Rate: 3.5/5
Just in time for the month of Halloween, Marvel has released their latest show, Marvel Zombies. With its TV-MA action, gore, and of course, zombies, it certainly adds to Marvel’s darker and horror-themed line-up of projects.
Taking inspiration from Marvel’s comic line, the show follows a superhero world overtaken by zombies. The story starts in an episode of Marvel’s What If, titled “What If…Zombies?” In this world, Janet Van Dyne got infected with a zombie-like virus from the Quantum Realm, and Hank Pym’s attempt to rescue her unleashes it on the rest of the world.
Be warned, from here on out there will be minor spoilers.
Marvel Zombies picks up about five years after the events of the What If episode and follows Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel, as she tries to save the world over its four-episode run. Initially, it might have been planned to be a movie, but to use the character of Spider-Man, it was changed to a show. In an interview with YouTube channel, WHO LET US OUT, Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios, said, “We have certain rights to the character … That meant that we had to take our big epic story and break it down into 4 chapters.”
Bringing together many of the new characters introduced in the current Marvel saga, the show features interactions that many fans have been asking for. One of these is the first core group: Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, and Kamala Khan. They serve as a teaser for a Young Avengers team that could come later down the road. Another character that fans have been asking for more of is Shang-Chi, who makes his third appearance here in this show since his movie was released in 2021.
An interesting addition is the Eternal Ikaris, who is seen fighting Zombie Captain Marvel in the opening episode. This is his first appearance since the not so well received Eternals movie, which was also released back in 2021. The only other Eternal to make an appearance since that movie was Kingo in another episode of What If.
Blade happens to make his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe here in animated form. The Blade movie was initially planned to release before Marvel Zombies but with all the problems it has faced in production, this show ended up releasing first. Not wanting to be limited by his portrayal in the movie, Blade was merged with the character of Moon Knight, allowing the writers to have some freedom and bring their own take to the character.
Something that fans have been vocal about is the show’s inclusion of Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther’s actor, passed away in 2020. Since then, Marvel has chosen not to recast the character, hoping to honor his legacy instead. Some fans believe that this is doing the opposite and say that Boseman would have liked someone else to take on the role. One X user even goes on to say, “Chadwick Boseman will never rest in peace if they make every Black Panther appearance about him.” With a few exceptions, many of the show’s other characters are voiced by their live-action counterparts.
The story builds up to this huge final fight between the zombies and heroes that features some awesome shots. The first one is a shot of Blade with Khonshu, God of the Moon, reflected in his blade. Spider-Man also has one where he rips the heads off a bunch of zombies at the same time, arguably one of the coolest things he has done in animation.
With its bloody action and emotional story, Marvel Zombies has captured audiences and critics alike. Reportedly, viewership has exceeded the studio’s expectation and with the writers interested in writing more episodes for the show, another season could be right around the corner. Catch all four episodes currently streaming on Disney+.
