The MCU’s First Adult Animated Series Never Fully Rises From the Dead

It’s not controversial to say that Marvel’s What If…? series was a waste of great potential. While the first season had some spectacular episodes, including “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord,” and “What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands,” the latter seasons never really lived up to the title’s promise.

One of the biggest episodes that stood out, however, was “What If… Zombies?!”, an adaptation of the popular comic run created by Mark Millar, Greg Land, and Robert Kirkman. The episode wasn’t a direct adaptation of the comic, merely taking the concept of some of our favorite MCU characters becoming zombified in a violent and bloody apocalypse that begins after Hank Pym is infected by a virus in the Quantum Realm. It all culminates in an epic final shot of a zombie Thanos wielding a nearly-complete Infinity Gauntlet in Wakanda. After that, it was clear there was more story worth telling, and that’s where the 4-episode limited series, Marvel Zombies, comes in.

What Is ‘Marvel Zombies’ About?

While the initial What If…? episode was mainly told through Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) point of view after crash-landing on Earth, Marvel Zombies is primarily Kamala Khan’s (Iman Vellani) story. While traversing the zombie-stricken country with her best friends, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Kamala gets her hands on a device that has the potential to end the undead annihilation, only to be separated from her colleagues during a fierce and brutal battle. Eventually, Kamala teams up with Eric Brooks (Todd Williams), who has become the new avatar of Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) as Blade Knight, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Melina Vostokoff (Kari Wahlgren), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Katy (Awkwafina), and Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), on a mission to save the humanity.

Along the way, the heroes cross paths with other survivors, including Peter Parker (Hudson Thames), Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), all while being pursued by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who has become the ruler of the zombified Avengers and has dubbed herself the Red Queen. While the latter seasons of What If…? leaned heavily into goofiness, its follow-up decides to make things extremely bleak. Much like its predecessor, some moments in Marvel Zombies excitingly lean into its TV-MA rating, while others leave a lot to be desired.

Kamala Khan Is the Heart of ‘Marvel Zombies’

It goes without saying that the MCU’s Multiverse Saga output hasn’t been the greatest, with the quality fluctuating movie-by-movie, show-by-show. Saying that, the casting of Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel has undoubtedly been a major highlight (after all, she’s the reason why The Marvels was remotely watchable). So, while on the surface, having a more youthful character like Kamala lead the first TV-MA animated Marvel series seems like a weird choice, it also helps bring something that the rest of the series would have likely failed to do. Kamala gives Marvel Zombies its heart.

It’s not that we don’t care about any of the other characters in Marvel Zombies. Shang-Chi, Yelena, and Red Guardian have compelling arcs of their own, but everyone else is either sidelined, wasted, or relegated merely to being comic relief. There’s also the issue of Blade Knight, a character that, in concept, is incredibly cool. It’s just a bit strange that this is the first time we’re seeing the incarnation of the character that will be played by (or at least was supposed to be played by) Mahershala Ali. We have an attachment to some characters because we already know them, especially as Kamala and Yelena are forced to make some tough decisions that leave an impact — but Blade Knight is just kind of there.

Other characters, like John Walker, Valkyrie, and Riri Williams, are underutilized and not given much else to do. Even the vast majority of the zombie superheroes and villains don’t earn as much designated screentime as you’d want. There are a couple of great action sequences, including one with a zombie Namor, but even the zombified Okoye (Kenna Ramsey), a character that is a big standout in the Black Panther movies, is just there to bark orders at her zombie subordinates.

‘Marvel Zombies’ Should Have Been Longer

Credit: Image via Disney+

A lot of Marvel Zombies‘ issues could have been solved by two or three additional episodes. The opening of Episode 2, which sees Shang-Chi and Katy running through the streets of San Francisco as the apocalypse begins, is exciting, and the series continues to build upon that momentum even after flashing forward five years to a Mad Max-like wasteland. Not only does it keep the series feeling fresh, but it also allows Marvel Zombies to stand out much more than your typical apocalypse story, albeit one in the MCU. While changing Kamala’s powers initially had some mixed results in other MCU installments, they are put to great use in Marvel Zombies, especially as the series demonstrates how a character as young as she is can survive in such dire circumstances.

Ultimately, Marvel Zombies feels like it’s always sprinting towards the finish line, not giving the audience or the characters much time to breathe. There’s clearly more story worth telling beyond not just the initial What If…? installment but these four episodes, which all culminate in an underwhelming finale. Giving other characters like Valkyrie, Yelena, and Red Guardian more backstory during the zombie uprising would also have resulted in more payoff. Instead, Marvel Zombies, while entertaining, never fully lives up to its potential.

Marvel Zombies is now available on Disney+.

Release Date

September 24, 2025

Network

Disney+

Directors

Bryan Andrews

Franchise(s)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Pros & Cons

• Once again, Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan is a major standout, successfully serving as the heart of the series.
• Episode 2 has an excellent opening that isn’t afraid to get weird.
• The fight scenes are mostly satisfying.

• Four episodes is not enough.
• It’s weird for this series to serve as Blade’s introduction to the MCU.