What If... The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?

Hell is wrong with you people? Remember this isnt cannon?, its an alternate time line. Who doesn't want to see The Power Rangers, take on a over sized creature? With mass destruction. Yeah it did stress me out a bit but we got a mecha bot fighting an over sized monster with a genuinely decent story line. Get over yourselves.

While I appreciate the very obvious kaiju and anime references, I would much rather watch a true kaiju film or catch some old Voltron, Star Blazers or Battle of the Planets.

I also feel this episode strays too far from the multiverse plotlines we have been seeing which question how the current world/universe would be different if only one or two things in history had changed, as this episode looks to the future and basically just tells us a future story.

I look forward to Season three, episiode two to see where they are planning on going with this, but if they repeat the same kind of story or storyline, I may just have to draw an end to watching 'What if...?"

Marvel's "What If...?" series has always been an intriguing platform for exploring the multiverse, where small changes ripple into big "what could have been" scenarios. It's the perfect format for an animated show, offering limitless opportunities to reimagine beloved characters and iconic storylines. While the series has delivered a fair share of surprises, it hasn't quite reached the level of unforgettable storytelling that its boundless potential promises. There have been a few fun changes to the films, and then some questionable decisions made for certain episodes. The Season 3 premiere, "What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?" exemplifies both the show's strengths and its shortcomings.

At first glance, the premise is tailor-made for a rollicking animated adventure: Bruce Banner, in yet another tragic misfire of scientific experimentation, unleashes a destructive force that only a team of colossal mech-suited heroes can combat. Watching robots and monsters pummel each other is undeniably fun. The episode captures the visual thrill of these clashes, with fluid animation that highlights every impact, explosion, and Hulk-sized tantrum. However, the excitement fades as the story leans too heavily on this concept, leaving the action to carry the weight of a plot that feels thin. The exploration of Bruce Banner's perpetual struggle with the Hulk continues to be one of the MCU's most compelling arcs. This episode adds an intriguing twist, framing Banner's dilemma through the lens of self-sacrifice. Would you confront your worst nightmare yet again if it meant saving the world? It's a question rich with emotional weight, and one that lends the episode a fleeting gravitas. Unfortunately, this thread is never fully developed, drowned out by the relentless focus on monster-versus-mech spectacle. On a technical level, the animation deserves praise for its dynamic action sequences and sharp visual style. The fights are kinetic and inventive, showcasing the potential of animated Marvel stories to push boundaries. However, the stakes are so low that the episode ultimately feels like a Saturday morning cartoon rather than a meaningful entry in the MCU multiverse. Without genuine consequences or depth, the novelty of watching giant robots battle monsters wears thin, and the relentless punching and transforming begins to feel monotonous.

"What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?" offers some enjoyable moments, but it ultimately feels like it's doing the bare minimum with its story. In the end, this episode is a mixed bag: a visual treat with fleeting moments of emotional resonance, but one that falls short of delivering on its intriguing premise.

This episode may not be everyone's favorite of the series or the season, but it is another excellent example of What-if trying something different for specific genre fans to enjoy. This episode is for Godzilla fans and Gundam fans and power rangers fans and Japanese anime fans so it might not be a good fit for the MCU fans that didn't grow up on the comics or those that enjoyed the Marvel Zombies episodes. The story did feel a bit rushed overall, but they did a good job of giving a brief spotlight to over 10 MCU characters. What-if once again surprises us by showing that in an infinite multiverse, if it could happen, it has happened.

There really was so much working for this idea. The visuals were pretty amazing, the vast of characters were a grouping we've really never seen together, and we frankly have been starved for content this year, so anything short of a full blown Love & Thunder was going to be a hit.

But this fell flat, and it fell flat on what is arguably Marvel's greatest post-End Game weakness; dialog between characters.

With this much action and a massively compressed storyline, you really only had to wrote about 5 minutes of good, human conversation. Why is that so hard? The one-liners and schmaltz drowned out everything else. I really hope we get back on track with the rest of the season.