Based on the numerous comic books of the same (or similar) name released over the years, Marvel Zombies arrives just in time for spooky season in the form of an adult animated series made for Disney+. And while the show does indeed revel in the expected departments of both stylish dismemberment and explosive chaos, set within the world of zombified Marvel superheroes/villains, anybody coming into this show with hopes for something truly spectacular or consistently entertaining are likely going to be let down in a big way – with nearly every other aspect of the final product falling well short of the mark. But hey, at least it’s only four episodes long.



Branching off from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, instead taking place in the alternate reality set up in What If…?’s season one episode, “What If…Zombies?!”, Marvel Zombies’ central narrative revolves around Kamala Khan as she navigates her way through the post-apocalyptic and zombie-infested (superheroes included) wastelands of Earth, in a quest to find a way of launching a S.H.I.E.L.D. transmitter into space that could potentially bring an end to the outbreak for good – dragging the Queen of the Dead, Wanda Maximoff, down along with it. Throughout her journey, Khan is joined by multiple familiar faces from across the wider MCU, all seemingly united in their desire for survival and each handling the global situation in their own way – resulting in some interesting matchups and interactions.



That’s pretty much the extent of the plot here, without spoiling the finer details of each episode or the twist ending. Spending too much time fixating on the storyline doesn’t ultimately matter, anyway, because it’s certainly not what you’ll be paying the most attention to in Marvel Zombies. You’re here for the blood-soaked carnage, the action sequences, and the infected heroes, yes you are. And let me tell you, these scenes do not disappoint – with honourable mentions going to the massive battle that takes place in the final episode, and the climax of the Namor fight.

You’re here for the blood-soaked carnage, the action sequences, and the infected heroes, yes you are. And let me tell you, these scenes do not disappoint.

Unfortunately, while the majority of these action sequences are highly enjoyable to watch and satisfyingly brutal, I felt like they didn’t happen nearly as often, or last as long, as I was hoping they would (with the exception of that final battle I talked about earlier). Instead, Marvel Zombies seems hell-bent on focusing on everything that happens between these pulse-pounding moments – with a particular emphasis placed on character interactions.



Ordinarily, this would not be an issue at all. Seeing Marvel characters from vastly different points in the universe getting along with one another is great. The problem here, though, is that the writing is so embarrassingly awful (and not in a good way) it makes you wish for the total opposite. The sheer amount of forced comedic interjections and one-liners crammed into the back-and-forth banter between the cast is unreal – resulting in frequent bouts of severe tonal whiplash and a TV-MA show that often feels like its script belongs to a bad Cartoon Network production.

There were, admittedly, one or two jokes that did land for me, sparingly spread out across the four episodes – the most memorable of which were provided by none other than the Daywalker himself, Blade (now possessed by the moon god, Khonshu). Even then, what made the lines entertaining wasn’t so much what was being said, but rather the deadpan delivery of the dialogue.



It's important to note here, for horror fans out there curious as to whether Marvel Zombies might be offering anything in the way of real scares or jump-outta-your-seat scenes (especially considering the aforementioned TV-MA sticker), that there is nothing of the sort to be found here. In addition to laughably bland zombie designs, the hero zombie encounters usually feel somewhat underwhelming to boot – save for one or two excellent standout events and the gory outcomes. It also doesn’t help that animation quality seems to frequently fluctuate, appearing quite stiff at times and more fluid at others - most notably in the mouth movements and facial animations of characters. Both intense bursts of action and environmental effects thrown around during battles, like smoke and blasts of light, as well as the general background scenery tend to look much better by comparison.

In addition to laughably bland zombie designs, the hero zombie encounters usually feel somewhat underwhelming to boot – save for one or two excellent standout events and the gory outcomes.

On a more positive note, however, at least most of the appropriate MCU actors return to lend their voices for their respective in-show appearances – including Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, to name a few. Meanwhile, replacements for other roles, like Rama Vallury’s portrayal of Baron Zemo, or Greg Furman’s Thor, manage to get the job done well enough without deviating too drastically from what MCU fans would expect from these characters. It’s an all-round solid cast, with only a few hiccups every now and then – the already-mentioned writing quality no doubt responsible for the odd deviations in established characterization here and there.



The best thing you can say about Marvel Zombies is that it successfully dishes out the glorious blood-splattered action expected of a zombie flick, with some standout moments, a coat of Marvel-branded paint, and a truly excellent finale leaving viewers with a bittersweet aftertaste in their mouths. Unfortunately, the series (that could have easily been a single movie) struggles to nail down what it wants to be until the very last second, wastes its potential for greatness, and suffers from some exceptionally terrible writing that seems at odds with its intended audience. If you must give it a watch, come for the action - just don’t feel the need to give every ounce of your attention to too much beyond that point.

At least we’ll likely get some great Marvel Rivals skins out of this.