Disney/MarvelThe MCU is getting a horror makeover courtesy of animated series Marvel Zombies, and we’ve picked out the most messed up moments across the four episodes.
Marvel Zombies is exactly what it sounds like, with Marvel heroes and villains turning into zombie versions of themselves, meaning protagonists become antagonists, and sometimes vice-versa.
The series started life as a comic book in 2005, and now the concept has made the move to TV via a four-part animated series that’s now streaming on Disney+.
Multiple live-action actors voice their cartoon counterparts, including Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang), and Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop). There are shocks and surprises aplenty, so as we’re about to list our favorites, beware of SPOILERS ahead…
1. Captain America splits
Disney/MarvelAs the Russian equivalent of Captain America, Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian has dreamed of fighting Steve Rogers, believing that his people would one day sing songs about their battle.
But it doesn’t go down quite how Red Guardian is expecting in Marvel Zombies, as when an undead horde attacks towards the end of Episode 1, zombie Cap makes it into the SHIELD Base, but split in two, with his legs missing.
He crawls through air-ducts with his guts hanging out, and attacks Alexei, before rolling around behind his shield, and reaching up to punch Red Guardian in the balls.
Cap then hangs from the ceiling and jumps on Alexei’s back. In response, Red Guardian kicks off the wall and lands on him, splatting zombie Steve Rogers on the floor. “I did it,” says Alexei, “and the song will be glorious.”
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2. Zemo does a Lando
Disney/MarvelIn Episode 2, Baron Zemo welcomes Red Guardian, Ms. Marvel, Yelena, Jimmy Woo, Shang-Chi, and Katy to his “city on the sea,” whereby The Raft has become his underground lair.
But this instalment plays out a bit like the moment in Empire Strikes Back when Lando Calrissian welcomes Han and Leia to Cloud City, before handing them over to Darth Vader. Because soon after their arrival, Zemo ejects the team from his ship, so zombie Namor and encircling underwater zombies have something to eat.
“Do not cry for them,” says Zemo. “They promised to protect our city. Today I’ve given them that chance. Let the heroes feed the beast.”
They survive Namor’s attack however, and Kamala then takes the Sub-Mariner out by shoving her magical fist in his mouth, then blowing her hand up so his head explodes. While Zemo also gets his comeuppance, via his own fatal fist through the stomach later in the series.
3. Thanos vs Rocket
Disney/MarvelEpisode 3 features the return of Thanos, in zombie form. Though while he’s wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, it’s missing the all-important Mind Stone, which Spider-Man has in his possession.
As Spidey does his best to fend the Mad Titan off, help arrives in the shape of Groot, Rocket Raccoon, and Thor, the latter of whom has “a score to settle.”
The trio run at Thanos, but their attack doesn’t go according to plan, as Thanos simply fires up his Gauntlet, and blasts them with a surge of power that incapacitates Thor, and does much worse to Groot and Rocket, burning up the pair so all that’s left is the racoon’s skull.
4. Nova Corps attack
Disney/MarvelMuch of Marvel Zombies concerns Kamala Khan and her crew trying to get a transmitter into the hands of the Nova Corps to end the zombie plague.
In Episode 3, they make it into space and locate the intergalactic police force, only to be told that the Corps have placed Earth under quarantine.
“You world has been declared condemned,” comes the message. “Any attempt to flee the planet will be met with incineration. Return to the surface or be destroyed.”
When they don’t comply in time, the Nova Corps attack, meaning our heroes’ supposed salvation is now trying to shoot them out of the sky.
5. A sting in the tale
Disney/MarvelWanda Maximoff becomes ‘Queen of the Dead’ in the show, building an army of zobie warriors to take back control of the planet. But she needs Kamala’s help, and tells Ms. Marvel that she can’t outrun her fate in Episode 3.
That comes to be in Episode 4, when Wanda’s zombies are killing or turning the makeshift Avengers.
“We were meant to be here” says Maximoff. “To end this together. I’m too strong for you Kamala. But still not strong enough to save us. I need you. Don’t fight. Help me… we can fix this. You’ll help me bring them all back… all will be made whole… you can still save the world.”
Seeing her friends suffer all around, Kamala gives in, takes her hand, and the world is restored anew, with Kamala waking up in her bedroom back home. But then it all goes a bit They Live/The Matrix.
Kamala excitedly heads out for boba tea with Kate Bishop and Riri Williams, but while they’re chatting, she suddenly gets a flash of the zombie apocalypse still raging all around. Khan snaps back to her tea, then gets another glimpse of that nightmare, in which she’s told “it’s all fake.”
Back in the nice place, her friends ask “are you good?” But she doesn’t respond, as it dawns on Kamala that her reality is a lie; a facade designed to ensure the zombies thrive. There’s time for one last flash of a zombie roaring, before the show cuts to black, and Marvel Zombies ends in the most depressing way imaginable, via a finale that demands a Season 2.
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