Mickey Mouse and his compatriots aren’t exactly strangers to superherodom. The recent Fantagraphics collections featuring Super Goof and Duck Avenger are prime examples of our playful pals getting into the cape tradition. Duckburg’s Gizmoduck and his compatriot Darkwing Duck have even formed their own Justice League-esque team. The Mouse and his pals might not be known for their superheroics, but Disney cartoonists have never shied away from the medium’s biggest genre.
But they’ve never been established superheroes before until now.
Marvel
The Marvel & Disney What If…? mash-up sees the core members of the Disney roster assume the mantle of Marvel’s classic heroes over the course of seven unconnected one-shots. Donald becomes Wolverine… and the Thing, and Iron Man, and Thor. Mickey gets turns as Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Mister Fantastic. Goofy is both Hulk and Spider-Man. It’s a revolving door policy as far as who gets to dress up as who.
Marvel
For Disney, these sorts of shenanigans don’t break any molds: recent Disney comics have done any and everything, from ecopunk dystopia to early animation reimagination. Being the face of one of the largest entertainment organizations of all time sure doesn’t hold Mickey in any set role.
These aren’t always phenomenal stories, however. Without the ability to stretch out into any sort of ‘in media res’ storytelling, we’re forced to experience Marvel’s most told origin stories through a tongue-in-cheek Disney lens; these superheroes aren’t unleashed to tell interesting new stories, they’re made to soften the edges of stories we all know and love (and are tired of reading).
For the kids these books are targeted at, this might very well be the gateway they need to cross from one intellectual property to another; this might be seminal, informative reading for kids who have never read the origin of the Avengers. Likewise, it might lead more serious-minded kids to take a gander at the vast catalog of incredible Disney adventure stories largely overlooked by the wider American comics audience.
Marvel
Most apparent is that a great deal of thought and care went into these comics, however disposable they might seem to the most Disney-skeptical of readers. Nods to that Disney world – repeat appearances from Gyro Gearloose, the replacement of moloids with the terra-firmians, etc – show a commitment to something larger than the most surface-level of storytelling. This is a set of cartoonists with a history in one field peeking into another, and they’re bringing their luggage along with them.
Far from mind-blowing but by no means lackluster, Marvel & Disney What If…? features some fine cartooning to some average storytelling, all in the service of finding just the right child audience.
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