by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
The last four years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been unique, with the pause of theatrical releases due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the struggle to find a through line without stars like Robert Downey Jr. to anchor the franchise, and the emergence of lesser known comic characters to lead the way. None of these things are the individual, direct reason why the MCU has struggled, but combined, they have posed a strong challenge. When you add in the large amount of TV shows, watching new entries started to feel like homework. 2021’s What If…? certainly felt like required reading, but at least it had something different to it. Its premise was to explore one-off stories featuring prominent characters in a world just a little different from the mainline. Some best episodes were had Killmonger killing Iron Man, Doctor Strange losing his heart instead of his hands, and Ultron winning. But the one that garnered the most attention was the zombies episode. With the Earth infected with a zombie plague, how will our heroes defeat this atrocity and restore humanity? It was such a popular episode that it spun into a four-episode miniseries titled Marvel Zombies.
Our story picks up five years after the initial plague infestation. Humans (super or otherwise) are few and far between, and the dominant race on Earth is now the undead. Somehow in its dying breath, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to place a force field around the planet to contain the virus from spreading to space. But Ms. Marvel (voiced by Iman Vellani) has found a beacon to call for help, and believes this is how they can save the world. With the help of fellow heroes Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), Black Widow Yelena (Florence Pugh), and newcomer Blade Knight (Todd Williams), she might just have a chance. But out there in the ruins are threats unimaginable, including the zombified Red Queen herself, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
While I’m not on the side of folks screaming that the MCU is dead, I would say it has been incredibly unremarkable since Avengers: Endgame. You can attribute that to a number of things, but it made unique and fun stories rare. So I had hope for that original What If…? show because there were possibilities. But it was episodic — one episode features Happy Hogan saving Christmas, and another has T’Challa becoming Star Lord. It’s fun, but a bit shallow because of its nature. Giving a writer and cast room to develop their characters and stories will always be beneficial. And here a Marvel story featuring almost every main character as a zombie really pushes the envelope for a show run by the mouse house.
At the top of the list of pros for Marvel Zombies has to be the world building. We get to see just how far the world has fallen since the plague happened. Finding broken and dead heroes just mindless and searching for a feed is a sight to see. One great scene gives us a zombified Namor showing just how dangerous he would be if he had been infected. He rips through heroes with little to no struggle. And there are even greater threats on the horizon. But trust me: Those fights between the living and the dead are nothing short of brutal. Disney+ put that TV-MA rating to good use.
With some of our favorite Avengers sidelined (due to contracts or the zombie virus), we get to spend time with some of the less tenured heroes. Vellani has shown three times now that she is a terrific lead in the MCU, and she just continues to get better. I am glad to have her as our guide through this dead world. She has humor and somberness that can be used when needed, and I hope she keeps coming back.
But perhaps the most impressive acting is Williams as Blade Knight. Now if you’re a movie nerd like myself, you’ll know that one Mahershala Ali was cast as the legendary Blade a few years ago. However, his project seems to be losing steam, and aside from a voice cameo at the end of The Eternals, he’s yet to make a big screen appearance. Williams is so good at capturing Ali’s voice that I literally could not tell the difference, and thought it was Ali himself for at least an episode. A big recast is almost always controversial, and the drama around Ali’s Blade movie definitely is. But here, it’s a spectacular job by Disney finding someone who could pass for the two-time Oscar winner. Williams holds down the undeniable charm and cool that Ali normally brings to the screen. In a zombie mutant world, it’s a nice change to have some chill.
The animation is brought over from the same format as What if…? and it still has that same style that’s thick and half-baked looking. Not to say no one completed their work on this, but that the animation feels lacking of character and unimaginative. I know Disney is capable of excellent work in this genre, so seeing them put out C- work is a bit of shame.
Minor spoiler alert ahead here: After the final episode, I was still confused about what Wanda wanted, and why she was scheming against so many. Better yet, how is she able to retain a level of intelligence after being infected? The whole point of a zombie virus is no one is safe, and it reduces humanity no intelligence, and just hunger. Giving an antagonist a way around that, while still having them be zombified, breaks the important genre rule.
Overall, I’d still give Zombies a passing grade based on its world building and brutality, but I left a little disappointed with the lack of deep thought from the writer’s room. I’m sure there’s corporate thumbs on the scale or the typewriter, but show a little backbone. Let your work stand for itself. But we also owe those producers and corporate types credit for even letting a story like this take place.
Rating: Liked It
Marvel Zombies is currently streaming on Disney+
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