What If..?’s entire appeal is that of the comic book from which it borrows its name, take Marvel’s finest, slightly tweak a couple of events here and there, all to flesh out entirely new storylines starring many of its superheroes going as far as even creating new ones altogether, such as Captain Carter or Steve Rogers as the Hydra Stomper.
However, unlike in comic books where dialogue usually takes the tone of whomever’s voice the readers’ imagination can conjure, What If…? has to contend with over a decade of MCU history that has made characters such as Iron Man, Thor, Nick Fury, and Captain America to be so closely tied to the actors that portray them. This is especially true for early MCU entrants since Chris Evans never had a problem owning his Steve Rogers persona, although his animated replacement Josh Keaton already proved to be quite capable of picking up the mantle.
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Keaton has been working as a voice actor for far longer than the MCU has been around with his earliest most modest work dating back to the early 90s, but that doesn’t mean playing superheroes is outside of his scope. Whether it’s Marvel or DC, Keaton has been the voice many hear when looking at some animated versions of Peter Parker and Hal Jordan, despite Green Lantern: The Animated Series being canceled swiftly due to the terrible media buzz surrounding the character after Ryan Reynolds’ failed Green Lantern movie.
As Parker, Keaton definitely enjoyed a better time with both 2008’s The Spectacular Spider-Man plus the more recent Marvel’s Spider-Man series living through their expected life cycles. At the very least, Keaton performances have been consistently solid to book several other Spidey-related gigs in the video game world where, for example, despite missing out on the lead role for the PlayStation's much-acclaimed Marvel’s Spider-Man (he voiced Electro), he did play the web-swinger in what was widely considered among the best Spider-Man games out there, Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions.
As if that wasn’t enough, Keaton boasts some pretty impressive gaming credentials having voiced iconic characters such as Metal Gear’s Revolver Ocelot, Ninja Gaiden’s Ryu Hayabusa, Spyro the Dragon, and Jak from the Jak and Daxter series, all in several appearances. Keaton is also no stranger to epic superhero crossovers, seeing as he also got to play Spider-Man in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which does kind of raise the question of why he wasn’t cast as Spider-Man for What If…?
Well, as many massively talented professionals would tell anyone, voice acting is its own thing that requires a different type of nuance to give characters fully-fledged personalities and that’s something What If…? director Bryan Andrews has made a priority for the series in order to separate live-action MCU heroes from their animated counterparts. While channeling Chris Evans’ voice is key so that audiences can remember the character, “It’s not about impressions… They have to actually act the moments and deliver some of the emotional intent” as Andrews would say.
What If…?’s Steve Rogers is not the old man who may or not be living on the moon, he’s meant to be an entirely different character because his life story changed the moment Peggy Carter took the serum and he remained just a skinny kid from Brooklyn. Rogers’ most repeated self-deprecation quote becomes even more important because of how much he grew as the MCU’s Captain America alongside Iron Man, as every movie made the two characters grow and edge closer to the other’s worldview’s.
Keaton does a fine job sounding remarkably similar to Evans' in his short pre-super soldier days, but from the moment What If...? tells us a new reality has formed, so is the case for Rogers' as he's still the virtuous kid spotted by Dr. Erskine but he doesn't get to carry out that life due to physical limitations. Most crucially, instead of being the "Captain", this time around Rogers is relegated to a brief sidekick role but at least is next to the woman he's completely infatuated with.
It seems fitting that the father of the man he's destined to clash with so many times in other realities gifts Steve the possibility of serving his country like he always wanted to, all by turning into a sort of World War II precursor for his son's Iron Man, even if he doesn't come with Tony's sense of humor. As part of the many easter eggs in What If...?'s first episode, this Steve Rogers recreates so many scenes from the MCU from his own humble perspective, such as him being in physical therapy just like James Rhodes or him being the one asking his army buddies to cheer for Captain Carter instead of it being Bucky.
Every scene in What If...?'s premiere episode perfectly showcases Keaton's ability to emulate Chris Evans, yet it does so in a way that makes it easy to take this non-Captain America variant and welcome him with open arms because he exhibits the same exemplary character. It's a mystery when this animated Steve Rogers will show up again in the series, but first impressions probably have fans wanting him and Peggy to enjoy that romantic Saturday night dance as soon as possible.
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