Think back on your childhood. Even if you're a relatively young person right now, there are probably moments when you wonder what might have been. What if you hadn't married Susan, and instead gone with Jane? What if you had formed that rock band you and your friends were always talking about. What if old Bob hadn't died in that fire after all. What if you had had that sex change? What if you hadn't been hit with that dose of radiation that turned you into Spider-Man? Of course, the answer might be that Jane ended up being a whore, your band failed, no man would touch you, and that now Flash Thompson is Spider-Man, which sucks. You never know, when you walk down the path that might have been.
Yes, you've probably had these very same questions wander through from time to time. Nostalgia and curiosity are part of the human experience - and because comic book writers happen to be human as well, they too have these same thoughts. They wonder how their characters could have evolved, who might have died, and what the effects would have been. Main characters can be killed off without restraint, so it also gives the creators a little bit more leeway. This thread is devoted to the best and worst What If stories out there. They range from the plausible:
To the slightly silly:
To the completely ridiculous:
And finally, the prophetic:
So, which What If stories do you like most? Is it the one where Spider-Man keeps his six arms, or the one where Rick Jones becomes the Hulk? Maybe it's the one where Tony Stark becomes Sorcerer Supreme? I pulled from the actual Marvel "What If" series, but DC's elseworld line is also acceptable - I just don't know any of those stories.
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Uncle Ben was kind of a dick.
Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe
The best part is when he kills doom. Somehow he incapacitates him and then takes a big ol hammer to his head. The sound effects go "KLANG KLANG KLANG SPLAT"
Anally.
I think that's the only one I've read. It's pretty good except for the ending.
The guy might as well have written "A wizard did it!" at the end.
Anyway, the Rogue Thor one was pretty cool.
And I don't see what's implausible about Xavier becoming the Juggernaut.
As for Elseworlds, besides Red Son, which everyone always mentions, I really liked Gotham by Gaslight (about Batman in the 19th century, chasing Jack the Ripper, who's fled to Gotham).
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I'm pretty sure he ended up killing some bad guys with guns or something.
You're a fucking Sage, good sir, and your insight is profound.
Die in a fire if you would be so kind.
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It was something about Harvey Dent being Batman, but he was crazy and killed people.
Bruce ended up putting on like samurai armor and kicking his ass.
I really liked that one
You improved my quality of life by posting that.
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the costume designs tony harris came up with are like tiny suns shining off the pages
This is the one where Flash become Spider-Man instead of Peter. Peter builds artificial spider legs and proceeds to kick his ass, as well as becoming the new, mechanical spider-man.
Yes. Lovecraftian Batman. DONE BY MIKE MIGNOLA YES!
I only own a few myself. That is, unless you count Exiles. Mmmmm...
The new series that was all set in one universe was pretty cool. Native American Captain America, Communist Fantastic Four, and ninja Daredevil? Sheesh.
'What if Galactus became Elvis?'
'What if Ghost Rider fell asleep?'
'What if Stark Industries was a chain of laundro-mat services?'
Spider-Flash ended up becoming a bad guy
Parker builds mechanical spider-arms to fight him with
Flash gets thrown in jail or something and Parker becomes the new Spider-Man that everyone loves
If I remember correctly
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Yeah, at the end Mr. Fantastic offers him the serum or venom or whatever to become spider-man, then decides to pour it down the drain. Peter is not very happy with this decision.
Does any one have scans from this I keep hearing about it and I wanna see what its like.
What if The Punisher became Capt. America huh?
Well someone could see the future...and it was good.
My personal favorite though?
What if Ash came to the Marvel universe?
It's basically a "what if Oliver Cromwell lived and turned America into this giant holy empire". Bruce's parents are killed by the church for giving medical aid to escapees from the state's medical experimentation facilities, so he becomes a priest by day, and Batman by night.
Anally.
Everyone was reeeal pissed at him. IIRC, he slapped Thanos around a bit and got really silly.