WHAT IF...? Season 2 Cut A CHILDREN OF MEN-Inspired SPIDER-MAN Episode For Being Too Dark

WHAT IF...? Season 2 Cut A CHILDREN OF MEN-Inspired SPIDER-MAN Episode For Being Too Dark

Former What If...? Head Writer A.C. Bradley has revealed that Marvel Studios scrapped a Children of Men-inspired episode revolving around Spider-Man because it was "very, very dark." Read on for details...

By JoshWilding - Jan 02, 2024 11:01 PM EST
Filed Under: What If
Source: IGN (via Toonado.com)

What If...? season 2 has received a positive response from fans and critics alike, though it does feel like the show largely flew under the radar over the holidays. Still, along with Captain Carter's return, the show threw a newly created character into the mix with Kahhori and put a fresh spin on plenty of fan favourites. 

Talking to IGN (via Toonado.com), Head Writer A.C. Bradley - who recently confirmed her departure from the series - revealed that the creative team was given more freedom with this second batch of episodes. 

"With Season 1, there was a push to use the headliners, to do the Tony Stark episode, to do the Black Panther episode and Doctor Strange," she explained. "But with Season 2, we had a bit more freedom. At the end of the day, we're not writing the big blockbuster, 100 million dollar movie. We're not even showrunning the live action TV shows."

"We're the scrappy, little animation show slipping under the Marvel machine radar. So, it was really subconscious but I think we veered toward the scrappy characters in Season 2," Bradley continued. "We started with the second stringers, the undervalued and overlooked, like Nebula (Karen Gillan), Darcy (Kat Dennings), and Hela."

While Spider-Man took centre stage in season 1's memorable "Marvel Zombies" episode, there was no sign of the web-slinger last month and the What If...?'s writer has now confirmed that he was cut from the series. 

"It felt like the world was already ending and we didn't need to add to it," Bradley said of developing the show during the pandemic. "And so it became kind of an escape and a fun release. However, I did write an episode, which is forever going in a drawer, that was very, very dark. I was calling it 'Children of Men with Spider-Man.'"

Honestly, that sounds fantastic and it's a shame the idea has been ditched. Then again, Spidey is a character who fans love for his optimistic nature so a story that was too hard-hitting may have proven controversial. There are also more than a few complications surrounding the hero given Marvel Studios' tenuous relationship with Sony Pictures.

There are rumblings we might see Peter Parker in What If...? season 3, but the hero will take centre stage in his own animated series later this year with Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (previously titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year). We also have Sony's Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to look forward to down the line.

On the live-action front, Spider-Man 4 is in the works at Marvel Studios and the wall-crawler is expected to be front and centre in the next Avengers movies as well.

Were you disappointed when Spidey didn't swing into What If...? season 2? Let us know in the comments section below. 

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vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 1/2/2024, 11:10 PM
For being a multiversal series, they surely focused on phases 1-3 and some phase 4 only (which started the multiverse saga).

This wouldve been a blast with great writers
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/2/2024, 11:44 PM
@vectorsigma - I was hoping they would incorporate things outside those phases as well.
It would be a good opportunity to use characters who may not otherwise see as much screentime like Werewolf by Night and Moon Knight or weren't used extensively but have potential in other usage like Abomination.
Also a good place to use Eternals and characters like Monica.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/2/2024, 11:46 PM
@vectorsigma - a lack of using it to explore Kang more was also a missed opportunity in my opinion even if they opt to do away with him.
BruceWayng
BruceWayng - 1/3/2024, 12:17 AM
@Slotherin - Why do that when we can have multiple episodes with Darcy, Captain Carter and Happy Hogan…

I swear to God dude, if they don’t finally snap out of it and do a massive one eighty it’s done. This is their last chance to change things and go back to the way things were in Phases1-3. I can’t for the life of me understand why they would things going the way they are, so if they do decide to not make some massive changes it’s obvious tbat they’re operating on a completely different wavelength than we all thought they were.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/3/2024, 12:31 AM
@BruceWayng - what is it about 1-3 that you want them to go back to?
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/3/2024, 12:33 AM
@BruceWayng - shoehorning Darcy was annoying, as was too much Hogan and what struck me as over exposure of Carter.
Oddly I didn't have this issue with Darcy in Wandavision. Maybe they just used her better in it.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 1/3/2024, 1:00 AM
@Slotherin - yep, i agrer on both of your points.

It is obvious that this show is not allowed to tackle anything beyond shang chi and introduce new comic characters not yet shown on film.

As youve said, wasted opportunity in exploring Kang. The storytelling could start off with the coloseum scene in Quantumania and introduce some of the Kangs there.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 1/3/2024, 3:12 AM
@Slotherin - I think their use of that show as a cheerleader made her worse to me.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 1/3/2024, 5:40 AM
@vectorsigma - I wouldn't say not any as Ms. Marvel is being used for the Zombies spinoff, however they likely whilst developing the stories they would animate be advised to avoid those film characters that at that time had not had their first live action appearance for this series. However post Shang Chi they were able to use most the characters easily in DS:MoM, BP:WF, A&W:Q, GotG3 and The Marvels as most of them were already in pre-Shang Chi films or shows. Just will be a tad more tricky to avoid issues doing a What if with characters in Flux still in live action than those from a time when the characters were well established and in less flux.
StSteven
StSteven - 1/3/2024, 4:07 PM
@Apophis71 @Slotherin @vectorsigma - Yeah I was going to say something similar to your guys. From everything this head writer has said in this and other interviews, it sounds like the majority if not all of the writing for this show happened in the early parts of Phase 4 during the pandemic so they probably weren't allowed to incorporate film characters that hadn't been introduced yet but were going to be relatively soon, which I guess makes sense because Marvel probably wanted to make sure that they were introduced in the way that they had intended them and not in a "What If...?" setting. Plus, them having previously introduced the characters to audiences prior to the "What If...?" shows would likely have more impact when they do show up in the shows as the audience already is familiar with at least one version of the characters (and presumably would have some kind of connection to them). But I'm just guessing here as to Marvel's reasoning.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 1/2/2024, 11:11 PM
It's actually exciting to see characters that have said optimistic nature be put in scenarios that challenge that, to see how they respond.

I would have liked to see it.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/4/2024, 8:41 AM
@NinnesMBC - likewise I want to see more of things like how small changes can lead to drastic differences like how Hela being banished to earth helped humble her and help her find some good (and almost makes her main MCU version tragic by comparison) or showing a timeline where Blonsky is never rehabilitated.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 1/2/2024, 11:12 PM
Marvel
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 1/2/2024, 11:15 PM
There's nothing "Inspired" about this show, it's just ripping off everything that came before and we're supposed to be wowed because it's this character instead of that character. They aren't constrained by budget or scheduling like the films so the only wow factor theses "writers" actually have is showing us how small their imagination truly is.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/2/2024, 11:39 PM
@HashTagSwagg - this character instead of that character largely applied to season 1 but where was it in 2?
Rosraf
Rosraf - 1/3/2024, 12:08 AM
@HashTagSwagg - I bet they actually do have a budget. And a schedule. And that they are actual writers, without the quotes. And, shit I forget what else you ramble bitched about.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 1/3/2024, 12:15 AM
@Rosraf - "aren't constrained by budget or scheduling"............ "LIKE THE FILMS". never said the animation didn't have a budget.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 1/2/2024, 11:15 PM
"Then again, Spidey is a character who fans love for his optimistic nature so a story that was too hard-hitting may have proven controversial."

Peter's optimism can be all the more hard hitting if it was there in spite of an intense situation.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 1/3/2024, 12:49 AM
@dagenspear - "What if Project Insight succeeded" - Most Avengers were killed by Project Insight and Hydra began enslaving the world, Deep in NY a rebellion is about to begin led by a hero the streets call "Spider-Man". Hydra sends their Hell Hounds consisting of Crossbones, Winter Soldier, Arnim Zola, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff to NY to kill and dismantle the rebels.

What do you think?
HOTSHOT
HOTSHOT - 1/3/2024, 2:27 AM
@dagenspear - I mean No Way Home showed that you can put Peter in really grim situations and it works well.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 1/3/2024, 3:10 AM
@SonOfAGif - Sounds interesting to me. God is funny! I was just talking with my brother about the idea having HYDRA not be stopped.

Depending on how you use it, maybe you could say Peter's spider-sense helped him before he was gotten or something.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 1/3/2024, 8:40 AM
@dagenspear - My head canon is that Peter gets bitten after Hydra launches an attack on various laboratories in NY to stop or steal research and the spider bites Peter as he's seeking shelter somewhere. And as the episode progresses, Scarlet Witch turns good when she goes into Peter's head and sees what he did with the losses in his life and how he went good instead of going bad. I would even have the Hydra Hounds battle Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and The Hulk as Hulk didn't allow Banner to die. Maybe even throw The Ancient One in there.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/4/2024, 8:42 AM
@SonOfAGif - okay, you're cooking
KaptainKhaos
KaptainKhaos - 1/2/2024, 11:18 PM
What If: They could afford some better Animation style and go a Star Wars Visions route
dagenspear
dagenspear - 1/2/2024, 11:20 PM
"It felt like the world was already ending and we didn't need to add to it," Bradley said of developing the show during the pandemic. "And so it became kind of an escape and a fun release."

Your "fun" episode that did zombies was dumb as dirt.
dracula
dracula - 1/2/2024, 11:23 PM
Wonder if season 3 will have that what if peter parker was hawkeye thing or was that stuff just generic what if place holder stuff
micvalpro
micvalpro - 1/2/2024, 11:24 PM
I personally enjoy this season much more than the first. I don’t even remember finishing the first season
Slotherin
Slotherin - 1/2/2024, 11:40 PM
@valmic - I liked that it was less "what if this character got that one's schtick?"
JFerguson
JFerguson - 1/2/2024, 11:26 PM
Spider-Man 4 will save the MCU
mountainman
mountainman - 1/2/2024, 11:34 PM
Season 2 was mostly boring like the first one. What If…this show was actually good?
BruceWayng
BruceWayng - 1/3/2024, 12:12 AM
This chick seems to be exactly what is currently wrong with the current MCU. She admits out loud that instead of giving the fans what they want(ie cool new stories with characters we can’t see in live action anymore doing things Marvel would never do in the movies) she chose to use low level characters like Darcy…

The worst part is that SHE left the MCU vs Marvel seeing her outlook and getting rid of her ass. This is insane….



MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 1/3/2024, 12:40 AM
Clive Owen is underrated.
Chaos200
Chaos200 - 1/3/2024, 2:09 AM
This is why MCU can't grow. Some of the best, most intense stories were from this cartoon.
Himura
Himura - 1/3/2024, 2:13 AM
"Then again, Spidey is a character who fans love for his optimistic nature so a story that was too hard-hitting may have proven controversial."

Spidey's best when he stays optimistic BECAUSE OF the depressing shit that happens to him. That's what makes him a great character.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 1/3/2024, 4:30 AM
He said he wrote it, he didn't say it was scrapped for being too dark.

Notice how Spider-Man wasn't in any of Season 2, not even in 1602.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 1/3/2024, 4:43 AM
@ObserverIO - Probably doesn't help that for Peter to be the lead character the runtime has to be below 30mins without a sign off from Sony.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 1/3/2024, 6:04 AM
@Apophis71 - I didn't know that.

They really need to get that character back somehow. The final piece of the puzzle. The outlier. The last marble.

But how?

Buy the character back at a stupid price? Abandon Sony creatively and let them fail so badly that the price of the character goes down? Buy all of Sony?
I wonder if they would even be allowed to buy all of Sony. Would they even want to?
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 1/3/2024, 6:37 AM
@ObserverIO - Yeh one of the clauses in the rights is Marvel Disney only have full rights for animated if it under 30mins otherwise they need to do a side deal with Sony which wouldn't be easy as where is the profit for them if exclusive to D+.

However, yeh, wish there was an easy way to get all properties under one roof, and arguments that Disney could frack it up if that happened are just daft as Sony are just as capable of messing up and what we should want it unlimited options on the table for crossovers of the characters without this constant legal machinations.

Especialy so as the Sony rights inlude ones that are not even Spider-man connected or specific like a complicated sittuation with Jessica Drew and Kingpin amongst others.
WhateverItTakes
WhateverItTakes - 1/3/2024, 6:04 AM
But this one will be called Children of Women - Don't need no men

The premise will be every woman only gives birth to women
dagenspear
dagenspear - 1/3/2024, 6:34 AM
@HeWhoBeatsDames - Gotta make it political, don't you?
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