What If? Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 2

What If? The Complete Collection #2

by Roy Thomas

Collects What If? (1977) #13-15, 17-23.

Classic tales of boundless imagination from the Marvel Multiverse! Uatu the Watcher asks some of the biggest "What if?" questions of all — beginning with what if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today?! Join Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos — in space! Consider the possibilities if someone else had become Nova! And find out what would have happened if Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel had remained villains! Stephen Strange becomes a disciple of Dormammu, Spider-Man stops the burglar before Uncle Ben is killed, and the Avengers fight the Kree/Skrull War without Rick Jones! But can you visualize a world in which Susan Storm marries Namor, the Sub-Mariner? Or one in which Doctor Doom becomes a hero? Plus: What if the Hulk's girlfriend Jarella didn't die? And what if the radioactive spider bit Aunt May?!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Spider Man, Fantasy, Science Fiction

374 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2019

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Brandon Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collects What If series 1977 13-15 and 17-23. 16 has a character Marvel ni longer has the rights to.

A soild collection. I loved What If stories growing up, some of these I had read before but others I hadn't.

Some of the better or unique ones include What if Conan Walked the Earth today?
A fun tale of 4 others getting the Nova powers including Peter Parker

What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu?

What if Spider-Man had never become a Crimefighter? This was goes in a unique direction I really enjoyed.

Then a Sequel to What If number 1 with a follow up as we see what happens if Sub Mariner married the Invisible girl? This one goes dark, decades before Maker Reed Richards or Civil War version we see Reed take a dark path out of jealousy with The Human Torch on his side. Its a great look at a darker FF.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to buy What If comics in the bargain pile at a place called the Book Attic when I was a kid. They introduced me to the wider Marvel universe. Some of the stories definitely were hard to get through, but others were a lot of fun.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hodge-podge of stories, some solid, some pointless..., many just sorta "meh". Here's a breakdown, IMO:

(13) "What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today?" A dynamite story, start to finish. Easily one of the best the original What If? series ever produced. Aside: Danette is not only smoking hot, but a great partner for our favorite Cimmerian.
5 stars.

(14) "What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War II in outer space?" Well hell..., I don't know, and this story doesn't make me want to care. This never explains how Earth is somehow 150+ years more advanced than in reality. This just dumps the Sgt Fury mob squad in spaaaaaace.... Gah.
1 star.

(15) "What if Nova had been four other people?" Another case where I don't care about the "real" Nova. So alternate takes don't mean anything to me.
2 stars, I guess?

<<<<
(16) *Missing in action from this collection*
"What if Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, fought on the side of Fu Manchu?" I assume this was omitted from this collection due to licensing issues. Might have been an interesting read.
>>>>

(17) "What if the Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel were villains?" The Captain Marvel short was okay. The other two characters (Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman) I've always been completely indifferent about. So remixes of those characters is a big ol' "Meh" for me.
2 stars.

(18) "What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu?" Was never a huge Dr. Strange fan, but this was a pretty great story.
4.5 stars.

(19) "What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter?" A bit of a mess, with Peter Parker turning into a bit of a prick. Perhaps mostly due to showing JJJ as a real human being here, call this 3 stars.

(20) "What if the Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones?" An excellent story, through and through, that does away with the "Rick Jones has one-time-ever-and-never-again super-duper whiz-bang special powers" that was the massive deus ex machina cop out in the canon storyline.
5 stars.

(21) "What if the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four had married the Sub-Mariner?" A sequel to What If? #1 (where she left due to Spider-Man joining the team). Reed Richards loses his fucking mind, his team, his best friend (Ben Grimm), and commits to a path of genocide. Pretty heady stuff here! The fact he does not win back Sue in the end is a huge plus here.
Call this one 4 stars.

(22) "What if Doctor Doom had become a hero?" I enjoyed this quite a bit.
4.5 stars.

(23) "What if the Hulk had become a barbarian?" Another fairly enjoyable story, though seemed like it could have been expanded to cover the entire span of the issue. I enjoyed the tacked-on Celestial stories, but seems like that add-on at the back end of these issues could have been reserved for another issue in order to fully tell (and thus properly finish) this Hulk story. All the same, another solid issue.
4 stars.

Overall: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars due to the strength the Conan and Avengers issues).

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects What If? (1977-1984) issues #13-15 and #17-23

As far as I remember, an issue of "What If?" was the first comic book that I bought off of the spinner rack. Because of that, and my love of parallel universe stories, this series has always been a favorite of mine. Whenever I go to a comic book convention, I try to buy one (or more) issues of "What If." Even though I didn't love ever issue in this collection, I love this series as a whole.

Here are the stories that are included in this collection with my spoiler-filled mini reviews:

Read 1/10/22 - What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today? - Issue #13 - 3.5 stars - I have the True Believers reprint of this issue from around 2018.

Read 6/28/2022 - What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War Two in Outer Space? - Issue #14 - The idea for this comic is great, but the dialogue was almost unreadable. - 2.5 stars

Read 8/22/2022 - What if Nova had been four other people? - Issue #15 - Four short stories, all entertaining. - 4 stars

NOT INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION BECAUSE OF RIGHTS ISSUES - Read 9/14/2022 - What if Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu fought on the side of Fu Manchu? - Issue #16 - It starts out different, and then basically becomes what Shang-Chi always is. - 4 stars

Read 6/22/2024 - What if Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman, Captain Marvel were villains? - Issue#17 - Three short stories, all just OK. - 3.5 stars

Read 6/26/2025 - What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu? - Issue #18 - A retelling of Dr. Strange's origin story that I really enjoyed. Much like the Shang-Chi story two issues ago, it starts out different but ultimately gets Strange to where he typically is. - 4.5 stars

Read 7/8/2025 - What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter? - Issue #19 - Spider-Man is an arrogant movie producer. - 3.5 stars

Read 7/9/2025 - What if The Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones? - Issues #20 - I can't remember the original "Kree-Skrull War" story very well, so I didn't know what was different, but this issue felt like it would never end. - 2 stars

Read 7/10/2025 - What if Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four married the Sub-Mariner? - Issue #21 - 4 stars - A sequel to What If #1, and it is great, although there was more potential here to turn Reed evil.

Read 7/13/2025 - What if Dr. Doom had become a hero? - Issue #22 - 3 stars - Doom vs. Mephisto, and Doom is trying to be the good guy (even though he's still arrogant).

Read 7/14/2025 - What if The Hulk had become a Barbarian? - Issue #23 - 4 stars - I didn't know anything about this Hulk love interest, but there is a lot of potential with this story and the characters. Did this inspire "Planet Hulk?"

[Tom Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

More tales of alternate outcomes to familiar stories featuring Marvel characters.

What If...?, by its very nature, was always a mixed bag of a series. There were different creative teams each issue and the concepts ranged from the intriguing to just plain ridiculous. Still, it was always interesting to see what we'd get.

This second collected volume still calls itself a complete collection, though it's missing an issue. (Issue 16 featured Shang-Chi and was excluded, presumably due to the rights issues surrounding the supporting characters from Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories.)

In some ways, despite a more eclectic range of stories, this volume is about average, leading off with a Conan story by thee classic Thomas/Buscema team. The rest of the stories vary in quality, with some forcing characters to act out of character to serve the plot, but some working better than the ideas seemed. The writing is up and down, but the art, for the most part, is solid if often unremarkable.

As with most of the series, this volume is mostly of value to Marvel Comics fans, who will usually find a few tales that will connect, with the others been of varying interest based on their interest in the characters.

[David Haggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Particularly well-done "What If" story lines include the following:

#18: What if Dr. Strange were a disciple of Dormammu? (based on Strange Tales #110)

#19: What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter? (based on Amazing Fantasy #15)

#20: What if the Avengers fought the Kree-Skrull War without Rick Jones? (based on Avengers #96)

#21: What if the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four had married the Sub-Mariner? (A sequel to What If? #1.)

#22: What if Doctor Doom had become a hero? (based on Fantastic Four #5)

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another 3.5, but this collection was noticeably better than the first. Maybe I just liked the stories they picked better? The only complaint was with the last issue in the book. The cover and tag line for it really seemed to miss the opportunity to do more with the Hulk. Instead, they went with a couple forgettable extra stories instead.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like most of the What If's but some i am unfamiliar with all the cast.

[The_J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blended score from Sublime: Conan; to potential: interstellar Pearl Harbor; to sad swift descent. A glorious concept turned over to insufficient successors.

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comics used to have so many words in them.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5. Slightly better than volume 1, at least to me.