Marvel Atlantis: The End
I made a decision a while ago not to bother reviewing issues of What If...? that relate to issues, stories or books I review. The reason being they're mostly all not very good. Issues based around Evolutionary War, Fall of the Mutants and Secret Wars have been among some of the most boring or lame comics I've ever read. So, upon seeing an issue of What If...? based around the disappointing and frustrating Atlantis Attacks crossover I could not have expected less from a comic book. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Jim Valentino and Rik Levins' What If Set had come to Earth? (or What If the Marvel Super Heroes Lost Atlantis Attacks?) to hilariously surpass almost every canon issue related to the story it is basing itself on.
The problems with Atlantis Attacks were many but three of the most prominent problems were that it lacked consistent direction, a consistent cast and a well-defined threat. This issue of What If...? has all three. Whereas Atlantis Attacks was a bunch of vaguely related chapters tenuously linked between anything with "serpent" in it's name and the overall notion that Ghaur and Llyra are going to raise Set, it never really felt like an actual thing to be concerned with because issues spent long tangents on Serpent Serums or Atlanteans attacking New York (yeah, the event was poorly named - the Atlanteans were a sub-plot!). With the central villain being the concept of Set rather than actually being Set. And that for me was one of the major failings of the event.
This issue spins out of the Avengers and Thor issues where Set is nearly brought to Earth (yes, the entire crossover's central drive is around something that nearly happened). Instead this time, Set is brought to Earth and the Avengers end up battling an Elder God they stand no chance against and are forced to retreat. The story continues on with a very Marvel Universe: The End-esque tale where we basically see the Marvel Universe fall prey to Set. These first few pages showing Set's dominion over virtually all who attempt to stop him actually are ridiculously better at setting up the villain than any of the 16 or so chapters of Atlantis Attacks are.
Earth's last hope lies with a quirky cast of survivors composed of some obvious big names and some unusual choices which make it all the more interesting. Of course Hulk, Thor, and Wolverine would be there but we also get to see Aquarian, Cloak, Doctor Doom, Phoenix, and Sabretooth being humanity's last hope. The story gives us a pretty interesting cast of varied characters, as they ultimately also face death and defeat at the hands of Set. Then finally we have Silver Surfer and Quasar battling Set and eventually succeeding. You might remember, Atlantis Attacks began in a Silver Surfer issue and the Surfer played a huge part in the set-up only to be never again seen in the entire crossover after his sole issue. So, seeing him return and be relevant to the story here is another thing this issue has over the entire event.
While it's probably frustrating to see so many of your favorite characters burnt to death or eaten by Set, this issue is just a lot more entertaining and interesting than almost all of the storyline it spins out of. It sets up the villain so much better than the crossover ever did and is based around a story that just feels a lot more epic than Atlantis Attacks ever felt in all it's many parts. I finally understand the threat of Set from this issue, I finally understand parts of Atlantis Attacks and I finally found a What If...? that is ten times better than the story it was based upon.
