Marvel Zombies Review: What if your favourite superheroes became your worst nightmare? Wait, we already have The Boys for that, don’t we? Okay, let’s push it further - what if your favourite superheroes became your worst undead nightmare? Marvel Zombies takes that grim idea and runs with it in a four-episode series, billed as Disney+’s first MA-rated Marvel animated series. Inspired by the limited-run comic of the same name and spun off from the What If…? episode that first introduced this universe, the show goes all-in on the gore and chaos - and it’s a gloriously gruesome experiment the live-action MCU would never dare attempt. ‘Marvel Zombies’ Trailer: Spider-Man, Ms Marvel, Yelena, Blade Knight Take On Zombified Avengers and Thanos in This Matur, Violent Animated Series.

Directed by Bryan Andrews with a teleplay by Zeb Wells, the series expands on that What If…? storyline, set in an alternate universe ravaged by a zombie virus that has infected both humans and superheroes. Yes, even a visiting Thanos wasn’t spared. Most of the Avengers - the legacy heroes - are now part of the undead horde, and more terrifyingly, they retain their powers, turning them into near-unstoppable predators.

The surviving heroes are left to fight, hide, and hope. Among them are Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani), Riri Williams aka Ironheart (Dominique Thorne) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who stumble upon a piece of tech that could hold the key to humanity’s survival. Their mission leads them to team up with Yelena (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and his friend Katy (Awkwafina), among others, as they face increasingly grim odds.

Watch the Trailer of 'Marvel Zombies':

And looming over them all is the Queen of the Dead - none other than Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who commands the zombie horde like a twisted general and has a particularly sinister interest in Kamala.

It’s unsurprising that Marvel Zombies focuses on Marvel’s next-gen heroes rather than the legacy roster - many of these characters haven’t had their live-action sequels yet, making them natural underdogs in this darker, post-apocalyptic world, giving the spotlight to those who still have something to prove.

A Still From Marvel Zombies

The animation style mirrors What If…? and once again delivers - its fluidity and sharpness allow for gleefully grotesque depictions of carnage. The action set-pieces are the highlight: the battle at the SHIELD base, Shang-Chi’s alternate Day Zero story of how he got the Ten Rings, the Wakanda showdown where Spider-Man, Black Panther, and a torso-less Scott Lang (wearing Doctor Strange’s cape!) take on a zombie Thanos wielding five Infinity Stones - all of it is thrillingly staged. The finale’s Infinity Hulk clash is pure spectacle. Even zombie Namor gets a chilling showcase as he and his Atlantean undead lay siege to the Raft, now ruled by Baron Zemo, whose hatred of heroes burns as strong as ever.

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Choosing Kamala as the heart of the story is a masterstroke. Iman Vellani voices her with the same infectious energy that made her live-action debut so endearing. In a bleak, apocalyptic setting, Kamala’s optimism - constantly tested, never entirely broken - is a much-needed ray of hope. What's more, in the times of increasing Islamaphobia all over the world, having a Marvel superhero chant "Bismillah" before getting into a fight felt like a cathartic moment.

A Still From Marvel Zombies

Kamala fills the role Peter Parker played in the What If…? episode, though other characters don’t receive nearly as much narrative care.

And this is where the show falters: its body count is as relentless as its pacing. Characters we’ve just met are killed off - often gruesomely - before we’ve had time to care, leaving emotional beats feeling rushed. Much of the character work relies on pre-existing audience knowledge - like Yelena and Alexei’s dynamic or Shang-Chi and Katy’s friendship - instead of developing them further in this timeline. What If...? Season 1 Review: Ranking All Episodes of the Marvel Series on Disney+ Hotstar From Worst to Best!

A Still From Marvel Zombies

Even the villains feel underwritten. Wanda is certainly terrifying, but the series never fully explains her motives, especially her obsession with Kamala. And for a four-episode series, Marvel Zombies doesn’t offer the narrative tightness it needs - its cliffhanger ending raises more questions than it answers, leaving the story feeling unresolved rather than satisfyingly bleak. I love Kamala, but the girl deserves better - be it live-action or animation.

'Marvel Zombies' Review - Final Thoughts

Disney+’s Marvel Zombies is a grisly, inventive, and occasionally brilliant diversion that dares to go where the MCU usually won’t. But for all its blood-soaked bravado, it stumbles in its character work and storytelling focus. The four episodes of Marvel Zombies are streaming in India on JioHotstar.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 24, 2025 07:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).