'What If?' Hits #200 This December

There are some pretty large gaps on the print runs of this title, but What If? hits its milestone issue #200 this December with stories penned by Marc Guggenheim and Stan Lee. 

What if? began its run in 1977 and ran through 1984 as a bimonthly title that featured alternate and often eerie takes on popular storylines (e.g. “What if Phoenix has lived?”, “What if Wolverine had killed the Hulk?” and so on). The stories are narrated by the Watcher and typically would end on a pretty dark note—the idea being that things probably played out for the best in the original tales. For example, in the Phoenix story Jean Grey goes completes nuts, kills all of the X-Men (in a truly gruesome fashion), and then destroys Earth.

This new What If? asks “What if Norman Osborn had won the siege of Asgard?” (by Guggenheim and artist Dave Wilkins) which clearly will start off dark and probably grow more so. Lee and Dale Eaglesham will explore an alternate version of the Fantastic Four classic “The Coming of Galactus” which was originally written by Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.

I would love to see top tier writers and artists continue to take on popular storylines, even if only on a bimonthly schedule. Personally, I’d love to see “What if Steve Rogers reclaimed the mantle of Captain America?” or “What if Peter Parker and Mary Jane hadn’t made a pact with Mephisto?” The best What If? stories were the ones that contemplated seemingly positive alternate realities.

What If? #200 goes on sale on December 29^th.