UDSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:03.250 --> 00:00:05.250
Hello and welcome, fellow Marvel fans, to the
00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:08.429
Snark Industries podcast. I'm Jon. And I'm Remy.
00:00:08.650 --> 00:00:10.810
And we invite you to join us as we work our way
00:00:10.810 --> 00:00:13.269
through every Marvel TV show, movie, and crossover.
00:00:13.710 --> 00:00:15.410
Meaning if there's a Marvel character on screen,
00:00:15.689 --> 00:00:18.670
it's fair game. All categorized in the temporal
00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:21.289
order of their setting. By the time we're done,
00:00:21.350 --> 00:00:22.850
we'll have built a complete start-to-finish
00:00:22.850 --> 00:00:25.190
timeline of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
00:00:25.670 --> 00:00:27.510
To accomplish this goal and to have a bit of
00:00:27.510 --> 00:00:29.530
fun along the way, each episode will be split
00:00:29.530 --> 00:00:32.350
into two parts, a Watch Party and a Deep Dive.
00:00:32.789 --> 00:00:34.149
If you're hearing this, you found one of our
00:00:34.149 --> 00:00:36.030
Deep Dives. This is where we slow things down
00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:38.009
and take a more pragmatic, in-depth look at
00:00:38.009 --> 00:00:40.030
a piece of Marvel media. We'll walk through the
00:00:40.030 --> 00:00:42.289
full plot, explore connections to the wider MCU
00:00:42.289 --> 00:00:44.729
and Marvel comics, highlight Easter eggs, unpack
00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:47.229
lore, and of course, give you our own personal
00:00:47.229 --> 00:00:49.770
thoughts and feelings. Although this episode
00:00:49.770 --> 00:00:52.049
stands on its own, it is designed to complement
00:00:52.049 --> 00:00:54.170
the Watch Party. So, if you haven't watched along
00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:55.770
with us yet, we highly recommend starting there
00:00:55.770 --> 00:00:57.549
first and coming back here for the full breakdown.
00:00:58.189 --> 00:00:59.850
Most importantly, we want to thank each and every
00:00:59.850 --> 00:01:01.409
one of you for joining us on this incredible
00:01:01.409 --> 00:01:03.409
journey. We're not affiliated with Marvel in
00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:05.329
any way, shape, or form. We're just fans who
00:01:05.329 --> 00:01:06.650
are passionate about these stories and these
00:01:06.650 --> 00:01:08.310
characters and wish to share them with everyone
00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:11.810
in a new and exciting way. So, sit back, relax,
00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:18.579
and enjoy this episode of Snark Industries. Hello,
00:01:18.579 --> 00:01:20.840
ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Deep
00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:23.319
Dive of Snark Industries. We just got through
00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.980
watching What If Hela Found the Ten Rings, which
00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:30.040
is season two, episode seven of the What If series.
00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:33.500
Jon, take it away with the synopsis. And just
00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:35.959
as we get into this, a reminder to everyone who's
00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:39.079
listening, in order of release, we do this because
00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.680
we are doing everything in temporal order of
00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:44.939
the MCU itself. Yes. It may seem like a weird
00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:49.340
jump to go from Wakanda to season two of What
00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:51.379
If. But there is a reason for it. And I think
00:01:51.379 --> 00:01:53.120
it's a good reason. Because when you have this
00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.739
all together, you can go down this in order of
00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:01.819
when things happen in the MCU in general, which
00:02:01.819 --> 00:02:04.500
we're kind of marrying together here. And they
00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:07.219
have done as well. So just a little side note.
00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:08.919
Yeah, which has been a ton of fun so far. Absolutely.
00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:12.060
Three episodes in. It feels good. Definitely.
00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:15.240
I think it fits and I don't feel whiplash at
00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.740
all from this. But anyway, so yeah, just a real
00:02:19.740 --> 00:02:21.460
quick breakdown of the episode for those who
00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:23.080
didn't join us for the Watch Party or for those
00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:26.439
that did. We have an episode where basically
00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:31.800
instead of Odin banishing Hela to hell as she
00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.860
was being a naughty child, he instead sent her
00:02:35.860 --> 00:02:40.919
to Midgard in this ancient Chinese setting. I
00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.500
believe, Remy, correct my math here, but you
00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:48.060
said around 700 CE or AD, depending on who you
00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:51.439
subscribe to. 667. Okay. So, yeah, roundabouts
00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.460
in there. So, you know, this ancient Chinese
00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:56.599
culture, and we immediately get a look at Ten
00:02:56.599 --> 00:02:59.560
Rings being there and where the namesake comes
00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:03.340
from. What If Hela Found the Ten Rings? And Hela,
00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:08.330
in a very parallel... scene and breakdown that
00:03:08.330 --> 00:03:11.270
happened in the first Thor movie, which we will
00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:15.069
get to eventually. But Odin strips of her power.
00:03:15.069 --> 00:03:18.129
He banishes her to Earth. He, you know, whispers
00:03:18.129 --> 00:03:21.449
into her helmet, whoever be worthy shall possess
00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:23.490
the power of Hela, and tosses it back in the
00:03:23.490 --> 00:03:26.229
hole as well. And, you know, we have a very real
00:03:26.229 --> 00:03:29.710
parallel here of her trying to find her way. She
00:03:29.710 --> 00:03:32.909
gets here and immediately, kind of, you know, being
00:03:32.909 --> 00:03:35.580
Hela, wants to take over. Tries to fight everyone,
00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:38.180
realizes ultimately that without her powers,
00:03:38.379 --> 00:03:41.719
she is not useless, but certainly not useful
00:03:41.719 --> 00:03:44.120
Load full transcript
in the sense of the greater scheme of things.
00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:48.939
And we have her sort of having this growth journey
00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:52.099
as she meets different people, not only there
00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:56.740
within the area itself, Ta Lo, which is where
00:03:56.740 --> 00:03:59.180
she's at and where she kind of meets, which is...
00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:02.979
referenced in the Shang-Chi movie as well. A
00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:05.740
lot of pull-ins from different areas here, but
00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:08.199
learns a little bit about herself, a little bit
00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:12.060
about, ultimately, what she says is peace. And
00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:15.340
it turns out that in doing so, and going to this
00:04:15.340 --> 00:04:18.819
sort of mystical safe haven of Ta Lo, Heimdall
00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:21.639
loses sight of her, takes this to Odin, who sees
00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:23.519
the Ten Rings and everything that's happened
00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:25.920
as a sort of threat to all of the Nine Realms,
00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:30.439
and brings an army down to take them. And ultimately,
00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:35.339
her and Odin clash at the end, and she rises
00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:38.079
victorious, sort of ascending into this white
00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.220
version of herself. You know, her clothes change
00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:42.199
and everything else. I believe we've made some
00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:44.980
Gandalf references there in the Watch Party.
00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.839
Oh, absolutely. But, you know, she has all these
00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.300
things and sort of ascends to this new level,
00:04:51.339 --> 00:04:55.019
takes over effectively the throne, sort of merges,
00:04:55.019 --> 00:04:58.839
it seems, long term, Asgard and Ta Lo together
00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:04.019
and her and everyone else sort of go and protect
00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:07.459
the cosmos in that sense. And they even show
00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:11.600
a scene where she shows up riding Fenris Wolf
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.019
and everyone else is there with her as well,
00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:18.879
going and stopping Thanos as he's there on the
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:23.259
planet with child Gamora, giving her the perfectly
00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:27.019
balanced dagger that has been the... focus of
00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:30.399
a lot of memes since then. But ultimately, yeah,
00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.000
that's kind of where it comes to an end,
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:33.800
is, you know, what if she finds the Ten Rings, and
00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:38.699
ultimately, the Ten Rings, she finds a person who's
00:05:38.699 --> 00:05:42.800
yeah, still attached. Yeah, still attached. You
00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:44.660
know, which honestly, and I hadn't seen this episode
00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:47.639
before here, but wasn't what I expected going
00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:49.720
in. I, you know, I thought that she was going to
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:52.220
use and command the Ten Rings, but instead she
00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:55.970
did not. But yeah, so that's the kind of breakdown
00:05:55.970 --> 00:05:58.310
of the What If Hela Found the Ten Rings episode.
00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:00.870
And now I think we're going to move on to our
00:06:00.870 --> 00:06:04.689
sort of tie-ins section. In the MCU in general,
00:06:04.730 --> 00:06:06.470
like I said, there's a lot of parallels drawn
00:06:06.470 --> 00:06:09.949
in. Obviously, the What Ifs only tie in loosely
00:06:09.949 --> 00:06:12.529
to the MCU in general because they don't really
00:06:12.529 --> 00:06:16.170
happen. They're all sort of by design of what
00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:19.339
if this happened, but it didn't. But still, we
00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:20.879
can see tie-ins and we can see how everything
00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:23.300
kind of comes together. And as I mentioned in
00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:25.899
the synopsis, you know, we have the parallels
00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:29.399
between this episode and the first Thor movie
00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:33.579
where, you know, it's this rebellious child that
00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:38.220
needs to learn ultimately her true place in the
00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:42.100
universe kind of thing. We see not only the parallels
00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:43.980
of her being cast to Earth, we see the parallels
00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:46.759
of she wields Mjolnir in this episode, which I
00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.519
thought was kind of a strange choice, but it
00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.379
is there. And then Odin destroys Mjolnir there
00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.040
in the same exact way that she destroyed Mjolnir
00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:57.279
when Thor threw it at her. She threw it at Odin.
00:06:57.459 --> 00:07:01.240
Yeah, that kind of happened. I did have curiosities
00:07:01.240 --> 00:07:03.879
that because we do not know when Mjolnir was
00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:05.819
crafted. Do we have a date on that? Because
00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:08.439
it would make sense for her to wield that prior
00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.720
to Thor's birth. Yeah, it's certainly possible.
00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:14.959
I mean, you know, I suppose like a lot of things
00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:17.670
when you get to something like this,
00:07:17.769 --> 00:07:20.490
it'll depend on the writer and the run in the
00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:24.230
comic series of when it was actually done. I've
00:07:24.230 --> 00:07:26.870
always kind of assumed that it was sort of crafted
00:07:26.870 --> 00:07:31.730
for Thor specifically. Yeah, me too. But, you
00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:33.970
know, maybe they were going a different direction
00:07:33.970 --> 00:07:36.610
here. Not a problem if they were. Of course,
00:07:36.629 --> 00:07:39.610
it's What If. Yeah, not even just What If, but
00:07:39.610 --> 00:07:41.949
if you zoom out on the scope of all of these
00:07:42.589 --> 00:07:45.430
comic books, stories, movies, TV
shows, and everything
00:07:45.430 --> 00:07:48.829
else, there are differences and continuity issues
00:07:48.829 --> 00:07:50.810
abounds because there are different writers,
00:07:50.930 --> 00:07:53.870
different runs, different arcs that they take.
00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:56.449
So to me, that's not super problematic as long
00:07:56.449 --> 00:07:59.310
as we understand that there are, you know, ultimately
00:07:59.310 --> 00:08:01.269
a lot of different universe designations and
00:08:01.269 --> 00:08:02.930
a lot of different story arcs within the same
00:08:02.930 --> 00:08:06.009
universes that maybe don't, one begets the other
00:08:06.009 --> 00:08:09.180
sort of thing. Yeah. And speaking of universe
00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:11.819
designations, while we're passing by it, this
00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:17.300
one is currently designated as Earth-TRN1092,
00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:19.540
in case you were curious. How about that? Carry
00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:23.699
on. Get that tattooed somewhere. Yeah, there
00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:27.740
you go. So we see these parallels. And then,
00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.699
of course, we have the parallels. Once she gets
00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:34.080
to Earth between this and between Shang-Chi,
00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:37.320
we see a lot of the same locations. And everything
00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:41.580
else. We see the Ten Rings. We see the... The
00:08:41.580 --> 00:08:44.240
critter without a face? The critter without a
00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.820
face, yeah. They got a lot of mileage on those
00:08:46.820 --> 00:08:49.740
jokes. Yeah, whichever one you want to call it.
00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.100
The luck dragon. We see all of these things
00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:55.799
sort of tied in. So I believe the tie-ins are
00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.139
there are just sort of homage to other things
00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:00.419
that are happening. Obviously, it intentionally
00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:02.679
set itself with its own universe designation
00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.059
here so that it could exist outside of the...
00:09:06.869 --> 00:09:09.889
constraints of the Sacred Timeline, but ultimately
00:09:09.889 --> 00:09:12.190
we knew that because this is a What If episode,
00:09:12.190 --> 00:09:15.190
and it's not... doesn't have any real bearing outside
00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:18.090
of just entertainment. And so we'll get
00:09:18.090 --> 00:09:20.070
to that portion in a minute, but first,
00:09:20.070 --> 00:09:23.190
Remy, let's go through how these tie
00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:27.230
into comic book roots. Yeah, so what I picked
00:09:27.230 --> 00:09:30.399
up on was, of course, Hela. We're to start there.
00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:34.039
Her first appearance was in Journey into Mystery
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:38.840
number 102 in 1964. So that is Hela's intro and
00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:43.820
the flame blades powers that was introduced in
00:09:43.820 --> 00:09:48.220
Jason Aaron's era, which was 2012
to 2014. So
00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:49.820
we got to see a little bit of that. And then,
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:52.580
of course, we have the Ten Rings, which has been
00:09:54.130 --> 00:09:59.429
modified by the MCU to where Xu Wenwu is in command
00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:02.149
of them. So the Ten Rings, of course, as we know,
00:10:02.289 --> 00:10:05.769
is originally attributed to the Mandarin. That
00:10:05.769 --> 00:10:08.769
is a bit of a problematic character these days.
00:10:08.809 --> 00:10:11.809
So when the MCU introduced the Ten Rings, of
00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:14.009
course, they side skirted it in Iron Man, and
00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:17.769
then they gave the official designation to this
00:10:17.769 --> 00:10:20.389
character. So that's kind of the roundabout
00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:22.200
connection to the comics that we have. Those
00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:24.019
are the only three that I really found. Of course,
00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.000
we've got Fenrir and all that jazz. But
00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:29.360
those are the three stories that I really
00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:33.799
found solid ground for. Yeah, I mean, you know,
00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.980
and interesting, definitely to see always how
00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:38.980
these things evolve over time. Yeah, absolutely.
00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:42.399
Hela for being first introduced 60 years ago
00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:45.379
before either of our times and everything else.
00:10:45.419 --> 00:10:48.330
It's definitely pretty cool. And you did say
00:10:48.330 --> 00:10:49.889
something. I kind of actually want to touch on
00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:51.210
this a little bit. I'm sure we'll do more of
00:10:51.210 --> 00:10:53.370
a deep dive on this when we get to it in Iron
00:10:53.370 --> 00:10:58.230
Man 3 and in Shang-Chi. Brace yourself. We're
00:10:58.230 --> 00:10:59.309
going to get there, Remy, and you're going to
00:10:59.309 --> 00:11:03.690
have to enjoy it. I'll watch it. Yeah, yeah.
00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:07.389
But the idea of the Mandarin, you touched on
00:11:07.389 --> 00:11:08.509
it. I definitely just want to talk about that
00:11:08.509 --> 00:11:10.789
just for a second here as this was tied in here
00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:12.529
because the Ten Rings, obviously, for anyone
00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:15.309
who's... been around for a long time and really
00:11:15.309 --> 00:11:17.629
knows these stories... Yeah. Were definitely changed
00:11:17.629 --> 00:11:21.210
significantly. Not even just taking them from
00:11:21.210 --> 00:11:24.110
the Mandarin, who agreed, problematic character,
00:11:24.269 --> 00:11:28.370
a bit of a caricature. Definitely a little heavy
00:11:28.370 --> 00:11:31.289
on the racism, I believe, in today's climate.
00:11:31.570 --> 00:11:34.970
A little bit. And they just sort of did a lot
00:11:34.970 --> 00:11:38.289
of major changes, not only to the character itself,
00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:41.669
which we have with the Ben Kingsley
rendition
00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:45.539
later on, but also the rings of power themselves
00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:49.559
are quite a bit different than before. They were
00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:52.419
kind of actually legitimate rings. And now they're
00:11:52.419 --> 00:11:55.000
to go back to our episode one talks, bangles.
00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.279
So it's definitely interesting.
00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:04.779
I think it's probably overall a good change.
00:12:04.860 --> 00:12:06.700
I wish some things had been done differently,
00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:10.480
especially for such a big, prominent character
00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:14.639
as the Mandarin. But I understand why you would
00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.779
want to distance yourself from such things. Yeah.
00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:23.220
So that's all I wanted to really say about
00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:25.340
that, unless you have something to add. No. And
00:12:25.340 --> 00:12:27.399
to the MCU's credit, because the Mandarin is
00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:30.480
such a problematic character and very heavily
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:33.159
rooted in caricature and racism and all that
00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:36.580
jazz. I'm not mad that they softened
00:12:36.580 --> 00:12:38.379
it. I don't love the way they approached it.
00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:40.779
However, I don't know if you've seen Wonder Man
00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:44.639
yet, but they did expand upon Trevor's character
00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:47.779
and they kind of made it a little bit more acceptable.
00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:50.360
They probably should have done it earlier because
00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:53.519
I've hated Iron Man 3 for a decade or more at
00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.960
this point. I've got a few reasons to dislike
00:12:57.960 --> 00:12:59.860
that movie, but we'll get there when we get there.
00:13:00.039 --> 00:13:02.600
Oh, for sure. Yeah, we certainly will. But nevertheless,
00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:06.940
I do like that they did give him a bit more stability
00:13:06.940 --> 00:13:10.580
in the MCU as a whole in both Shang-Chi and
00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:13.320
now Wonder Man. So it's a little bit more acceptable
00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:17.799
as time goes on. But the jarring change that
00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:20.480
they forced back when Iron Man 3 came out
00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.419
was really difficult to deal with. I did not
00:13:22.419 --> 00:13:26.460
love it at all. But moving on from that, this
00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:27.860
is normally where we would talk about Easter
00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:31.299
eggs. But with a What If episode, I mean, it's
00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:34.240
just... it's always an homage to a story. Exactly.
00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:37.879
It is an Easter egg. So we're obviously not going
00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.419
to go through all that. But let's go with
00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:43.059
your thoughts. How do you like it? I will quickly
00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:45.980
touch before we get to that. There was one thing
00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:48.980
that I did want to mention that I don't think
00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:52.980
is canon, and you can correct me if I'm misremembering
00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:58.899
or just flat out wrong. But when Hela says, my
00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:04.139
dad's new girlfriend, Frigga. Yeah. Which definitely
00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:05.860
implies, I mean, you wouldn't talk about your
00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:09.700
own mother that way, implies that from this perspective.
00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.320
Thor is only Hela's half brother. Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:16.840
Which is an interesting, interesting change.
00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:19.399
And I actually don't know if it's a change. I'm
00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.440
with you. I'm not entirely sure if that's a canon
00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:23.080
change or not. I've always understood that they
00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:26.740
were actually legitimately siblings. But like
00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:28.899
I said, there's so many stories. There's so many
00:14:28.899 --> 00:14:31.639
arcs. Yeah. You know, this could have been touched
00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:33.620
on before or this could be something new here.
00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:35.860
Let us know in the comments, you know, kind of
00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:38.559
thing. Like, if we're totally off base here,
00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:40.399
but I thought it was interesting nevertheless.
00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.039
So, all right. Yeah. A hundred percent agree.
00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:45.139
Moving on. Do we like it? Do we not like it?
00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:46.399
Now I'm going to be a little bit jaded going
00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.700
into this, and I'll say it here, as this is
00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:51.740
the first one. And we have three seasons of this
00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:54.559
to go through. I do not like the What If series.
00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:57.379
And it's not because I think that they're poorly
00:14:57.379 --> 00:15:00.940
made. It's not because that I, you know, think
00:15:00.940 --> 00:15:02.120
that there are stories that don't need to be
00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:05.059
told. I don't like things that don't have stakes.
00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:07.679
I don't like things that story, you know, where
00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:10.320
stories don't mean anything. And that's what
00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:12.899
these ultimately at the end of the day are. They're
00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:14.779
interesting stories, but they exist outside of
00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:17.899
the canon, so to speak. They don't add anything
00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:24.299
to the overall plot line. They're just little
00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:28.200
fun snippets. And I can appreciate that something
00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.220
is well done. And I think this episode specifically
00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:35.450
was well done. I don't like it for those reasons,
00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:39.629
you know, and, you know, to get into the little
00:15:39.629
--> 00:15:43.090
details, you know, having Hela
00:15:43.090 --> 00:15:45.970
wield Mjolnir, whether or not that was something
00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:47.690
that happened before. I didn't particularly like
00:15:47.690 --> 00:15:50.470
it. Having her sort of being able to take Gungnir
00:15:50.470 --> 00:15:53.250
from Odin and then somehow just wield
00:15:53.250 --> 00:15:57.250
his power. Yeah. Strange, you know, very, very
00:15:57.250 --> 00:16:02.070
strange kind of thing. So, an interesting story.
00:16:02.350 --> 00:16:04.929
Cool to see her sort of rise above being a villain
00:16:04.929 --> 00:16:08.230
and be ultimately a hero of sorts in this case,
00:16:08.309 --> 00:16:10.230
though there definitely seem to be some touches
00:16:10.230 --> 00:16:12.429
of imperialism and stuff like that at the end,
00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:15.830
which I don't know. We built a cosmic empire
00:16:15.830 --> 00:16:17.289
and then we're taking care of everybody. That
00:16:17.289 --> 00:16:21.710
doesn't sound like every dictator. For the greater
00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:25.049
good, damn it. Yeah, right. Yeah. So interesting
00:16:25.049 --> 00:16:27.730
to see that. Like I said, I mean, it was a fun
00:16:27.730 --> 00:16:30.320
story, but ultimately one that I personally
00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.840
don't like. And now for an entirely different
00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:37.960
take. Well, we were talking before we watched
00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:41.559
this episode, how in the last episode we spoke
00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:43.679
about how Jon doesn't like the no-stakes stories
00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:46.679
and inserting characters in stories that already
00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.120
exist for no reason. I'm on the exact opposite
00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.720
end. You never had any What If comics. I had
00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:53.679
a whole stack of them. I loved them. I thought
00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:56.500
they were fascinating. So when this show came
00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:59.129
around, I was all excited. Some of the episodes
00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:01.309
do not hit there. There are some big piles of
00:17:01.309 --> 00:17:03.850
junk in there, but there are episodes like this
00:17:03.850 --> 00:17:06.890
that really stand out as well-told stories. And
00:17:06.890 --> 00:17:10.509
I love the opportunity to see what a character
00:17:10.509 --> 00:17:13.470
could have been, what a small twist in the story
00:17:13.470 --> 00:17:16.769
can do to the overall outcome of the universe
00:17:16.769 --> 00:17:18.670
when it comes to this kind of stuff. So I've
00:17:18.670 --> 00:17:21.609
always really enjoyed the What If stories, like
00:17:21.609 --> 00:17:24.069
I had one that was, what if the War Machine had
00:17:24.410 --> 00:17:26.930
never defeated the Living Laser. And it was the
00:17:26.930 --> 00:17:30.210
weirdest, most bizarre story, but I found it
00:17:30.210 --> 00:17:32.769
fascinating. It's like, this is the
00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:34.390
kind of stuff I love about Marvel is because
00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.529
they can take these very simple concepts and
00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:40.190
just change one little detail and just, here's
00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:41.690
a whole different universe. You're never going
00:17:41.690 --> 00:17:44.190
to hear the full story for, but here's just one
00:17:44.190 --> 00:17:46.410
little drop on the bucket. And I just, I find
00:17:46.410 --> 00:17:48.859
that so much fun. So, that's what I thought of
00:17:48.859 --> 00:17:50.960
it. I thought this episode was absolutely fantastic.
00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:54.160
One of the better What If episodes, in my opinion.
00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:57.500
There you go. Hot takes for both of us. Maybe,
00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:02.099
maybe not hot takes, but good breakdown as always.
00:18:02.539 --> 00:18:05.319
And to everyone listening, we appreciate you
00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.880
as always. Yes, we do. I'm Jon. That's Remy.
00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:10.000
Thank you for listening to Snark Industries,
00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:12.119
and we'll see you on the next one. Take care.
00:18:15.589 --> 00:18:17.650
Thank you for joining us in this episode of the
00:18:17.650 --> 00:18:19.869
Snark Industries podcast. To join the conversation
00:18:19.869 --> 00:18:22.230
and further explore the Marvel Cinematic Universe
00:18:22.230 --> 00:18:24.869
with us, head on over to snarkindustriespod
00:18:24.869 --> 00:18:27.849
.com. The link will be in the show notes, but
00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:29.730
with that, we will see you in the next adventure.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:47.299
Bam, bam, bam.