was ready to change the traditional U.S. policy and actively move for regime change in another country, it would have been daft of him to do it alone... He should have sent the U.S. army, SHIELD and the Avengers! If this was done in this current era on a... let's say 6-issue limited series or even a 10-12 issue maxi series, like you said, this issue has so much potential. He could've utilized all those agencies you mentioned along with a lot of other options. Unfortunately, the 1981 story is still under the CCA and I am sure the editors in Marvel aren't prone to writing stories that can have a backlash effect, meaning ultra controversial stories. The question is, which creative team would do a great job if this was written today. I'd have David Aja illustrate this as he would capture the mood and atmosphere in such a modern thirller-like story. As for the writer... I don't know who would write it... perhaps Nick Spencer. I got it... Jonathan Hickman in the mold of his Secret Warriors run about a decade ago. |
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Post by sabongero on Apr 17, 2018 9:24:27 GMT -5
 What If...? #27: Phoenix Had Not Died?0.75 USD @ July 1981 Writer: Mary Jo Duffy Penciler: Jerry Bingham Inker: John Stuart Colorist: Carl Gafford Letterer: Artie Simek & Janice Chiang Editor: Tom DeFalco & Mark Gruenwald Watcher's Quote(s): "Then, at that moment, Cyclops was brutally cut down by an energy blast! Grief and shock combined within Jean Grey, until Phoenix was reborn! Realizing that she'd never be able to contain the dark side of her power again, and knowing that it was growing geometrically with every use... Jean Grey chose to use an alien weapon to end her own life. At last, the universe was safe from the ravages of the Phoenix! Her gallant sacrifice, was a tragedy! And a triumph of love. Her comrades and family could only mourn..." "But in the flush of battle, split-second decisions and hairtrigger reactions can change the very tides of history. Witness such a moment... as Marvel Girl sees the blast aimed for her and Cyclops and instant sooner, and reacts!" "What happens in this alternate reality is perhaps worse! But, I neither judge nor condemn, I only observe! For I am the Watcher!" Synopsis: The Watcher told the story of Jean Grey's transformation from Marvel Girl to Phoenix origin. Then he went on to where Mastermind destroyed the barriers set up in Jean's mind, which were subconscious circuit breakers. Then he went on to where Dark Phoenix emerged, and eventually consumed a distant star, where it killed five billion inhabitants in a nearby planet. Then there was the X-Men confrontation with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard who wanted to destroy the Phoenix to prevent another genocide in the universe. When each X-men went down, and Cyclops finally went down, Jean was once again reborn as the Phoenix and decided to commit suicide using an alien weapon as she was sure she could not control the Phoenix power this time around, and the X-Men mourned her death. But in an alternate universe, Marvel Girl took the blast that was meant for Scott Summers, and an enraged Scott destroyed that particular Shi'ar Imperial Guard. However as last man standing there was too much for him to handle and he also finally went down. The Shi'ar's empresses, Lilandra ordered her Shi'ar scientists to proceeded to destroy the Phoenix by performing a psychic lobotomizer in the human host's brain. Jean was alive, but her Phoenix power and telekinetic and telekinesis power are now gone. The X-Men went back home to their Westchester County home. Jean Grey was more docile and childlike, just a shell of the woman she was before. Life for the X-Men continued, as auxiliary X-Men left, and the rest of the regular team practiced harder than ever in the Danger Room. In the Danger Room is Kitty Pryde, the newest recruit, who replaced Marvel Girl's position in the team. Professor X summoned the X-Men to his room telepathically. They all gathered there, and Professor X explained that Empress Lilandra was asking the X-Men for help regarding the threat of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, who was threatening one of the planets in the Shi'ar empire. The Shi'ar armed forces were stretched too thin to do anything against the might of Galactus. This plea for help did not sit will with the members of the X-Men who still had a bad after taste after their experience with the Shi'ar Empire. Jean Grey spoke out full of spirit, that they are in the business of saving lives, and convinced her teammates to go help. The X-Men, both the regular team, and auxiliary team combined were then on their way to the Shi'ar empire to deal with the menace of Galactus. Upon reaching the planet, they teleported down, and the team found Galactus and immediately attacked. They encountered Galactus's Herald, Terrax, who by himself overpowered the X-Men. Then with his scythe, was about to decapitate Cyclops, and Jean Grey saw this on her monitor, and suddenly the sight of her love in mortal danger manifest the Phoenix force within her, and she shone brightly with the Phoenix force, this destroying their spacecraft. She went down to the planet and confronted Terrax, first melting his scythe, and then gave him a lesson in humility and took away his power cosmic and turned him to ordinary flesh and blood. She could have obliterated him, but did not. She turned her attention to Galactus. They battled, and Galactus realized Phoenix's power rivaled his. It was a stalemate. She destroyed his cosmic planet consuming "appliance." And Galactus, offered her to be his partner, as they are both gods and needed to consume, and together would be unstoppable in the universe. Phoenix did not agree, and Galactus yielded not because he lost, but because the planet was not worth the battle, so he took Terrax's mortal form back to his spaceship to transform him back to his herald and look for another planet to consume elsewhere. But he did not leave without imparting words to Phoenix that she has powers of a god and the day will come when she have the hungers of one. The X-Men celebrated their victory. Empress Lilandra arrived, and Phoenix attoned for her previous sin. But Galactus's words lingered in Jean Grey's mind. Back on Earth, the X-Men battled many supervillains and were victorious against them. However, Kitty Pryde was all to herself, and never developed friendships within the team. Cyclops is happy with Jean, but Wolverine is still apprehensive with Phoenix, who can turn to Dark Phoenix, and be a danger. His instincts were correct. Jean would sneak out and go to an uninhabited planet and consume it as her powers grew, her hunger grew. And one time, Kitty Pryde found her sneaking back into the house very late hours. One afternoon Iceman called the X-Men for help. There were giant robotic Sentinels. And the X-Men arrived, but was getting the worse end against the Sentinels. Phoenix put an end to the battle and destroyed the Sentinels. The X-Men flew back to the X-Men Mansion, but Jean told Scott she's fly back since it was a nice night. Instead she went to space and consumed a very small star in another galaxy. Upon arriving back at the X-Men Mansion, Kitty Pryde confronted Phoenix outside, telling her that Professor X monitored her telepathcically and knew she destroyed a star. Phoenix walked away, but Kitty wouldn't stop, and Phoenix disintegrated Kitty Pryde to dust as the X-Men went outside to witness this murder. And Professor X then battled her trying to erase her mind, but Phoenix was only toying with her. Overpowered, Professor X collapsed from his wheelchair and died. And she took down the X-Men one by one, until she killed Havok, and Cyclops saw his brother die and he attacked his love. And Phoenix in turn killed Cyclops. Realizing what she did, Phoenix had her anguish engulf her and it grew to the size of a city, and did not stop until it was the size of the entire planet and more, thus consuming and destroying the planet Earth, and the entire Milky Way solar system and everything else in its path. Comments: Basically, these What If stories are alternate timelines where something else happens and has a different result. Most of the time, it is tragic results, and this story is no different. Phoenix has the power of a god, and needed to consume when it is hungry. And eventually the entity was destructive to humankind, as is shown at the end. |
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Post by rberman on Apr 18, 2018 16:38:03 GMT -5
Upon arriving back at the X-Men Mansion, Kitty Pryde confronted Phoenix outside, telling her that Professor X monitored her telepathcically and knew she destroyed a star. Phoenix walked away, but Kitty wouldn't stop, and Phoenix disintegrated Kitty Pryde to dust as the X-Men went outside to witness this murder. And Professor X then battled her trying to erase her mind, but Phoenix was only toying with her. Overpowered, Professor X collapsed from his wheelchair and died. And she took down the X-Men one by one, until she killed Havok, and Cyclops saw his brother die and he attacked his love. And Phoenix in turn killed Cyclops. Realizing what she did, Phoenix had her anguish engulf her and it grew to the size of a city, and did not stop until it was the size of the entire planet and more, thus consuming and destroying the planet Earth, and the entire Milky Way solar system and everything else in its path. So.... I'm going to go with, "Jim Shooter was right. Phoenix needed to die." |
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Post by sabongero on Apr 20, 2018 1:54:18 GMT -5
Upon arriving back at the X-Men Mansion, Kitty Pryde confronted Phoenix outside, telling her that Professor X monitored her telepathcically and knew she destroyed a star. Phoenix walked away, but Kitty wouldn't stop, and Phoenix disintegrated Kitty Pryde to dust as the X-Men went outside to witness this murder. And Professor X then battled her trying to erase her mind, but Phoenix was only toying with her. Overpowered, Professor X collapsed from his wheelchair and died. And she took down the X-Men one by one, until she killed Havok, and Cyclops saw his brother die and he attacked his love. And Phoenix in turn killed Cyclops. Realizing what she did, Phoenix had her anguish engulf her and it grew to the size of a city, and did not stop until it was the size of the entire planet and more, thus consuming and destroying the planet Earth, and the entire Milky Way solar system and everything else in its path. So.... I'm going to go with, "Jim Shooter was right. Phoenix needed to die." Perhaps. But the ending showed a fiery Phoenix the size of several planets and consuming/destroying them. So I am guessing the Phoenix entity survived the What If? story of this alternate timeline. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Apr 20, 2018 5:59:31 GMT -5
Upon arriving back at the X-Men Mansion, Kitty Pryde confronted Phoenix outside, telling her that Professor X monitored her telepathcically and knew she destroyed a star. Phoenix walked away, but Kitty wouldn't stop, and Phoenix disintegrated Kitty Pryde to dust as the X-Men went outside to witness this murder. And Professor X then battled her trying to erase her mind, but Phoenix was only toying with her. Overpowered, Professor X collapsed from his wheelchair and died. And she took down the X-Men one by one, until she killed Havok, and Cyclops saw his brother die and he attacked his love. And Phoenix in turn killed Cyclops. Realizing what she did, Phoenix had her anguish engulf her and it grew to the size of a city, and did not stop until it was the size of the entire planet and more, thus consuming and destroying the planet Earth, and the entire Milky Way solar system and everything else in its path. So.... I'm going to go with, "Jim Shooter was right. Phoenix needed to die." That was pretty much the take-home message, and at the time it was somehow comforting. Much as we fans would have wanted to see Jean stay around, this story showed that it would have led to Earth’s destruction. Of course, that was back when characters dying actually meant anything to the readers... an era that died, paradoxically enough, when Jean was resurrected! |
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Post by rberman on Apr 20, 2018 6:10:46 GMT -5
So.... I'm going to go with, "Jim Shooter was right. Phoenix needed to die." Perhaps. But the ending showed a fiery Phoenix the size of several planets and consuming/destroying them. So I am guessing the Phoenix entity survived the What If? story of this alternate timeline. Phoenix survived, but Earth did not. That was why she needed to die. Lilandra was not over-reacting in UXM #137 when she instructed her crew to “burn this entire stellar cluster” to prevent Phoenix from going on another rampage of stellacide. |
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Post by tarkintino on Apr 21, 2018 11:48:12 GMT -5
What If was such a fun series--sort of was Marvel's answer to DC's long running "imaginary stories" features; both were great at exploring those ideas only die hard fans dared to toss around. My all time favorite What If stories were #4 ("What if the Invaders had stayed together after World War Two?"), #5 ("What if...Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?"), #24 ("What if Spider-Man had Rescued Gwen Stacy?") and #44 ("What if Captain America Were Revived Today?"). At one time or another as a kid, I--like many fans--thought those subjects had to be told...then What If was dropped on fans and did not disappoint.
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Post by sabongero on Apr 21, 2018 12:33:38 GMT -5
What If was such a fun series--sort of was Marvel's answer to DC's long running "imaginary stories" features; both were great at exploring those ideas only die hard fans dared to toss around. My all time favorite What If stories were #4 ( "What if the Invaders had stayed together after World War Two?"), #5 ( "What if...Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?"), #24 ( "What if Spider-Man had Rescued Gwen Stacy?") and #44 ( "What if Captain America Were Revived Today?"). At one time or another as a kid, I--like many fans--thought those subjects had to be told...then What If was dropped on fans and did not disappoint. I didn't know that DC Comics also had a "What If?" series. Would you happen to recall the name of the DC series of "What If?" comic books? That really interested me, and would like to read how DC re-wrote certain canonical storylines back then with alternate endings like Marvel did with What If?. Thanks. |
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Post by badwolf on Apr 21, 2018 14:26:32 GMT -5
What If was such a fun series--sort of was Marvel's answer to DC's long running "imaginary stories" features; both were great at exploring those ideas only die hard fans dared to toss around. My all time favorite What If stories were #4 ( "What if the Invaders had stayed together after World War Two?"), #5 ( "What if...Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?"), #24 ( "What if Spider-Man had Rescued Gwen Stacy?") and #44 ( "What if Captain America Were Revived Today?"). At one time or another as a kid, I--like many fans--thought those subjects had to be told...then What If was dropped on fans and did not disappoint. I didn't know that DC Comics also had a "What If?" series. Would you happen to recall the name of the DC series of "What If?" comic books? That really interested me, and would like to read how DC re-wrote certain canonical storylines back then with alternate endings like Marvel did with What If?. Thanks. It wasn't a single series, but they would occasionally do "imaginary stories" within the regular runs (most often in the silver age I think), and in the 80s or 90s they had Elseworlds (one-shots or miniseries) that envisioned characters in a different scenario (Batman in Victorian times, Superman raised in USSR...) |
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Post by tarkintino on Apr 21, 2018 15:28:31 GMT -5
I didn't know that DC Comics also had a "What If?" series. Would you happen to recall the name of the DC series of "What If?" comic books? That really interested me, and would like to read how DC re-wrote certain canonical storylines back then with alternate endings like Marvel did with What If?. Thanks. It wasn't a single series, but they would occasionally do "imaginary stories" within the regular runs (most often in the silver age I think), and in the 80s or 90s they had Elseworlds (one-shots or miniseries) that envisioned characters in a different scenario (Batman in Victorian times, Superman raised in USSR...) ^ sabongero, badwolf clarified what I was referring to with DC; in the past, particularly DC's Silver Age, titles such as Action Comics, Detective Comics, World's Finest and others would have a one-off or even running imaginary tales featuring many of their most popular characters (e.g. Superman marrying Lois, or any number of story-specific women), serving the same purpose What If did for Marvel. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 22, 2018 21:44:54 GMT -5
Is this the only series where Don Glut was a fairly regular writer? I've seen his name in SF circles, but never thought of him as a comic book writer, especially on superheroes. Late to the game; but, what the hell? Glut wrote the tail end of Invaders and created Traag and the Sky Gods, at Gold Key, was a key writer on Dagar and The Occult Files of Dr Spektor; and, he was the adaptor of the Empire Strikes Back, for the novelization of the film script. Great adventure and pulp writer; not bad with superheroes (better with more human characters). |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 24, 2018 23:38:09 GMT -5
What If was such a fun series--sort of was Marvel's answer to DC's long running "imaginary stories" features; both were great at exploring those ideas only die hard fans dared to toss around. My all time favorite What If stories were #4 ( "What if the Invaders had stayed together after World War Two?"), #5 ( "What if...Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?"), #24 ( "What if Spider-Man had Rescued Gwen Stacy?") and #44 ( "What if Captain America Were Revived Today?"). At one time or another as a kid, I--like many fans--thought those subjects had to be told...then What If was dropped on fans and did not disappoint. I didn't know that DC Comics also had a "What If?" series. Would you happen to recall the name of the DC series of "What If?" comic books? That really interested me, and would like to read how DC re-wrote certain canonical storylines back then with alternate endings like Marvel did with What If?. Thanks. Oddly enough, I suspect that while Marvel's What If? title isn't entirely comparable with the Imaginary Stories DC had been doing during the Silver Age, DC did do at least one 'What If?' story in which they did provide an alternate ending to a canonical story and even called it a 'What if' tale. Detective Comics 347   So before 'What If?' was a title produced by Marvel, it was a room inside Gardner Fox's house. Detective 347 told a relatively usual story about Batman defeating a newly arrived upon the scene foe only to have Fox show up and wonder (and then reveal) how the tale would have ended if Batman had been killed instead. There's also another 'What If' Batman story out there that exists due to the constraints inherent in getting a comic to the newstand in time for its scheduled release. After DC released Batman 427 in which fans were given the chance to save/end the life of Jason Todd following the events which ended that issue, they had one month to get Batman 428 out to the printers. Not knowing how the fans were going to vote, they had two copies of 428 ready to go - one in which Jason lives; one in which he dies. They of course, sent out the one in which he died, but presumably, they still have the Jim Starlin penned/Jim Aparo penciled alternate Batman 428 somewhere in their files which has yet to be released in its entirety. We have seen a few panels here and there (in fact, a giant splash of Batman holding Jason's body while shouting "He's Alive - Thank God!' made it into Batman Annual 25) but not a whole issue, which if it did come out, would essentially be 'What If Jason Todd Had Lived'. |
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