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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Jan 4, 2017 23:29:53 GMT -5
What If...an oft overlooked series that has some excellent stories. Surely everyone here has their own "What If" that was never explored. Post your ideas here! |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212 
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Post by Confessor on Jan 4, 2017 23:47:20 GMT -5
Not to derail this thread, but I have to say that, personally speaking, I've always hated "What If..." comics or "imaginary stories" (aren't they all?). Life's too short to spend my time reading "what if..." books, when I could be reading "what was..." ones instead.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 0:32:58 GMT -5
I have several What If's books from Marvel and what you are saying here pinkfloydsound17 is you want us to come up with some of our own! ... I have a couple of them that Marvel should had done when the What If Series was popular back then.
What If Mary Jane Watson became Spider Woman and Ben Parker was her love interest?
What If Sue Storm and Johnny Storm had their powers reversed - Meaning Sue Storm become the Human Torch and Johnny Storm become Invisible Man?
What If the X-Men was the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants became the X-Men?
What If Captain America were raised in Britain and Captain Britain were raised in United States?
Meaning Steve Rogers is Captain Britain and Brian Braddock is Captain America
Here's my four ideas that I would like to see and if anyone of these has been done ... I've apologize for submitting them.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 5, 2017 6:39:10 GMT -5
Great idea for a thread.
What I'd want is for any new What if..? story to respect the series's core concept: that it is not a purely imaginary tale but one based on the actual Marvel continuity, with one event or decision veering history in a different direction. One of the things I loved most about the original run is that it taught us about the actual history of the characters... back when such a concept actually meant anything.
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Post by coinilius on Jan 5, 2017 7:05:21 GMT -5
I think marvel was always better at the 'what if' conceptthab dc could ever be, at least after all the reboots and retcons dc has had over the years - when marvel did the recent Secret Wars or whatever it was stories with the alternate universes around the same time dc did the convergence stories, the marvel ones in general seemed to actually feel more era and continuity appropriate than the dc convergence stories did (with a few exceptions) - andthe what if stories that ireadcrom at least the second volume always seemed to take into account larger marvel continuity and how the changes might effect them, even if they were always 'worst case' scenarios.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 9:53:59 GMT -5
What If...
Jason Todd had been the first Robin? Probably he would have been the only Robin.
Capt America & Bucky "survived" WWII? Would they still have been Living Legends?
Kirk had a different First Officer instead of Spock? Would he have been a great Captain? I doubt it.
Tony Stark was a cardboard manufacturer? Disaster.
Star Wars was a movie about dining etiquette? Use the fork Luke! The Fork!
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 5, 2017 10:18:11 GMT -5
What If... Tony Stark was a cardboard manufacturer? Disaster.  "Bring on Wong-Chu!" |
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Post by brutalis on Jan 5, 2017 10:25:54 GMT -5
My personal What If's:
What if Tony Stark died as Iron Man from a heart attack and somebody else had to become Iron Man?
What if Captain America died in WW2 and Bucky was the one frozen and revived and was an Avenger?
What if Howard Stark became Iron Man in WW2 and fought alongside the Avengers?
What if Nick Fury became Captain America?
What if Peter Parker became the Hulk?
What if Peter Parker became Daredevil and Matt Murdoch became Spider-Man?
What if the Kree won the Kree/Skrull war and Earth became controlled by the Kree?
What if Doctor Doom was a hero and the Fantastic Four the villains?
What if Tony Stark became Doctor Strange and combined science and magic?
What if Professor X was evil and the X-Men were created by Magneto to fight him? What mutants would be evil and what mutants would be good?
And of course my own personal insane What If: DC and Marvel characters were reversed? Can you imagine what DC would do with their versions of Spidey, Cap, Shellhead and others and what Marvel might have done with Bats, Supes, Wondy and others?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 10:43:18 GMT -5
Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive flea?
The Fantastic Four title was not a success?
Atlas Comics (1975) was successful?
Fonzie was not in Happy Days?
Fawcett won the lawsuit in 1953?
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jan 5, 2017 10:49:57 GMT -5
What If... Jason Todd had been the first Robin? Probably he would have been the only Robin. Capt America & Bucky "survived" WWII? Would they still have been Living Legends? Kirk had a different First Officer instead of Spock? Would he have been a great Captain? I doubt it.Tony Stark was a cardboard manufacturer? Disaster. Star Wars was a movie about dining etiquette? Use the fork Luke! The Fork! To be fair, Spock would have at least been thinking with his head. Oh wait .... |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 5, 2017 12:26:31 GMT -5
I think marvel was always better at the 'what if' conceptthab dc could ever be, at least after all the reboots and retcons dc has had over the years - when marvel did the recent Secret Wars or whatever it was stories with the alternate universes around the same time dc did the convergence stories, the marvel ones in general seemed to actually feel more era and continuity appropriate than the dc convergence stories did (with a few exceptions) - andthe what if stories that ireadcrom at least the second volume always seemed to take into account larger marvel continuity and how the changes might effect them, even if they were always 'worst case' scenarios. See, I'm the other way; DC's Elseworld stories seem way better than any of the Marvel What If.. stories. I think stories like Batman as a vampire, Batman as a hero in the late Victorian age, Batman in the 1920's, Batman teaming up with Edgar Allen Poe, Batman as Dr. Frankenstein, Superman as a son of the Soviet Union, Superman as a kid in the real world, and Superman through the eyes of Fritz Lang are way better than stories like What if Spider-man was a pig, What if Spider-Man joined the F4, What if Uncle Ben had lived, What if Aunt May died, What if the Hulk had Banner's Brain or What if Wolverine was a vampire. About the only imaginary stories that Marvel has put out that even come close to the DC ones in my mind were the "The End" stories, especially the Hulk one and the Marvel Noir line. As for stories I'd like to see, as a kid I always felt that Superman should be immortal because he'd eventually soak up enough rays of the sun that he'd essentially become a god and would slowly stop aging physically around his early 50's. Although Eliot S! Maggin touched on a similar concept but I'd love to see someone like Morrison write a story of Superman at the end of the Earth or the Universe. For Batman they already did do my early childhood dream, "What if Thomas Wayne had watched his wife and son die in the ally?" I imagined a darker, older, more desperate Batman and that's what they did in Flashpoint. Bruce Timm also did one I had thought of, "What if Man Bat was Batman?" in Gods and Monsters. One that they haven't done that I'd enjoy would be if Bruce Wayne weren't a billionaire, what kind of Batman would he be? Instead of the child of rich socialites, what if he was the son of two working stiffs? Basically a Batman with no gadgets, no super car or plane just doing the best he can for Gotham with what he has. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 13:18:17 GMT -5
thwhtguardianDC Elseworlds were superior than Marvel What's If ... But, Marvel was more fun and catchy - while DC Counterparts were more realistic and a better story. I like them both for different reasons but you were right about DC Elseworlds and thanks for sharing that. I have a short collections of those books from DC Comics and I wished that they did more of them; Marvel Comics did a better job of cranking out those stories than DC Comics. That's my opinion.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 5, 2017 13:29:29 GMT -5
I found that both concepts had a lot of hits and misses. For me, What if? was better in the earlier days, under Roy Thomas, though it had some good stories later in the original run. the attempts at reviving it never did much for me. Elseworlds depended heavily on the team doing the particular story. Some concepts worked better than others and some stories were better conceived. Batman seemed to invoke the best, though mainly because he got so much of the action. I like some of the lesser ones, Like Master of the Future (I love Verne and The Wild Wild West), Dark Allegiance and The Blue, The Grey and the Bat.
I don't really have anything in mind, for a potential story, at the moment.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 5, 2017 13:38:09 GMT -5
I think marvel was always better at the 'what if' conceptthab dc could ever be, at least after all the reboots and retcons dc has had over the years - when marvel did the recent Secret Wars or whatever it was stories with the alternate universes around the same time dc did the convergence stories, the marvel ones in general seemed to actually feel more era and continuity appropriate than the dc convergence stories did (with a few exceptions) - andthe what if stories that ireadcrom at least the second volume always seemed to take into account larger marvel continuity and how the changes might effect them, even if they were always 'worst case' scenarios. See, I'm the other way; DC's Elseworld stories seem way better than any of the Marvel What If.. stories. I think stories like Batman as a vampire, Batman as a hero in the late Victorian age, Batman in the 1920's, Batman teaming up with Edgar Allen Poe, Batman as Dr. Frankenstein, Superman as a son of the Soviet Union, Superman as a kid in the real world, and Superman through the eyes of Fritz Lang are way better than stories like What if Spider-man was a pig, What if Spider-Man joined the F4, What if Uncle Ben had lived, What if Aunt May died, What if the Hulk had Banner's Brain or What if Wolverine was a vampire. About the only imaginary stories that Marvel has put out that even come close to the DC ones in my mind were the "The End" stories, especially the Hulk one and the Marvel Noir line. I don't know, guardian... "What if Dr. Doom was a hero", "What if Dr. Strange was a disciple of Dormammu", "What if Elektra had lived", "What if Thor met Conan" were pretty awesome stories. Their greatest appeal is that they were not just alternative tales, but were sticking to the What if..? concept; the characters featured therein, as well as their world, are all the ones we are familiar with. That means Dr. Doom does not just act out of character and be heroic for the sake of a cool story; it is our Dr. Doom, the same arrogant and self-centered fellow we know, who due to a slight change in his history didn't become a super-villain. Since his character stays the same, the development of his heroic career (and his ultimate fate) goes pretty much the way we would have expected, allowing us to see him as the flawed individual he is -with an added layer of tragedy. That's why I find the concept so intriguing, and what What if..? different from an Elseworlds story (although these can be just as much fun, naturally). I remember a letter commenting on "What if Phoenix had not died": the reader complained that Sentinels had no business in that story, because Sentinels were not active around the time Jean Grey died... and he was right! A proper "What if..?" story does not incorporate multiple fanciful concepts: it has to proceed logically from just one small event that went a different way. The butterfly effect may of course be invoked, (as with the sequel to "What if Spider-man had joined the FF", which led to Sue Storm marrying Namor) but it all has to proceed logically. It is a great exercise for a writer, and some of the best What if..? tales are brilliant precisely because they stick to the continuity we know. They sometimes make the "real" story more poignant (as when we learn how Matt Murdoch and Elektra would have ended together had she not been killed by Bullseye) and sometimes make it more acceptable (as when we learn that had Jean Grey not died, the Phoenix would have destroyed the Earth). Naturally, even when sticking to the core concept, you need good ideas. There are many What if..? issues that I find to be sub-par, especially in volume 2. But volume 1 is excellent almost throughout! |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 5, 2017 14:27:09 GMT -5
What If...an oft overlooked series that has some excellent stories. Surely everyone here has their own "What If" that was never explored. Post your ideas here! "What if Dr. Doom went to see a therapist?" Viktor, you must realize that your entire sense of self-worth is pathologically tied to your need to prove that you are better than Reed Richards at everything. If you could move beyond this obsession, you would stop wasting your incredible intellect on hare brained schemes like shooting buildings into space and might perform actual miracles, curing cancer or ending famine. You are clearly your own worst enemy, and your hyper-sensitive ego is the main cause of your constant unhappiness. Let it go, Viktor, let it go... what should you care what Reed Richards think? And if you do care, why not impress him with your achievements instead of trying to cause him pain? I am sure that were you not so hostile all the time, he would welcome an opportunity to collaborate with you, and meet you as a friend, not a competitor. You two are so much like brothers, always trying to outdo each other. That's a phase we have to outgrow, eventually. Look at what this obsession has led you to... you have wasted decades, Viktor, decades, pursuing a goal that will bring you no joy in the end. And it has cost you dearly... Your country has been destroyed several times, you have been killed on more than one occasion, you have condemned children to Hell, and you have murdered your own girlfriend. What did all that pain get you Viktor? Nothing but more pain, right? It's time to become the man you really are, not the caricatural bully your childhood rage has created. |
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