What If...? season 1 was a hit when it arrived on Disney+ in 2021 and while the show did struggle to keep that momentum up with season 2, there were some phenomenal ideas in that first batch of episodes.
Thanks to Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding, we have a look at many of the character designs the Character Designer and Creative Director did for the Marvel Animation project. He was a comic book artist before lending his talents to the MCU and it's clear to see how those sensibilities carried over to this series.
That Spider-Man design is one that's been carried over to the Disney Parks, while Meinerding also explains that illustrator J.C. Leyendecker heavily inspired his work on the Captain Carter episode of What If...?
Also spotlighted are his takes on Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk, Vision, and the very different - and now heroic - Mad Titan we met in the instalment revolving around T'Challa becoming his reality's Star-Lord.
We were lucky enough to sit down for a chat with Meinerding in 2019 (you can read our full interview about his Avengers: Endgame work here) and asked what he appreciates most about the way Marvel Studios highlights the work of its incredibly talented concept artists.
"You know, it's one of the best parts about working here. Kevin has always loved concept art. He grew up loving Star Wars and Ralph McQuarrie's work and he had the idea of just having a visual development team, which is essentially a concept art team. We're allowed to create as many high quality and most useful pieces that we can that sometimes turn out to be relevant for marketing materials and beyond."
"I'm very fortunate that the 'Art of' books are things that are made and that are out there and highlight the work we're doing and what we're trying to accomplish. It's an amazing place to work and to be able to say that I've worked here for just over thirteen years and led around fifteen movies that have all of that come together in a cinematic event as big as Endgame was...I don't know if I could have written a script for my career that was more gratifying and satisfying or amazing."
"If I'd told my thirteen-year-old self what I'd be doing on one movie let alone upwards of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen movies, I would never have believed it."
Check out these awesome character designs for What If...? season 1 in the Instagram posts below.