Marvel's What If...? premiered in 2021 and its innovative remixes of the status quo of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have become constant bright spots in an otherwise difficult time for the franchise. While season 1 of Marvel's animated multiverse show on Disney+ combined his stylish animation with fast-paced storytelling, Season 2 was a crazy, refreshing addition to the MCUboth seasons ended up receiving very good reviews overall.

"What if…?" Season 3 began airing daily episodes on December 22, 2024 and ended a week later on December 29, and while it hasn't been received as lovingly by critics as its predecessors, it's still a fun watch... that is, unless you ask Bo DeMaio. The former X-Men 97 host took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his gripes about the What If...? season 3, i his brief review made it clear he's not exactly a fan:

"#whatif season 3 ykes just ykes"

In another a tweetDeMaio needed more time to elaborate. While by no means an essay, this post highlighted what he sees as clear problems with the episodes' writing and basic set-up:

“(It) lacks substance and feels like fanfic. The dialogue is flat and so obvious, and some of the premises are just plain weird."

DeMaio's questions appear to be based on early episodes of "What If...?" Season 3. Not only did he post his reviews on Dec. 27 — that is, before the final two episodes dropped — but he also he tweeted on his disinterest in finishing the series:

"I would watch more to make notes on how it could easily be done better, but I have some water to see boiling."

This suggests that he hasn't watched the season beyond episode 6, "What If... 1872," a 19th-century adventure starring Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). Of course, at that point, the show had already featured some pretty wild stuff even by "What if..." standards, from battles between the Kaiju-sized monster Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and giant mechs to an unusual interspecies marriage between Howard. The Duck (Seth Green) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) resulting in a powerful hybrid daughter named Birdie (Natasha Lyon). DeMaio suggested that season three's quality issues may have something to do with Matthew Chauncey taking over head writer duties from series creator E.S. Bradley:

“This is also the season that AC Bradley has pulled out all the way to take over for Chauncey.

Of course, it's worth keeping in mind that DeMaio has a very personal bone to pick with the MCU. The drama between the creator of "X-Men '97" and Marvel it lasted from March 2024, when DeMaio was fired shortly before the show premiered. Marvel's allegations of creator behavior issues and DeMaio's vocal grudges against his former employer have made this one of the MCU's high-profile behind-the-scenes turmoils. Like DeMaio's "What if..."? comments show, he's more than willing to criticize MCU products, so expect this particular rift to continue making headlines in the future.

"What if…?" now airing on Disney+.