Thomas Storai 
Marvel Zombies is a brutal and gory zombie story featuring epic battles. However, it also serves as a poignant tragedy. Marvel Animation continues to impress with its stunning visuals.
After Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Animation returns with a new limited series – Marvel Zombies. It is set in the alternative timeline introduced in the episode ‘What If…Zombies!?’ from the first season of What If…?. The series consists of four episodes and is being released today on Disney+.
A DIFFERENT TAKE
Even though the What If…? episode that started this story was my least favourite of the first season, Marvel Zombies turns out to be a great surprise! It continues what began with this episode and expands the story by bringing in other heroes and villains. This is a team-up adventure, but the lead is clearly Mrs. Marvel. It’s a joy to see her again. This series reveals a more serious side of the character as she navigates the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Nevertheless, there’s still some humour left in her to lighten the mood at times.
Moreover, Shang-Chi makes his return as well. Ever since his solo film was released, he has clearly become a fan-favourite hero of the Multiverse saga. However, we’ve only seen him once in live-action so far. It’s a real shame we didn’t get to see him more yet. However, Marvel Animation has been able to give us more of the martial arts hero. Indeed, he appeared in two episodes of What If…?, and he is now one of the main characters of Marvel Zombies. He and Katy are a comedic duo that works so well, it feels great to see them together again. On top of that, the dynamic between him and Ms. Marvel is effective as well.
While we are still waiting for the Blade film, this series gives us a new take on Blade. Blade as the Fist of Konshu is not something I expected to see, but it’s incredibly cool. Series with alternative timelines allow the stories to explore the heroes we know in a different way, and giving that kind of twist to well-known heroes makes it even more exciting to watch.
A BRUTAL STORY
It’s a zombie story, so of course it’s gory, but it’s fierce too. Undoubtedly, it’s not for kids. This is a highly violent series. Because it’s a Marvel story and a team-up, there are epic fights. It delivers the spectacle you expect from Marvel. Because it’s a zombie apocalypse and the world is in a dire situation, the tone is grave. The stakes couldn’t be higher. This is very much a poignant tragedy. Death is all around, and the situation only gets more desperate as the story goes on. It’s a grim and gritty story.
Although it’s a limited series, it could have been edited as a two-hour film just as effectively. It’s not an anthology, and it consists of just four episodes with a continuous story. Honestly, it actually feels like a film in terms of pace and scale. So it’s a missed opportunity to have released it as a series rather than a movie.
VOICE CAST
It’s always better when actors who play a character in live-action return to voice their character in animation. Marvel knows that, and with What If…?, they brought back as many cast members as possible, and that’s what they did for this one, too. Awkwafina has a distinctive voice that is nearly impossible to imitate. It’s great to hear her voice again. The dynamic that she has with Simu Liu is a strong one; you can still feel it through their voice work. It’s like Iman Vellani, she’s iconic as Ms. Marvel. Having all these cast members coming back to voice their characters makes all the difference. It also makes it more anchored into the Marvel universe because it’s the same people playing the characters as in live-action.
VISUALS
Marvel Studios created its own visually distinct animation style with What If…?, and it’s a stunning one. Since Marvel Zombies continues the story of one episode from that series, it uses the same animation style. The visuals are spectacular. There are some memorable action scenes. Because it’s an animation, they can’t do things that they couldn’t do in live-action. This much gore would be too disgusting in live-action, but it works in animation. This visual style should become Marvel’s main animation style, like The Clone Wars style with Star Wars.
VERDICT
Marvel Zombies is a brutal and gory zombie story with epic fights. But it’s also a poignant tragedy. This post-apocalyptic setting allows the audience to discover their favourite superheroes in a different light, continuing what What If…? started. Marvel Animation keeps impressing with stunning visuals.
Marvel Zombies releases today on Disney+.
Collectables and Anime Editor for Future Of The Force.
Star Wars expert and Japan connoisseur.
