This week I am reviewing all the ?What If? books that came out from Marvel. Rather then do full reviews of each; the following is a rundown of how each title stacks up.

What If Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers?
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Gaydos
This was my favorite of the ?What If? books. As a huge fan of the title Alias and its predecessor The Pulse, Jessica Jones has become my favorite Marvel character. Seeing her fate as it could have been is poignant and emotional. I can hardly express how much I wanted to see her have this fate rather then the reality she now enjoys. That is what makes a great ?What If? title for me.

What If Magneto and Professor X had formed the X-Men together?
Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencils: Tom Raney
Inks: Scott Hanna
If you haven?t kept up with the X-titles all along, don?t even try and read this overblown piece of work. There is a great deal of liberty taken with diverging paths, and if you don?t have an understanding of the core of the characters, it won?t make a bit of sense. I could barely get through reading it a second time because I so disliked the portrayal of the characters featured. The art was the highlight here.

What If Karen Page had Lived?
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Lark
Bendis doesn?t score nearly as high on this one as he does on the Jessica Jones saga. The fate of Matt Murdock is fitting, but the level of pathos is extreme. I enjoyed the vision of the alternate ending, and Bendis succeeded in getting an emotional reaction out of me, but not nearly for the same reason as the Jones book. Bendis also follows the same DVD extra format as was used in the Jones book, which works well to bring the reader up to speed if they didn?t previously follow the title.

What If Aunt May had died instead of Uncle Ben?
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Andrea Divito
Brubaker has proven his writing chops to me many times over in other titles, but doesn?t take it to the fence for me here. I guess I didn?t buy into how the ?What If? scenario went down in this book enough to elicit the proper reaction. This was one of the books I was most excited about and how it went down surprised and dismayed me. I would like to see another take on this down the road.

What If General Ross had become The Hulk?
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Pat Olliffe
Inks: Sal Buscema

What If Dr. Doom had become The Thing?
Writer: Karl Kesel
Art: Paul Smith
Karl Kesel is a class act, and his take on Victor Von Doom is well thought out and realistic to the tone of the Fantastic Four?s history. I especially liked the collaboration between Kesel and Smith, and would like to seem them work together in the future. The surprising way that Ben Grimm fit in the picture was reminiscent of the old ?What If? tales I used to read. I enjoyed this particular issue very much.

There you have it. The ?What If? stories are truly a mixed bag. For newer readers, the issues featuring Jessica Jones and Daredevil may be more interesting, while readers of any age or Marvel knowledge could enjoy the Fantastic Four and Hulk offerings. If you didn?t pick up any of these titles and have a few extra Christmas dollars left over, give a couple a look. It is a fun way to view the Marvel Universe, free of continuity, but staying true to the character core.

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