Marvel Zombies is based on the 2005/06 series by Marvel Comics. It was written by the zombie king, in recent years, Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead and art by Sean Phillips. It was the first Marvel Zombies series. As with this series, the show is also an alternate universe where something happens that caused a zombie apocalypse. It’s all the Marvel superhero love with zombies. What a crazy wild combination.

Marvel Zombies is a four part series on Disney +. It has the same kind of animation that it has, and they look very similar to each in feel and scope. With both series being alternate dimensions stories, it makes sense to have them look and feel the same. I think with the current/future phases dealing with the Multiverse Saga, time, and alternate detentions, this will fit into those tones perfectly.

Each episode has a nice grouping of MCU heroes that fans may not expect, but some are probably easier to see being together. The first episode has a grouping of a few of the New Avengers Riri Williams-Ironheart, Kamala Khan-Ms Marvel, and Kate Bishop-Hawkeye. They have great chemistry. They find a micro-transmitor that can help save the planet. With the help of Konshu, the Moon God and Blade, yes, the Blade voiced by Mahershala Ali. They embark on a mission. They end up at a bunker in the middle of nowhere, and they meet a few other families from Yelena Bolova-the Black Widow to Alexi Shostakov-Crimson Guardian.They explain what is going on and who is responsible, the Queen of the Dead-Wanda Maximoff. 

The second episode brings in more Marvel heroes that people know. Shang Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) They battle out of zombified San Francisco and head to one of eight rumored communities, an island segregated away from the rest of the country. It ends up being the Raft prison, which is led by Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), and his right-hand man is the John Walker-US Agent (Wyatt Russell) They seem to be living a decent life there. They only have one threat, and that’s the Sub Mariner and his Atlanteans, which are all zombies.

The third episode features flashbacks to when the zombie apocalypse started in Wakanda. Scott Lang with Doctor Strange’s Cape in a helmet so he doesn’t get bitten and Spider man, T’Challa, The Black Panther, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) The Hulk, Groot, Star Lord and Rocket Raccoon are all fighting zombie Thanos and he has all but one of the Infinity Stones. Once he gets the final stone, he has the ability to change the fabric of time and space and wants to keep the zombie apocalypse as the main reality. Vibranium plays a huge part in this episode. 

The fourth episode is a culmination of everything that has previously led up to the final battle for earth. A lot of the characters that were introduced before team up to fight the Queen of the Dead Wanda Maximoff. It’s a pretty large-scale battle similar in tone to the one in Avengers: Endgame. The showrunners Brian Andrew’s, as director, and Zeb Welles, as writer, do a great job adapting this story from the comics to an animated series. 

The animation style used in Marvel’s What If…? and Marvel Zombies is a form of cel-shading, where 3D computer-generated models are made to resemble 2D comic book drawings through the use of stylized outlines and textured surfaces This technique is also known as 3D animation with an outline, similar to the style seen in other shows. I love looking at this style of animation. It has a realistic style to it. It captures the looks of the MCU characters, especially when the actors who played them on the big screen voice them here.

Marvel Zombies was a good series. It combined stuff MCU fans have come to know in the films, but also a comic series that hasn’t been adapted to the screen until now. Andrews and Wells, along with the animators, all did a good job combining these two things in these four part mini-series. All the voice-over work was also exceptional. It was cool to see/hear new characters as well as the older ones that have already appeared in MCU films or streaming shows. This was a nice tie-in if you will to the previous series What If…? and what may come in the future films regarding the Multiverse Saga.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen