A trio of Marvel superheroes were barred from use in What If…?.
The recently concluded animated series What If…? took viewers for a jaunt around the MCU’s Multiverse with the powerful Uatu the Watcher as their tour guide.
The show explored many alternate Marvel worlds and timelines with stories that depicted fan favorites like World War ll hero Peggy Carter and martial arts expert Xu Shang-Chi with significant twists to their backstories. However, not every character the staff wanted to utilize was available.
3 Heroes That Marvel Studios Axed for What If…?
What If...? director Bryan Andrews spoke with Agents of Fandom and revealed specific Marvel characters he wanted to add to the series were off-limits.
The reason behind What If…?‘s production team being disallowed from featuring these heroes? Andrews explained that Marvel Studios is "very careful about making sure we don’t step on the toes of films that are about to come out." In other words, the live-action MCU movies prioritize introducing characters over What If…?.
The three heroes that Marvel higher-ups didn’t want What If…? to incorporate are detailed below:
Beta Ray Bill
Hailing from the planet Korbin, Beta Ray Bill is a humanoid alien hero with pale orange skin and an elongated, velociraptor-like head. He’s also one of the few beings who can lift and wield Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjölnir (although he has his weapon called Stormbreaker).
Bill first came to the comics in 1983’s The Mighty Thor #337 by Walt Simonson, the character’s sole creator. Beta Ray Bill is usually dressed in costumes resembling his staunch ally Thor’s. He also had a standout turn in another of Marvel’s animated shows, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Beta Ray Bill’s presence can still be felt despite not appearing in the MCU yet. In Thor: Ragnarok, metal sculptures representing the Grandmaster’s champions are displayed on a tower on Sakaar. One of those sculptures seemingly captured the likeness of Bill. This confirmed that the Korbinite previously found himself on Sakaar and was likely forced to compete in the Contest of Champions.
Iron Fist
A version of Iron Fist did appear in What If…?’s third season, but he wasn’t the one most people are familiar with. Instead of Danny Rand, who most commonly bears the mantle of the living weapon, Kwai Jun-Fan appears in Episode 6, "What If... 1872?" as a small child whose father has been captured by The Hood.
In the comic books, Jun-Fan is Danny’s predecessor who fought to protect the Wild West from harm in 1878. He was created by writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Travel Foreman for Immortal Iron Fist #17 in 2008.
Bryan Andrews initially desired to use Danny Rand instead of Kwai Jun-Fan and do a "super-mega-kung-fu-centric episode" with him and Shang-Chi, but this was not the case.
It could be said that the MCU has already introduced Iron Fist in his self-titled 2017 Netflix series. However, Iron Fist was made solely under the original Marvel Television regime, which was disconnected from the Kevin Feige-led Marvel Studios at the time. Thus, Danny Rand has not yet debuted in a Marvel Studios project.
Ghost Rider
Over the years, Ghost Rider has taken many forms, as several different men and women have been host to various spirits and demons. Most commonly, Ghost Rider is Johnny Blaze, a stuntman who sold his soul to Mephisto to save his father figure’s life.
Ghost Rider’s human form can transform into a horrifying alternate entity with a flaming skull for a head. The hero (or perhaps more accurately, antihero) first appeared in the pages of the comics in Marvel Spotlight #5, published in 1972 by writer Gary Friedrich, artist Mike Ploog, and editor Roy Thomas.
Ol’ Flame-Head has been seen multiple times in live-action before: First in two non-MCU films, Sony Pictures’ Ghost Rider and its sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, both starring Nicholas Cage.
Gabriel Luna also portrayed Ghost Rider in Agents of SHIELD, where fans were wowed by his emotional arc and razor-sharp special effects. Robbie Reyes' incarnation with his menacing Hell Charger was used in this role.
It’s not known how the minds behind What If…? wanted to integrate Ghost Rider into the show, but he would have been a natural fit in the Old West-themed "What If… 1872?" episode, perhaps clad in all black atop a demonic horse.
Ghost Rider did make it into What If…? by the skin of his teeth, as a Samurai Variant of the character was glimpsed in the closing montage.
Marvel Animation’s What If…? is streaming on Disney+.
