What If…The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers? review S3 E1
What If…The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers? was a good start to the third and final season a series that hasn’t always made the most of its potential.
Like most of season 2, Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers isn’t based on any specific Marvel Studios film. As close as we get this episode is a sequence where Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has his run around the DC monuments with a different Avenger —Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Banner is frustrated with his inability to control the Hulk and conducts a dangerous experiment unleashing a more powerful version of the Hulk completely separate from him. This new entity and its forces are deadly prompting Iron Man to devise special mech suits to battle them.
This area is one where screenwriter Ryan Little could have spent more time fleshing out the story. Does Thor really need a mech suit to fight an enhanced Hulk? The art style in this sequence is a welcome visual departure from the rest of the series.
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After a big battle, the original Avengers fall prompting a new group led by Sam comprised of Monica Rambeau, Shang-Chi, Nakia, Moon Knight, Bucky, Alexi and Melina to take on the Hulk and his legion. Little could have further explained how this new Avengers team came together.
The dynamics and interplay between the characters are fun enough that it could be interesting seeing this lineup be the foundation of the new MCU Avengers. Sam and Bruce’s bond is at the heart of this story, but the one interaction that absolutely should be replicated in the live-action films is Sam’s Captain America and Teyonah Parris’ Captain Marvel. That’s too much fun to be a one-off in Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers.
With a decent run time of 29 minutes, it still feels like the story rushes by proving that some of these What if…..? stories could work as two-part installments. The action sequences were fun with the expected payoff of having Avengers in armored suits.
The more cynical viewer could argue this was for the sake of selling figures and LEGOs, but it was still a fun battle. The mech suits do hinder some individuality with the Avengers’ powers.
What If Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers certainly could have benefited from more time developing the characters, but it’s an encouraging start for the new season.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney
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