The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been about hope. Heroes rising to impossible challenges, teams uniting against unbeatable odds, the light shining in the dark. But in “Marvel Zombies”, the light is gone. All that is left is hunger.
Set in the alternate timeline first explored in the “What If… Zombies?!” episode, the series drops us into a world overrun by a mysterious virus that has transformed not only ordinary people but also Earth’s mightiest heroes into the undead.
But who actually makes it out alive in this gore-soaked survival story? Which heroes fall to the infection, and which ones rise above the carnage? And more importantly, what shocking twists does “Marvel Zombies” add to the mythos that longtime comic fans and casual MCU viewers alike won’t see coming? Let’s break it down, episode by episode.
Previously on “What If?…”
The Marvel Zombies outbreak traces back to a darker branch of the multiverse first glimpsed in “What If…?”. In this reality, when Hank Pym entered the Quantum Realm searching for Janet van Dyne, he unknowingly unleashed a plague that spread across Earth in days. The infection was merciless, turning heroes into monsters who retained their powers, instincts, and skills.
But none were more devastating than Wanda Maximoff. Once the Avenger who fought to save the world, Scarlet Witch became its greatest predator. Even undead, she retained her chaos magic, able to rip through armies, level cities, and twist reality itself. While most zombies were dangerous in numbers, Wanda was catastrophic on her own, able to decimate anything in her path.
Her hunger drove Vision to desperate measures. In secret, he kept her contained at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, feeding her survivors to keep her calm. The plan was doomed. Wanda eventually broke free, and with her power unchecked, the infection became unstoppable.
By the time the Avengers realised what they were facing, it was already too late. Earth’s mightiest heroes fell one by one. Captain America, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, and even Thanos himself. But Scarlet Witch remained the nightmare above all, an unkillable force of pure hunger.
This is the broken world left behind, where pockets of survivors cling to hope, and the undead gods of the superhero age stalk the ruins. It’s in this landscape of chaos that our story begins.
Episode 1: Undead Rising
We kick off with Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, and Kamala Khan surviving as a tight trio, with an honorary fourth member in the form of FRIDAY, the Stark AI now piloting the Mark L armour. In place of Tony Stark’s head sits a pink teddy bear, a hauntingly absurd reminder of the man who once wore it.
A Quinjet crashlands nearby, and the three head toward it, hoping to salvage resources. In the cockpit, they find the pilot dead, but something strange glares inside his gut. Kamala, with grim determination, tears open the corpse’s stomach and retrieves a metallic sphere the size of a golf ball. Before they can process it, arrows rain down upon them. Zombie Hawkeye has found them, firing relentlessly. The trio barely escapes, with Kate managing to snag one of his trick arrows in the scramble, a souvenir she insists on saving for the right moment.
Back at their makeshift base in the Khan residence, the home where Kamala’s parents presumably turned long ago, Riri studies the object. It turns out to be a subspace transmitter, radiating quantum isotopes. According to its metadata, it belonged to SHIELD’s Project Lifeshot, a desperate last-ditch effort to preserve humanity from the zombie plague. Kate suggests they seek out allies who could help activate it. Riri argues the odds are terrible, but in the end, they set their course westward to Ohio.
The road leads them through a mountain eerily hollowed out by something massive. They keep moving, unnerved but unwilling to linger. Soon, the sky itself becomes hostile. Sickly green clouds churn overhead, moving far too quickly to be natural. Lightning-like blasts rain down, tearing apart their vehicle until Kamala shields them with her powers. When the storm breaks, the truth reveals itself: high above, Ikaris battles a zombified Captain Marvel, their fight a deadlock of pure cosmic power.
On the ground, the distraction proves fatal. Surrounded by zombies, Kate finally looses the arrow she retrieved earlier. To her horror, it explodes into nothing but confetti, a party trick in a death zone. Zombie Carol answers the mistake by obliterating Kate Bishop on the spot. Kamala lashes out in rage but is brushed aside effortlessly. Riri jumps in, only to be bitten. In her last moments, she commands FRIDAY to take Kamala and the miniaturised transmitter far away, sacrificing herself as the two superpowered titans continue tearing each other apart in the skies.
Knocked around by the chaos, Kamala finds herself suddenly rescued by a rider on a motorcycle. The figure reveals himself as Blade. With Marc Spector lost to the undead, Khonshu chose a new avatar, and Blade has become his vessel: Blade Knight. With the power of the Moon God at his side, he promises to guide Kamala to Ohio.
When they arrive, they find a strange sight: a wall of zombies, standing still, not attacking. A voice calls out, demanding their business. Melina Vostokoff steps forward and allows them entry. Inside, Yelena Belova and Alexei Shostakov greet them. Melina inspects the transmitter and reveals it was designed to contact the Nova Corps, though Earth’s atmosphere blocks the signal.
Before they can plan their next move, the outpost comes under attack. A horde of zombies led by Okoye crashes in, bringing Abomination, Ghost, Hawkeye, and even the mangled remains of Steve Rogers, just his upper half, still gnashing with undead fury. The surviving Black Widow operatives fight with everything they have, but Ghost phases through their defences and wipes them out in seconds. Alexei grapples with Steve’s crawling torso and crushes it, but the victory costs him dearly. Melina tries to hold the horde back with her mind-control programming, but Okoye drives a spear straight through her.
Amid the chaos, Blade summons Khonshu’s wrath and obliterates Ghost, but the base falls. With Melina dead and the Widow army annihilated, the survivors flee into the night. Kamala, Blade, Yelena, and Alexei carry both the fragile hope of Project Lifeshot and the crushing weight of everyone they’ve lost.
Episode 2: Civil War
“Marvel Zombies” episode 2 jolts us awake with a tracking shot sequence through the chaos of San Francisco. Shang-Chi and Katy are sprinting for their lives as the city falls to the undead. Katy insists they reach Chinatown to find her mother, but the journey itself is a nightmare. Giant ants crawl across skyscrapers, a monstrous seagull swoops overhead, and even massive, kaiju-sized zombies lumber through the streets.
In a chilling homage to “World War Z”, hordes of zombies cascade from above, raining down from rooftops and bridges as the pair weave through the carnage. By the time they reach Chinatown, it’s already too late; Katy’s mother is gone. In the moment of despair, Agent Jimmy Woo appears, pulling them into the fight.
It’s here that Shang-Chi truly steps up, unleashing his skills against the horde, shocking Katy with just how ruthless he can be. But as the tide begins to turn against them, a thunderous force cuts through the chaos. Wenwu arrives, Ten Rings blazing, flanked by his deadly enforcer, Death Dealer.
The Mandarin carves a path through the zombies with sheer force of will, demanding his son follow him. But Shang-Chi refuses, declaring he won’t abandon the people still trapped in the city. It’s then that tragedy strikes. Shang-Chi is bitten, infection is spreading quickly through his arm.
Wenwu’s face hardens with both grief and bitter disappointment. In his final act, he transfers the Ten Rings to his son, halting the infection’s progress and saving his life, but at the cost of his own. His last words: “Remember what your mother taught you.” The Mandarin falls, leaving Death Dealer to shepherd Shang-Chi, Katy, and Woo to safety.
Five years later, the world has changed. Shang-Chi and Katy roam the wastelands in Mad Max-style convoys, sharing the Ten Rings between them, five each, a symbol of their bond and Wenwu’s legacy. Their crew travels with livestock, cows serving as both currency and survival. Along the road, Skrulls appear as pirates in this desperate new economy, but the group dispatches them swiftly before pressing on toward a promised refuge: Zemo’s Outpost.
When they arrive, they present their cattle at the gates and gain entry. Tensions flare almost immediately, with Alexei bristling at the sight of Shang-Chi’s infected arm. However, the conflict ends when Zemo himself emerges. Ever calculating, Zemo hesitates to trust heroes, though his own plan is already in motion. He lets them stay, revealing that he now rules the Raft, transformed into a self-sustaining stronghold. Inside, survivors respect him, and the group finally enjoys a fleeting sense of stability with beds, food, and safety.
That illusion doesn’t last. A horde of zombie Talokanil launches an assault, exposing Zemo’s secret. To keep his fragile society intact, he has been stockpiling living heroes as fodder for the undead. Before the newcomers can react, the chamber holding Kamala, Yelena, Blade, and Alexei ejects into the ocean. Kamala barely manages to hold them together, shielding the group with a crystallised construct.
Then the true terror arrives. Namor himself rises from the depths, but he, too, has turned. Wielding a makeshift hammer fashioned from the transmitter sphere, he smashes through the Raft’s defences and storms inside. Panic erupts as survivors scramble for escape pods while Namor tears through anyone in his path. The group ends up cornered in a hallway as Namor drives them into the control room, slaughtering as he advances. In a desperate gambit, Kamala offers her crystallised hand as bait, letting Namor chomp down while Shang-Chi and Katy grapple with his arms. Kamala expands her construct from within, detonating it and blowing Namor’s head apart in a gruesome explosion.
As the Raft burns and the dead overrun its halls, Yelena corners Zemo and demands to know how to save what’s left. He points her to a manual override in the control room, a failsafe that can trigger evacuation. Yelena realises the cost. With quiet resolve, she chooses to stay behind and seals her fate. Her sacrifice buys the others time, ensuring Kamala, Shang-Chi, Katy, Blade, and Alexei escape into the night, leaving Zemo’s crumbling kingdom and Yelena’s final stand behind them.
Episode 3: With Great Power Comes Great Hunger
We open with a flashback to the ending of “What If… Zombies?!”, where zombie Thanos stands with five Infinity Stones, reaching for the Mind Stone. Spider-Man, Scott Lang, and T’Challa stand against him.
Even with a decaying mind, Thanos is learning, and he’s moments away from committing the universe’s greatest atrocity. Thor, Rocket, and Groot arrive to intervene, but Thanos brutally vaporises Rocket and Groot, leaving only a charred raccoon skull. Thor is mortally wounded.
In a desperate last stand, T’Challa whispers a final “Wakanda Forever!” and hurls himself at Thanos, pushing him into Birnin Zana’s Vibranium mines. The Stones surge with unstable energy, threatening to consume everything. Scott whisks Peter Parker away, but just before they’re vaporised, a sorcerer’s portal pulls them to safety.
Cut to the present. Surviving mystics like Rintrah and Sara Wolfe regroup, while our main team, Shang-Chi, Katy, Kamala, Blade, Alexei, and Zemo, emerge from the wreckage of the Raft. Kamala comforts Alexei over Yelena’s sacrifice, insisting they honour her by moving forward.
The group reaches a colossal gate, guarded by King Valkyrie. She’s wary of “mortals,” but Khonshu’s voice through Blade sways her. Inside New Asgard, they find apparent safety, full bellies, a thriving society, and Thor sitting quietly in the corner. Valkyrie insists he’s broken, long past his days of fighting.
But when asked about their prosperity, Valkyrie cryptically mentions a queen. Sokovia has no queen. Zemo protests until the truth steps forward. Wanda Maximoff. She doesn’t appear to be undead, though.
Wanda recounts how she was infected but clawed back control through chaos magic, warping reality itself. Yet she reveals her bitterness: someone else hoards the cosmic energy unleashed in Wakanda, denying her full restoration. As her façade unravels, New Asgard’s citizens morph into undead thralls; the entire “haven” was an illusion, its feasts made from corpses.
All hell breaks loose. An Asgardian zombie impales Zemo. Death Dealer is smashed to pulp. Jimmy Woo is torn apart. In the chaos, Alexei begins turning, having unknowingly eaten Wanda’s “food.” Kamala tries to save him, but he succumbs.
The survivors race for the Commodore ship. As it launches, Wanda halts it midair, dragging it back in a telekinetic grip worthy of Darth Vader. Lightning splits the sky. Thor awakens, finally unleashing his full might, breaking Wanda’s hold and hurling the ship into space.
Safe for now, Kamala shows Valkyrie the transmitter. She realises the Commodore can amplify the signal, and they send it out into the void.
A blinding white light answers: the Nova Corps. But relief soon turns to dread. Valkyrie senses something off. Their arrival was too fast. The Corps were already here.
The transmission crackles with finality: this sector has been quarantined. The Commodore has ten seconds to turn back… or be destroyed.
Episode 4: Infinity Decay
The Nova Corps unleash a “disinfection protocol” on the Commodore, blasting it apart. As the wreckage plummets through Earth’s atmosphere, Kamala shields the survivors in a glowing construct. They’re seconds from impact when a portal whisks them to Kamar-Taj, where Spider-Man, Scott Lang, Rintrah, and the surviving mystics welcome them.
Here, the truth is revealed: the unstable Infinity energy from Wakanda had to be contained. That burden fell to Hulk, who absorbed it all and became a cosmic force of nature, though it burned Bruce Banner away completely. What remains is only the green giant, radiant with raw Infinity power.
But Wanda is coming. She marches toward Wakanda with her undead horde, determined to claim that power. The Abomination leads the charge until Hulk casually obliterates him with a single punch. What follows is a terrifying “One-Punch Man” display as Hulk swats armies of zombies aside with cosmic ease.
Wanda escalates. She drops the entire Raft onto Hulk, drowning him in oceans and corpses. He blasts free, his healing factor holding him together, but waves of giant zombies and Asgardian undead hammer him relentlessly. Asgardian skiffs open fire. The cosmic titan buckles under the endless assault.
Just as Wanda reaches to drain him, Shang-Chi intervenes; the mystics have arrived through portals, making their final stand.
The zombified Pym family join the battle. Janet grows large, but Valkyrie infiltrates her veins and bursts out through her head. Blade bisects Hank in his tiny form. Hope towers over the field, and Scott’s heart breaks at the sight of her.
Wanda turns her attention to Kamala, trying once again to sway her: “If I can’t convince you, perhaps your friends will.” The dust clears, revealing zombie Alexei and an army of undead Black Widows rushing forward.
Then the sky ignites with crimson lightning. Two mystics are annihilated instantly. It’s Thor. But he’s one of her army now. Wanda broke him. Now the God of Thunder serves as her weapon.
Thor strides toward Hulk. Valkyrie and Blade intercept, but Okoye betrays the living and duels Valkyrie, while Thor incinerates Blade with lightning. Hulk and Thor clash briefly before Hulk smashes his head into paste, but the effort weakens him enough for Wanda to strike. She seizes the Infinity energy and absorbs it into herself.
The battlefield collapses. Zombies bite Shang-Chi. Rintrah gets run through. Hope seizes Spider-Man, Titan-style, and nearly devours him. Okoye fatally impales Valkyrie. Zombies drag Scott down and tear at his armour.
Amidst the carnage, Kamala sees Wanda glowing with Infinity chaos, reshaping the world around her. Wanda whispers that together, they could end the cycle, end the suffering. Kamala looks around at her friends being torn apart, and her resolve falters.
And then, she yields. Kamala joins Wanda, their powers entwining, reshaping the very fabric of existence. A new reality is born.
The End?
Kamala wakes to the warmth of her mother’s voice, calling her downstairs: her friends are here. She rushes to the door, and there stand Kate and Riri, all smiles and energy, like nothing bad had ever happened. The three head out for boba tea, laughing, teasing, strolling through streets awash in colour.
For Kamala, it’s overwhelming. After years of ash, blood, and shadow, the vibrancy feels almost alien. Kate and Riri chatter about little things, blissfully unaware. But Kamala is too quiet, too observant.
At one point, she spots Kamran across the street. Her heart skips, her cheeks flush, a flicker of normal teenage longing she thought she’d lost forever.
A violent slip in reality cuts across her vision: jagged flashes of the world she remembers. Zombies. Fire. Death. Screams.
The last flicker sears hardest. Riri, but not the carefree one sitting next to her. The scarred survivor, the one who bled and fought and died, calling at her from a distance. “None of this is real.”
Kamala gasps. Then, just as suddenly, the nightmare vanishes. She’s back on the sunlit street. Kate notices her pale face and asks softly, “Kamala… you good?”
Kamala forces a nod, but her hands tremble. The world gleams too perfectly. And Kamala knows, deep down, the nightmare might not be over.
Who Survives “Marvel Zombies” In The End?
The question might actually be… who’s dead by the end, since only Kamala remains. Across four blood-soaked episodes, the body count climbs higher and higher until virtually every hero, old guard and new, falls, torn apart, zombified, or sacrifices themselves in vain. Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, Shang-Chi, Yelena, Valkyrie, Blade, and even Thor himself; none of them make it through.
By the finale, Kamala Khan is the last one standing, though even “survival” is a tricky word. She doesn’t win the fight. Instead, she succumbs to Wanda’s vision of merging their powers, reshaping reality into something brighter and deceptively safe. When we leave her, she’s alive, yes, but trapped in an illusion that may not truly be hers.
The Fallen (Survivors-turned-victims):
Kate Bishop – obliterated by zombie Captain Marvel.
Riri Williams – bitten, sacrificed herself so Kamala could escape.
Shang-Chi – bitten during the final battle.
Yelena Belova – sacrificed herself at the Raft to save the others.
Valkyrie – fatally impaled by Okoye.
Blade – killed by zombie Thor’s lightning.
Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian) – turned after eating undead flesh.
T’Challa (Black Panther) – sacrificed himself in Wakanda to take down zombie Thanos.
Peter Parker (Spider-Man) – eaten by zombie Hope.
Scott Lang – glass chamber crushed by zombies in the final battle.
Jimmy Woo – torn apart by zombies in New Asgard.
Death Dealer – smashed into the ground during Wanda’s ambush.
Zemo – punched through the chest by an Asgardian.
Hulk – stripped of his cosmic Infinity energy and consumed by Wanda.
- Rintrah – impaled by Asgardian zombies.
Sara Wolfe – killed by zombie Thor’s lightning.
London Master – killed by zombie Thor’s lightning.
The Dead (Major Zombies Taken Down):
Zombie Captain Marvel – locked in an endless fight with Ikaris before being consumed in the Wakanda battle.
Zombie Hawkeye – cut down in the final battle.
Zombie Steve Rogers (half a body) – defeated by Alexei in battle.
Zombie Ghost – diced to pieces by Blade.
Zombie Abomination – one-punched into oblivion by Hulk.
Zombie Namor – blown apart by Kamala’s construct trick.
- Zombie Hank Pym – Sliced in half by Blade.
Zombie Janet van Dyne – Killed gruesomely by Valkyrie.
Zombie Thanos – pushed into the Vibranium pits by T’Challa.
Zombie Thor – hurled and smashed by Hulk before being finished.
In the end, the so-called “survivors” list is one name long: Kamala Khan. But even she may only be surviving inside Wanda’s illusion.
Will There Be A Season 2?
The short answer: maybe, if the audience shows up.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum and showrunner Bryan Andrews confirmed that a blueprint for a potential second season of “Marvel Zombies” is already in place, though nothing has been greenlit yet.
“Please, like, people have got to subscribe to Disney+ and watch this show,” Winderbaum said. “If that happens, they will get more. And we are excited. We’re ready.”
Andrews and Winderbaum also teased that the Marvel Zombies lore is expansive enough to justify further stories. The first season may be over, but the team is already “nerding out” about characters and corners of the MCU they could explore if the call comes through.
Of course, as this project is more or less shaped with Phase 4 in mind, there’s plenty of room for other characters to step into the chaos. U.S. Agent and Sentry have not been introduced yet. On a street-level scale, characters like Daredevil, Echo, or The Punisher would feel right at home in a desperate fight for survival. Elsa Bloodstone, Man Thing and Werewolf By Night could be good additions. Agatha, too, might be given a new purpose. It’s a very small list, but it might work.
In short, a second season wouldn’t just retread old ground; it has the potential to expand the survivor roster with fresh faces and new dynamics, deepening the horror while keeping the story unpredictable.
All four episodes of “Marvel Zombies” are currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia.
