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The Top 100 What If Countdown: The Finale

March 28th, 2007 by | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I feel kind of silly making this article since it was supposed to be done months ago. There are several things that kept me from finishing it, but I’m going to take the easy way out. All the time I usually use to write these What If articles was really used to pretend I was writing for Lost. I love writing Sam the Butcher’s dialogue the most.

Starting it off, here’s a series of sig images I made for the Batman’s Shameful Secret sub-forum at Something Awful. I guess they worked.

Before I move onto my own thoughts, let’s look at what others have to offer. I got a couple quotes from some friends and influences to get their angles. What are some of their opinions of the What If series? For some reason, a lot of it focuses on one freaking issue that I didn’t even put on the list.

Scott Tipton of Comics 101 says:

“For me, I always remember the very first What If comic, which came out when I was a kid: What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four? Just the image of Spidey jumping into action with a big ‘5’ incorporated into his Spider-logo — well, it was just about the coolest thing I’d ever seen. The next few issues after the debut didn’t quite live up to it, but the Fantastic Five was money in the bank.”

Christopher Bird, known for making those popular Civil War parodies (and on a side note, he’s also a major reason I write in the first place), says:

“I’m shocked that ‘What If The X-Men Lost Inferno’ didn’t make the cut into the top 100 – I’ve always considered that one of the best ‘What Ifs’, because the best What Ifs fulfill the following criteria:

“1.) The heroes lose, and it is really, really bad. (Eventual victory over really, really bad to get to state of ‘mostly fucked but with hope for future’ optional.)
2.) There is a marked lack of Wolverine or Spider-Man saving the day by being the only hero who can resist the mind control/alien invasion/tons of bad guys/Galactus/whatever.

“Indeed, in this one Spidey gets killed BY Possessed Demon Wolverine, and Possessed Demon Wolverine gets his ass handed to him by Phoenix, so it’s double-plus awesome in that regard. And the Human Torch, of all heroes, gets a chance to totally kick ass. And as a bonus, the art is actually pretty decent for a What If, where, let us admit it, often the art appeared to be tryout comics by artists who would never get regular work again.

“Oh, and the first humour issue of What If isn’t that dated at all and is still hilarious. The later humour issues, though, are terrible and already dated. Go figure.”

Raphael “A.o.D.” Russell, who ironically joined the Spaceknights for the dental benefits, says:

“In a wholly company owned comic giant, What If? was like a sandbox for Marvel’s b-list artists and writers to play with some of the most valuable properties in America. At its worst, it was a lame attempt to cash in on a character’s popular name, or a particularly good-selling storyline. At its best, it gave the writers and readers of Marvel Comics not only a chance to see What Might Have Been, but perhaps even What Should Have Been. It toyed around with characterization, explored the role of dumb luck, and often faced the darker undersides of the heroes it chronicled. What If? is Marvel’s in-house fanfiction/historical fiction, and I am wholly convinced that superhero comics are better off with it than without it.”

Thomas “Wanderer” Wilde, Nobel Peace Prize winner for his amazing yo-yo skills, says:

“The entire concept of alternate universes really appeals to me. So does the relative freedom of a What If?; as someone or another once said, What If is like a view into a parallel universe where the Marvel writers have real balls. Characters die; characters screw up; the universe gets genuinely changed. What If? is the Marvel Universe as fans wish it could be.

“That’s its ideal state, though. In practice, the What If? series has traditionally been a dumping ground for newer writers or a fast paycheck for older ones. Just whip off whatever ridiculous bullshit you can think of, tie it vaguely into an existing story, and wait for the money. This is the biggest problem the ’90s What If? had; it was sloppy. The art was usually horrid, the stories were blood-soaked nonsense that usually featured a few blatant mistakes (I could seriously write you a small essay on just what’s wrong with What If The X-Men Lost Inferno?), and you could set your watch by the character rotation: Spider-Man, Wolverine, somebody else, Spider-Man, Wolverine, somebody else.

“I agree with Gavok that the best What If? story yet is probably What If Iron Man Sold Out? for most of these reasons. The art’s pretty bad (I remain convinced that the artist hates Daredevil, as DD is in bizarre, gutwrenchingly bad poses every time he shows up on panel, as if he’s allergic to looking cool in any way), but it’s an oddly sensible version of the Iron Man story that could support its own series. After that, I’d probably go with the 1990s version of What If Phoenix Rose Again? followed by the Secret Wars issue that ended v.2.”

David “hermanos” Brothers took a break from Narfling the Garthok to say:

“I’ve got bad taste in comics. This is a problem that stems from my initial collecting. There’s a couple specific comics that I enjoy, or rather remember enjoying, that would probably send people with better taste into cardiac arrest. What are they? What If, volume 2, numbers 6 and 37. ‘What if the X-Men Lost Inferno’ and ‘What If Wolverine was Lord of the Vampires During Inferno.’ I don’t remember who wrote or drew them, but I’ve got fond memories of both.

“This is at least in part because these were some seriously adult comics. There are beheadings, torture, genocide, and in #6, Wolverine eats a baby. Corrupted by Maddie Pryor or not, that is hardcore and completely inappropriate for kids’ comics. Of course, this makes it exactly the kind of book kids want to read. It ended when Rachel Summers, as Phoenix, sterilized the Earth and removed all the demons, leaving a small core of humanity left. I think that there was even a baby born, but that’s irrelevant. This book was violent, gory, and had a bunch of half-naked women in it. What more can a pubescent guy ask for?

“#37 was similar. All the X-Men, or at least the cool ones, were turned into vampires. Wolverine was top dog of all of them when Inferno hit. My memories of this one are fuzzy, similar to #6, but I remember there being an awesome brawl between the X-vampires and the demons. I’m pretty sure that Sinister allied himself with S’ym and friends after killing Rusty and Skids. No big loss there, hey? The bit of awesome-to-a-kid violence here was when Wolverine and S’ym go at it. Wolverine gives him the old decapitation special (drill claw!) and goes, ‘The winnah! And still champeen!’

“This, folks, is why kids have awful taste in comics. I haven’t read either of these comics in a few years, but I’m almost certain that they were ’90s dreck. Wolverine as Lord of the Vampires? How is that not overkill and overexposure?

“I still love them, though. Nostalgia is a wonderful and awful thing.”

Before I forget, thanks to reader Kyle Hayes for making a Uatu trophy out of boredom for the Honorable Mention Awards.

Moving on, when you spend as much time as I have reading the What If series – 181 total issues, if you’re wondering – and dedicating way too much text to them, you start to get your own little ideas. You think about what hasn’t been done and what could potentially make a good issue. With the help of some artists, here are some of those ideas done in solicitation style. I figure you aren’t interested in me going into painstaking detail over these. Besides, it leaves them open-ended enough that you can come to your own conclusions.


cover by Rusty Mauldin

What If Daredevil Wore the Alien Costume? It was all chance, really. The Beyonder chose a handful of heroes and a handful of villains. Due to a slight shift in fate, the Beyonder brings Daredevil to Battleworld and leaves Spider-Man behind. It is Matt Murdock whose costume is torn in battle. It is Matt Murdock who ends up attaining a black and white replacement. And it is Matt Murdock who brings the monstrosity back with him to Earth.

One thing leads to another and Daredevil has to oppose a costume that he has trouble even sensing. The alien symbiote finds solace in a disgruntled prosecutor who would like nothing more than revenge on Matt Murdock. Things get even worse when Daredevil has to deal with the greatest criminal threat New York City has ever known. This reality’s Carnage has some damn good aim.

What If the Taskmaster Had Become Captain America? Sure, why not. When the government was more head-up-its-ass than usual, they stripped Steve Rogers of the mantle and gave it to John Walker. Taskmaster was used to train Walker, with freedom as his reward. If they’re going to be that full of themselves, why not just pay Taskmaster to be Captain America instead? He’s got the skill. He’s got all of Cap’s moves, along with many, many others.

As long as the money’s right, the new Captain America will get the job done. The Avengers don’t like it. Falcon doesn’t like it. You can better believe Steve Rogers isn’t happy. Red Skull, on the other hand, sees much potential in this situation.


cover by Rusty Mauldin

What If Magneto Came to the Ultimate Universe? The Ultimate Fantastic Four escaped back to their home, along with the few survivors of a zombie-ravaged world. Magneto, feeling that someone had to make sure the portal was destroyed, decided to stay and confront the Marvel Zombies himself. That didn’t work out all that well.

Here, a quick-thinking Reed figures out a way to destroy the portal and bring Magneto with them. Being in a world of Marvel Zombies has definitely changed Magneto and the way he sees human/mutant relations. But there’s a problem. It’s hard to make a difference when you have an Ultimate doppelganger making the same mistakes you used to make. Two Magnetos will most definitely have words by the time this story ends.

Magneto also won’t be too pleased to discover that thanks to Ultimate Reed Richards, the Zombie Fantastic Four are still standing.


cover by A.o.D.

What If Doctor Doom Held the Hammer of Thor? Back during the Road to Civil War, Doom believed that he would be able to lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Though he failed, one has to look back further. When Doom followed the hammer out of Hell, what if he could have grabbed it before losing track? Doom may be a monster, but in a realm of evil souls, perhaps even he would be worthy simply by comparison.

Now Dr. Doom has the power he’s dreamed of… but there’s a price. Murdering the Fantastic Four isn’t exactly the kind of thing that can keep Mjolnir in Doom’s possession. If he wants to keep his hammer, he has to do use it for more righteous reasons. Would Doom use his newfound power to redeem himself for doing the Unthinkable? Or would the guidelines destroy his sanity even moreso?

One thing’s for sure. Doom has no patience for that clone cyborg pretender ravaging the Civil War.

What If Deadpool Became Captain America? Early on during his solo series, Deadpool and Blind Al got in a scuffle with the Great Lakes Avengers (or the Thunder Rods, as they called themselves at the time). The mix of Doorman’s powers and Deadpool’s teleporter caused Deadpool and Al to time travel into a 1960’s Spider-Man comic. But time travel is a tricky thing. Let’s just say that Deadpool and Al end up in World War II, right as Captain America and Bucky are doing their thing.

The shock of warfare causes Blind Al to have a heart attack and Wade accidentally gets Captain America killed with his own incompetence. To cover for it, he uses his image inducer to become Steve Rogers and continues on as Captain America. Finally, he has what he never knew he wanted until recently: a second chance. Fate continues to unfold and like always, this new Captain America is frozen at the end of the war, only to be discovered years later by the Avengers.

How long can this charade last? Can he truly be a hero when he’s lying to everyone he knows? Due to this time travel, how can he live with himself, knowing that a second Wade Wilson – his younger self – is off about creating a sizeable bodycount? As time laps around itself and this fake Captain America sees his younger self forced back in time (time loops are confusing, aren’t they?), what becomes of the Mithras objective? Now it’s time for Wade Wilson to prove that under the guise of Captain America, he really is hero material.

…We’re screwed.


cover by Hoatzin, based on the pencils of Sean Kelly

What If the Hulk Remained an Avenger? The Avengers were so new when the Hulk decided to run off and leave the team. Thanks to the manipulation of Rick Jones and Iron Man, the team has convinced the green goliath to remain in their ranks. That way they can keep an eye on him so he doesn’t go on senseless rampages. Truly, this is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s better to have the Hulk fighting with you than against you.

On the other hand, there’s the damage. Iron Man has to deal with the Hulk’s mistakes and over time, the responsibility crashes his spirit. Captain America would never be discovered and Namor would have become the greatest enemy the Avengers would ever know. To make things worse, Bruce Banner has grown close to his friend Janet Pym, the Wasp. The day he discovers her Hank-induced black eye is the day the shit hits the fan.

What If Doctor Doom Had Killed Squirrel Girl? Oh, we all laughed. How funny it was, that a teenager with questionable superpowers and a silly appearance defeated one of Marvel’s greatest villains. You don’t realize how lucky we all are. The ramifications that would come from her death are too great. If Dr. Doom had killed Squirrel Girl, the ripples through the universe would be horrific.

Wendigo is the leader of the Defenders. The Green Goblin has become the spokesman for a popular brand of sneakers. Spider-Man is now made entirely out of pinecones and popsicle sticks. Galactus has started wearing a hula skirt. The superheroes create a civil war based on which M&M color is the most delicious. How did this happen?!

Honestly, even the Watcher has a hard time figuring it out.


cover by Hoatzin

What If: The Fantastic Four Horsemen? The events of Reed Richards’ ascent into the stars has garnered plenty of publicity; more than in the mainstream universe. Knowledge of his journey spreads across the world, even to a certain dark lair in Egypt. Upon crashing to Earth, the four discover their fantastic abilities. Enter, Apocalypse. Easily overpowering the novices, he takes the four away with him so that they can be enhanced as his new Horsemen.

But what of the other players? When Apocalypse is opposed, is Dr. Doom allying himself with the X-Men or is he merely using them? Where does Magneto stand? And if Apocalypse believes only the strong will survive, how will he react when the world is visited by the world-eating Galactus?

Note: Honestly, I came up with this idea before reading that throwaway line in What If: Age of Apocalypse.

Which reminds me. Those five What If issues that came out last November/December came a bit too late to make it on the Top 100 list. Would any of them have made the list if they made the deadline? Certainly. What If: Deadly Genesis, easily. I only read a little of the actual Deadly Genesis story, so I wasn’t expecting much. What we got was a story of desperation and horror that I didn’t expect. Since I don’t follow the current X-Men crop, the events involving Vulcan definitely caught me off guard.

What If: The Other probably would have made it on there too. The story about Peter Parker’s forfeit brings only more disaster. As he shirks away from responsibility yet again, he becomes part of a disturbing nightmare that gave me the jibblies. The fault of the issue really comes from the shortness. What made the Deadly Genesis issue so enjoyable was the ability to let the story breathe. The Other ended a bit too abruptly and could have used an extra scene or two. It was definitely a very interesting look at someone I consider to be one of the most underrated characters in comics: the Venom symbiote.

Speaking of nasty stuff, What If: Enemy of the State was redeemed by its ending. The story was average, but right about here…

Fucking cripes. That’s Kitty Pryde’s hand, if you’re wondering.

I’m kind of glad this batch didn’t make it in time. I like having What If the Avengers Fought Evil in the 1950’s as #100. Who would have known that this random What If issue would inspire one of the most enjoyable miniseries of 2006? Agents of Atlas is totally worth your time. Just look at this cast.

The other two What Ifs of the season I didn’t much care for. What If: Avengers Disassembled was almost pretty good. In it, Beast decides to investigate Scarlet Witch’s behavior to see if she really was working alone when she destroyed the Avengers. Writer Jeff Parker uses revelations to make up for what he considered errors by Bendis in the original story. The appearances of Dr. Strange and Magneto in the original story are said to be creations of Wanda. The real Strange even admits, “I would never use the Eye of Agamotto for that,” and that chaos magic does indeed exist.

Everything’s moving along well until the big shocker ending. Captain America and Scarlet Witch were behind the events of Avengers Disassembled. I don’t just mean in this What If story. I mean in regular 616 continuity. It’s just that we only know about it because in this world, Beast kept prying. In 616, their plan, though unopposed, would have backfired, causing House of M and accidentally retconning Cap’s involvement. Thanks to Beast being nosey, all but a couple of superheroes are left alive on Earth. Good going, Hank.

The problem is, the explanation for Cap is just so bad. All that time being frozen made him crazy… except nobody actually noticed it until now. With all the well-done retcons throughout the story, that one was just sloppy and crippled what could have been a great issue. Luckily, this one will just be forgotten in the back issue stand and nobody will care that one writer tried to shoehorn 616 Steve Rogers as a murdering nutball who’s jealous of robots.

The worst of these downer What Ifs is What If: Age of Apocalypse. The idea sparked the most interest from me. Legion accidentally kills both Magneto and Xavier. That sounds great! What we get is a ridiculous clusterfuck where Wolverine has hair so long and goofy that his head looks like a motorcycle’s handlebars. Apocalypse, the title character of the story, appears in a total of two pages and five panels (this is including shots that are of just his arm or leg). Rather than make sense, characters would just ramble on random sentences to beat it into the ground that this is an alternate reality before getting into a two-panel fight scene.

If anything, at least it has one badass version of the Four Horsemen: Namor, Hulk, Juggernaut and Storm. Plus the issue has Jean Grey in a loincloth.

The alternate reality shenanigans of Marvel doesn’t end there. JMS released a five-issue miniseries called Bullet Points. Though the basic premise is that a single bullet has changed history, it’s still more of an Elseworlds than a What If. The majority of the story – while acting like it’s in the present – takes place in the 60’s according to the story’s continuity.

The idea is that the scientist behind the Super Soldier Serum was shot before Steve Rogers could be injected. The incident also claimed the life of soldier Ben Parker. Nutty stuff happens, causing heroes to take over other roles. Steve Rogers becomes Iron Man. Peter Parker becomes the Hulk. Reed Richards becomes the one-eyed head of SHIELD. Bruce Banner becomes Spider-Man.

Oh, and Dr. Strange becomes Wolverine. This is one of the weirder bits, since the story later shows that Logan is still Wolverine. Strange is never seen again after his new origin, probably meaning that JMS meant to scrap that subplot but already had that part finished.

I realized that I’m sick and tired of alternate reality stories where characters switch gimmicks for the sake of saying it’s an alternate reality. The Steve Rogers and Peter Parker subplots are fine. What Ifs where Frank Castle becomes Captain America or Flash Thompson becomes Spider-Man are all well and good because they’re about the characters and their dynamics. To have Captain Britain become Iron Man or Wolverine become Wendigo just to show off how different the world is is bogus. I honestly can’t tell you what point JMS had in making Bruce Banner Spider-Man other than one panel where he and Parker Hulk are together.

It wasn’t all bad. The final issue is worth reading on its own. Galactus and the Silver Surfer come to Earth to cause their usual trouble. Richards doesn’t have the Ultimate Nullifier, but he does have SHIELD at his fingertips. He may die, but he’s going all out by making a call for every metahuman to come to New York City and defend their goddamn home. Superheroes and supervillains alike arrive, from the effectual Ms. Marvel and Magneto to the ineffectual Daredevil and Shocker.

I think I just have a weakness for heroes vs. Galactus stories. Look at this baby.

Dollars to donuts says that the Bullet Points version of Scorpion was Eddie Brock.

I’m running out of stuff to talk about, so I should probably wrap it up. So here’s to Simon Furman and Ron Marz and Kurt Busiek and Dan Slott and Danny Fingeroth and all the other guys who asked the two short words. To all the guys who gave us stories that couldn’t happen because of editorial, money, angry fans and continuity. To the guys who said that Spider-Man should never really die, but sometimes it would be nice to think of what a cool story it would be if he actually did. To the guys who made Loki look like an ass on a constant basis. To the guys who figured a lazy bald man in a toga could carry his own comic series for many a year. To the guys who proved to us that Reed Richards is a dangerous psychopath.

Okay, enough of that. I think I went a little overboard with the Reed thing. Yes, there were a couple What If stories that showed him as a little loopy after losing Sue. Yes, he smacked his son around and attempted to commit genocide, but that’s in the past. It’s not like he was crazy during Civil War. …Well, yes, he did count how many minutes he cried. And he forced his friends into prisons in a realm that makes you feel suicidal, while ignoring all their rights. And he defended his actions by basically saying, “Don’t mess with McCarthy!” I’m not really helping my cause here, am I. All I’m trying to say is, just because some other world’s Reed Richards loses his Sue doesn’t mean he’s going to become a mass-murdering lunatic.

Huh. What if I just stopped talking?

Prelude
Issues That Didn’t Make the Cut
100) What If the Avengers Fought Evil During the 1950’S?
99) What If Captain America Had Been Elected President?
98) What If…? Starring the Fantastic Four: The Thing… Human Again?!
97) What If Dr. Strange Had Not Become Master of the Mystic Arts?
96) What If Rick Jones Had Become the Hulk?

95) What If the Fantastic Four Had Different Super-Powers?
94) What If the Beast and the Thing Continued to Mutate?
93) What If Peter Parker Had to Destroy Spider-Man?
92) What If Rogue Possessed the Power of Thor?
91) What If the X-Men Stayed in Asgard?

90) What If the Marvel Superheroes Lost Atlantis Attacks?
89) Wha…HUH?
88) What If…? Starring the Avengers
87) What If Spider-Man Became a Murderer?
86) What If…? Starring Cannonball’s Little Brother Josh – And his Pet Sentinel!

85) What If the Vision Had Destroyed the Avengers?
84) What If General Ross Had Become the Hulk?
83) What If the Vision of the Avengers Had Conquered the World?
82) What If Daredevil Had Saved Nuke?
81) What If Spider-Man Had Never Become a Crimefighter?

80) What If Dazzler Had Become the Herald of Galactus /What If Iron Man was Trapped in the Time of King Arthur?
79) What If… Starring Daredevil: The Fight of His Life… Has Ended!
78) What If? Featuring Captain America
77) What If the Fantastic Five Fought Doctor Doom and Annihilus?
76) What If the Hulk Had the Brain of Bruce Banner?

75) What If the Avengers Lost Operation: Galactic Storm?
74) What If Wolverine Led Alpha Flight?
73) What If the Silver Surfer Had Not Betrayed Galactus?
72) What If Kraven the Hunter Had Killed Spider-Man?
71) What If Doctor Doom Had Become a Hero?

70) What If Death’s Head I Had Lived?
69) What If Spider-Man Had Kept his Six Arms?
68) What If Legion Had Killed Magneto?
67) What If Captain America Were Revived Today? (1994)
66) What If… Starring Spider-Man?

65) What If the Silver Surfer Possessed the Infinity Gauntlet?
64) What If Spider-Man Had Kept His Cosmic Powers?
63) What If Wolverine Had Killed the Hulk?
62) What If… Starring the Mighty Thor: …And Who Shall Be King?!
61) What If Stryfe Killed the X-Men?

60) What If the Kingpin Owned Daredevil?
59) What If Doctor Doom Had Become the Thing?
58) What If the X-Men Died on Their First Mission?
57) What If No One was Watching the Watcher?
56) What If Doom Became Sorcerer Supreme?

55) What If the Silver Surfer Had Not Escaped Earth?
54) What If… Starring Iron Man: Tony Stark – Sorcerer Supreme?
53) What If… Starring Archangel: Death and Disobedience
52) What If… Starring Ghost Rider: Burn, Baby, Burn!
51) A What If X-Men Wedding Album

50) What If… Starring Quicksilver: The Quick and the Dead
49) What If Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four Married the Sub-Mariner?
48) What If the Punisher Killed Spider-Man?
47) What If Wolverine Battled Conan the Barbarian?
46) What If Captain Marvel Had Not Died?

45) What If the Amazing Spider-Man Had Not Married Mary Jane? /What If the Amazing Spider-Man Had Married the Black Cat?
44) What If? Featuring Daredevil
43) What If Wolverine was an Agent of SHIELD?
42) What If the Hulk had Become a Barbarian?
41) What If Cable Had Destroyed the X-Men? /What If Magneto Took Over the USA?

40) What If… Starring Sabertooth: Screams in the Night!
39) What If Daredevil Killed the Kingpin?
38) What If Wolverine Had Married Mariko?
37) What If the Avengers Had Never Been?
36) What If the Punisher’s Family Hadn’t Been Killed?

35) What If the Avengers Fought the Kree-Skrull War Without Rick Jones?
34) What If Conan the Barbarian Had Walked the Earth Today?
33) What If Conan the Barbarian Were Stranded in the Twentieth Century?
32) What If Professor X of the X-Men Had Become the Juggernaut?
31) What If? Featuring Thor

30) What If…? Starring the Secret Wars: 25 Years Later
29) What If the Invisible Girl Had Died?
28) What If the Sub-Mariner Had Saved Atlantis From Its Destiny?
27) What If the Fantastic Four All Had the Same Power?
26) What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four?

25) What If the New Fantastic FOur Had Remained a Team?
24) What If Phoenix Had Not Died? /What If Phoenix Rose Again?
23) What If Daredevil Was the Disciple of Doctor Strange?
22) What If the Hulk Went Berserk?
21) What If Someone Else Besides Spider-Man Had Been Bitten by the Radioactive Spider?

20) What If the Punisher Became an Agent of SHIELD?
19) What If? Don’t Buy This Issue!
18) What If the Punisher Became Captain America?
17) What If…? Starring Gambit: Revenge!
16) What If the Punisher Had Killed Daredevil?

15) What If Nova Had Been Four Other People?
14) What If Wolverine Battled Weapon X?
13) What If J. Jonah Jameson Adopted Spider-Man?
12) What If Venom Had Possessed the Punisher?
11) What If the Avengers Had Fought Galactus?

10) What If the Fantastic Four’s Second Child Had Lived?
9) What If Namor Had Joined the Fantastic Four?
8) What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?
7) What If…? Starring the Silver Surfer
6) What If Spider-Man’s Clone Had Lived?

5) What If War Machine Had Not Destroyed the Living Laser?
4) What If the Alien Costume Had Possessed Spider-Man?
3) What If…? Starring the Juggernaut: Kingdom of Cain
2) What If Captain America Were Revived Today? (1984)
1) What If Iron Man Sold Out?

Honorable Mention Awards

Thanks for reading, folks.

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7 comments to “The Top 100 What If Countdown: The Finale”

  1. Maybe it’s just me but Green Goblin looks badass in that Galactus page.


  2. Cheers for the linkage, man! And the the entire What If series. It was a pleasure to read and made my day the first time I found it.

    I presume a review of all the DC Elseworlds tales is in the works? I could even knock up a Monitor statue…

    😉


  3. Good Lord no! No, I’m leaving the Elseworlds counterpart to someone else.

    Though I seem to recall hermanos’ HGM buddy Lynxara having some interest in that. My prayers are with her if that’s the case.


  4. What in the world was Kitty doing that would make her hand do THAT?


  5. She phased through his skull in an attempt to kill him. Didn’t work!


  6. I’m pretty sure it did work, considering they drape a cloth over Wolverine’s face on the last page.


  7. Excellent work, Gavok.
    I’m somewhat late to the party here, but i really enjoyed your thoughts on all these alternate realities.
    Keep up the good work!