From the opening scene of Iron Man back in 2008, the military-industrial complex has been stitched into the fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America, the Hulk, War Machine and Captain Marvel are all involved in it to some extent. But the portrayal has always tilted toward the positive due to Hollywood’s long-standing partnership with the US military. This week’s What If…? uses the freedom offered by animation to go a little dark on the subject and show us how easily the business of war could have overrun the narrative.

The point of divergence this time around is that Erik Killmonger is apparently assigned to an undercover mission with the Ten Rings and, in the process, ends up saving Tony Stark’s life. So Tony is never injured and forced to build the Iron Man suit, instead continuing his war profiteering ways — though now with a new BFF at his side. Instead of becoming someone who buries himself in his work (and builds a literal suit of armor to protect himself) Tony instead lashes out, with Killmonger all-too-ready to point him in the direction of taking down Wakanda.

This pulls Wakanda into the narrative a lot sooner than its main-timeline debut in 2006’s Captain America: Civil War. The country’s isolationist policy has been used as the retcon for why we never heard a peep from Wakanda sooner but it quickly comes to the forefront here, in lieu of all the stories that spun out of the initial attack on Stark: the conflict with Obadiah Stane and Tony’s palladium poisoning in the first two Iron Man films, and then later the attack on Sokovia in Age of Ultron and Baron Zemo’s revenge scheme in Civil War. General Ross even makes an appearance here, casting doubt on whether the events of The Incredible Hulk even still happened the same way. Instead of being introduced to Wakanda through a UN peace conference, instead they’re a country on the defensive against a horde of mechanical forces.

Marvel Studios

The episode makes it quickly apparent how much of the MCU was dependent on Tony Stark’s participation, though not in a feel-good George Bailey It’s a Wonderful Life way. In Civil War, Vision points out that the power shown since Iron Man’s debut invites challenge. Here, we end up in a major conflict anyway, showing that the aggressive energy that created the MCU’s Heroic Age already existed, spurred on by advancing technology. Without superheroes to pick up the banner, it’s the military that becomes the beneficiary of all that power.

Marvel Studios

However, the military is a system as much as it is people, and there’s a weird sense throughout the episode that responsibility isn't in any particular person’s hands, even Eric Killmonger’s. We’re clearly shown where he’s pulling the strings, but characters like Tony Stark and General Ross are all too willing to be tugged along. But even they don’t feel fully in control of what happens. The conflict just escalates quickly and disproportionately in the episode’s half-hour runtime, perhaps a victim of the show’s need for expedited storytelling.

It’s no coincidence that the war that started the MCU was the conflict in Afghanistan, though it is happenstance that this episode aired only a month after the US brought its involvement to a messy close. It’s been a way of life for so long that it’s easy to feel swept away by the whole thing, especially if you were born after 9/11. This episode reinforces the MCU’s role as escapism during this era, a place where we could move beyond all this ugly terrestrial conflict and address more cosmic issues. By removing the heroes from the equation, the MCU becomes a grim mirror of the mindset we’ve been living in for two decades.

Sony’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Twisted Metal has found its leading man. Altered Carbon and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie will play the role of series protagonist John Doe. Deadline was the first to report on the casting. “We’re thrilled to have Anthony Mackie on board. His ability to blend comedy, action and drama is perfect for the Twisted world we’re creating,” Asad Qizilbash, the head of Sony’s PlayStation Productions unit, told the outlet.

News that Sony was developing a live-action adaptation of the Twisted Metal franchise first came out at the end of February. The company is billing the project as an action comedy, with Deadpool and Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick set to produce the series. Cobra Kai scribe Michael Jonathan Smith is also on board to write and produce.

Twisted Metal is just one of the properties Sony is in the process of adapting for television and film. At the end of March, the company announced it was making a Ghost of Tsushima movie. Its The Last of Us series at HBO also recently found its Joel and Ellie in Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

Disney+ is about to lean more on sci-fi nostalgia to reel in viewers. Deadlinereports Disney is remaking its 1986 classic Flight of the Navigator for the streaming service. Details of the reboot are scarce, but it would feature a female lead and see Bryce Dallas Howard (who directed two The Mandalorian episodes) both direct and produce the title.

There's no mention of the cast or a release date. It's safe to say the basic premise, of a child who bonds with an alien spaceship, won't change much for this adaptation.

The project is a shrewd move for Disney. The company still focuses Disney+ originals (and many of its other titles, for that matter) around familiar brands and shows. A Flight of the Navigator reboot lets Disney+ bank on a well-known name and speed up story development — it can draw in a generation of fans (you can probably still hear "compliance!" in your head) without investing huge sums in production.

If you miss Driver games, you'll soon get to revisit the classic open-world franchise — but not in a playable form. GamesIndustry.bizreports Ubisoft is producing a live-action Driver TV show that will premiere solely on Binge, a free gaming-oriented streaming service due to launch in 2022. The duo didn't detail the plot or cast, but it won't be surprising if the series revolves around racer-turned-undercover-agent John Tanner.

It's unclear when the show will arrive. It's not guaranteed to launch alongside Binge itself.

For many, the larger question may be whether or not there's a large audience for the show. Like with the rumored Splinter Cell series, Ubisoft hasn't touched the originating game brand in a while. The last Driver game was a 2014 free-to-play mobile title, Driver:Speedboat Paradise, and the last truly big release was 2011's Driver: San Francisco. This also isn't quite a timeless classic. Apart from the very first Driver and San Francisco, most games in the series have received middling reviews and the sales to match.

The series does have a premise virtually tailor-made for TV, though, with its Bullitt-inspired premise and real-world setting. And look at it this way: we wouldn't be surprised if the show presaged the development of a new Driver game, even if it was just a show tie-in.

2001 was quite a memorable time in gaming. Standout titles include Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Final Fantasy X. It was also the year Xbox made its debut, while the Sega Dreamcast bowed out. But while all that was going on Nintendo was still going strong, releasing the Game Boy Advance in March of that year and a new home system in September. The GameCube was quite a console, an adorable box with a great wireless controller and fun add-ons like the Game Boy Player. 

Unfortunately, the system was plagued by a thin library, especially compared to the PlayStation’s combined roster of PS1 and PS2 games. But what titles they were — it gave us Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Monkey Ball and the original Animal Crossing. On the GameCube's 20th anniversary in Japan the Engadget staff looks back at their favorite titles from that era which, once again, doesn't include some of the obvious candidates. — Kris Naudus, Buyer's Guide Editor

Donkey Konga

I’ll be honest; I was late to the GameCube and the only reason I bought one was for Donkey Konga. I first played this rhythm title at a Toys ‘R’ Us and fell in love with those stupid bongos. A year before Guitar Hero this was the party game du jour, and I took my cube and controllers everywhere. I quickly unlocked every song, and became an absolute master at “Oye Como Va.” It was followed by a sequel and the bongos were even the default control scheme for Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, but nothing matched the sheer joy of playing that first installment and the sore palms that ensued. — KN

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Call it the anti-Resident Evil. Eternal Darkness puts you in the shoes of Alexandra Roivas, a young woman trying to solve the mystery of her grandfather's horrific death. Its century-spanning story covered a dozen characters, all connected to an ancient Lovecraftian god. While there's combat, it was more about psychological trauma than the survival horror of Resident Evil. Most notably, it had a sanity meter that would change the gameplay and environment and even throw simulated system errors to freak out players. Take that, Metal Gear Solid.

Like many GameCube titles, Eternal Darkness was clearly an attempt to attract an older audience. It was the first M-rated game published by Nintendo, and the company kept the trademark alive for a decade. But it was never re-released outside of the GameCube, and hope for a direct sequel was squashed when developer Silicon Knights filed for bankruptcy in 2014. There was an attempt at a spiritual successor, Shadow of the Eternals, that fell apart after failing to raise enough money via crowdfunding. It's almost fitting that a game about millennia-old evil may end up being lost to the sands of time. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Editor

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

After the runaway success of Awakening and Three Houses, it’s hard to see what made Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem’s only GameCube release, so special back in 2005. Nearly two decades later its presentation looks stiff and dated, and the game is missing the relationship mechanics beloved by newcomers. But in Path of Radiance you’ll still find many of the elements that came to define later Fire Emblem games.

They exist in a sort of prototypical form since this was the first game in the series to make the jump to 3D. We take a lot of it for granted now, but back then series developer Intelligent Systems had to figure out the mechanics for the first time. And it did, making for a game that’s still fun to play to this day. It has one of the best stories in the series, with an English script that captures a lot of the nuances of the Japanese original.

It’s that story that made me fall in love with Path of Radiance when I first played it more than 15 years ago. Even when the game was at its most punishing, I wanted to see what would happen to Ike and his band of mercenaries. Path of Radiance was my first Fire Emblem game, but it’s the one I keep coming back to because of just how much I enjoyed my first playthrough as a teen. — Igor Bonifacic, Contributing Editor

F-Zero GX

The original F-Zero for the Super NES is one of those games I wore out as a teenager. While the futuristic space racer only had 15 courses, they were beautiful and challenging, and even when I did well, I always felt like I could do a little better. A decade later, F-Zero GX hit the GameCube and showed just how far racing had come.

The basic concept is the same: high-speed futuristic hovercraft battling it out in wild, creative courses where one mistake can lead to disaster. The GameCube’s horsepower meant the courses were longer, more complicated and visually stunning. The sense of speed was probably the biggest change, though: even now, 20 years later, this game feels incredibly fast. That speed makes it positively unforgiving, and I never progressed that far through the game’s many challenges. Driver AI was also significantly improved. In the first game, you mostly only had to worry about the three main rivals. But in GX, it’s easy to end up in 15th or 20th place in the blink of an eye if you’re not careful.

Despite that, I still remember the game fondly, in large part because it’s the last real entry in the F-Zero franchise. I didn’t play the Nintendo 64 entry in the series, so the jump from the SNES to the GameCube was pretty mind-blowing at the time. It’s a shame that Nintendo has let the series languish since then, because I’d love an updated version of GX for the Switch. — Nate Ingraham, Deputy Managing Editor

Mario Kart: Double Dash

I have fond memories of Mario Kart: Double Dash for a not-unique reason. In the early 2000s, my friends and I had frequent co-op video game nights, and Double Dash was a mainstay in our lineup. Mario Kart games have always been amazing in local multiplayer, and Double Dash was no exception. After Mario Kart 64, it was disappointing that all four players couldn’t compete directly against each other, but we quickly got used to the game’s unusual mechanic that let one player drive and another throw weapons. Having two teams of two players was an interesting wrinkle to the gameplay, and it makes Double Dash one of the more unusual games in the series.

As with most GameCube games, it looks wonderful. Mario Kart 64, like a lot of N64 games, hasn’t aged as well visually, but Double Dash is still gorgeous, and Nintendo took a major step forward in terms of creativity and variety in the game’s levels. There are more hidden routes and ways to approach each level than ever before, and the scope of boards like Wario Colosseum and the game’s take on the ubiquitous Rainbow Road were unmatched at the time. It’s no coincidence that almost every course in this game has appeared in subsequent versions of Mario Kart — so even if you never played Double Dash, you’ve likely come across some of its iconic tracks. — NI

Metroid Prime

In the 80s and 90s, the Metroid franchise was defined by three classic titles: the original Metroid for the NES, Metroid II: Return of Samus on the Game Boy, and Super Metroid on the Super NES. They cemented Metroid gameplay as a side-scrolling action / exploration game, with a non-linear set of levels. Players would come across areas that you couldn’t fully explore before beating bosses and finding items in other parts of the game.

Metroid Prime, however, completely turned the series around, putting it in 3D for the first time. While the style resembled a first-person shooter, the gameplay still put exploration at the forefront, rather than fast-paced gun fights. That said, the game is plenty challenging, even punishing at times in its difficulty: its massive bosses and twisting tunnels full of enemies were unforgiving.

But for me, the most memorable part of Metroid Prime is the incredible atmosphere of Tallon IV, and the wonder of finding new sections of the deserted planet to explore. Prime also did a great job at expanding the story and lore of the Metroid series, with loads of scannable items that explain what happened to the ruined world. The sequels to Metroid Prime are great, but this first game is arguably the best in the series and a huge part of why we’re all so excited about someday getting our hands on Metroid Prime 4. — NI

Odama

It’s such a strange concept that it sounds like some developer’s fever dream — a combination pinball strategy game with voice control. But Odama was quite real, and it was glorious. Like any tactical wargame, you controlled an army of men (though via voice commands) who needed to overtake the enemy gate at the top side of the display. Complicating things was a giant ball that destroyed all in its path, but fortunately, you could exert some control over it with a pair of flippers at the bottom of the screen. There was a lot going on and it was utterly bonkers, but if you managed to beat Odama you were rewarded with the best ending theme to a video game ever. — KN

Pokémon Colosseum

Though the Pokémon series is, at its heart, a role-playing game series from Japan, it’s not very typical of the JRPG genre we’ve become accustomed to through franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. But way back in 2003 second-party developer Genus Sonority tried its hand as a more “traditional” story-based RPG, placing the player in the shoes of a reformed criminal trying to rescue Pokémon from his former organization. Pokémon Colosseum took place in the cyberpunk-flavored Orre region, as opposed to the more pastoral settings of the handheld RPGs. The “snagging” mechanic for collecting Pokémon was interesting, and the storyline had more of an edge to it. It was followed by a sequel in 2005, Pokémon XD, but I’d love to see this spinoff series continued on the Switch. — KN

Resident Evil 4

It's easy to forget that Resident Evil 4 was initially a GameCube exclusive. It's been re-released on practically every platform, including the Oculus Quest 2 later this year. But it all started on Nintendo's purple box, a platform not known for having many action titles. The game's staying power makes sense though. It's the first Resident Evil game rendered completely in 3D, and it featured a slick over-the-shoulder camera that made shooting infected baddies feel genuinely kinetic.

Resident Evil 4's gameplay would go on to influence not just the entire series, but most action games moving forward. It was also a great example of the GameCube's unheralded horsepower, which could deliver smoother and crisper graphics than the PlayStation 2. Even today, the original GameCube RE4 still looks fantastic, with high-quality character models and environments teeming with detail. In comparison, the PS2 version look like a muddy mess. — DH

Skies of Arcadia Legends

It may not be fair to call Skies of Arcadia Legends a GameCube game, since it's just a port of a classic Dreamcast title. But I'm giving it a shout because it's still one of the best RPGs I've ever played, and perhaps reminiscing about it will finally spur on a digital re-release. The GameCube port fixes some of the frame rate and stability issues from the Dreamcast, and adds new characters to boot, making it the definitive version of the game.

Set in a world of floating continents, Skies of Arcadia Legends focuses on sky pirates who embark on a world-saving journey, naturally. You can explore a 3D world map with your airship, which gets into large-scale turn-based battles with other vessels and giant enemies. Much like Chrono Trigger, you can tell that Skies of Arcadia comes from a dream team of developers. In this case, the staff previously worked on Phantasy Star, Panzer Dragoon and Sakura Wars.

While Sega originally planned to bring Skies of Arcadia to the PlayStation 2, it ended up focusing on the GameCube port instead. Perhaps Nintendo has a stake in that port and we just don't know. Still, it'd be nice to play such a well-crafted game once again. I can't be the only person who still regularly listens to its epic soundtrack. — DH

After expanding to Samsung TVs earlier in the year, Movies Anywhere, the service that allows you to keep your digital film collection in one place, is now available on Xbox consoles. Starting today, you can download the app on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Movies Anywhere works with most digital storefronts, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu and of course the Microsoft Store.

The Xbox version of Movies Anywhere includes support for the platform’s Watch Together feature, which means you can take part in online watch parties with up to nine other people and talk in a shared chat room. Screen Pass is also supported. If you’ve already accepted a rental invitation sent to you by a friend or family member, you can watch the movie on your Xbox. Moreover, once you connect your Microsoft Store account to Movies Anywhere, you can watch the content you purchase there on any other device that supports the platform.

Instagram is working on a tool that could give people more control over its famously obtuse feed algorithm. Mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi recently shared screenshots of an in-development feature called Favorites. Those images suggest the tool will allow you to add friends, family members and creators to a list of accounts you want the software to prioritize when you’re scrolling through your feed.

Since Instagram switched from a chronological feed to an algorithmic one back in 2016, people have consistently complained the app doesn’t do an adequate job of showing them the images and videos they want to see the most. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, tried to speak to those concerns recently when he wrote a blog post about how the platform's various algorithms work. Currently, the feed algorithm tends to look at the popularity of a post, in addition to your recent activity and history of interacting with someone, when deciding how to prioritize the content it shows you.

It’s unclear if Favorites will become an official feature within Instagram. A spokesperson for Instagram told Engadget the company is currently testing the tool internally but offered no further details on when we might see an external test, if at all.

Don't expect to stream Disney's next movies at home the moment they're available. The Vergereports Disney has revealed that all its remaining 2021 movies will debut in theaters first, including the animated robot comedy Ron's Gone Wrong (October 22nd), the Marvel blockbuster Eternals (November 5th) and a new adaptation of West Side Story (December 10th).

Outside of the animated musical Encanto (November 24th), which has a 30-day window, all of the movies will have a "minimum" 45-day theatrical run before they're available elsewhere. Disney didn't say when you might expect on-demand versions of these titles, whether on Disney+ or rival services.

This is partly a reaction to the relatively strong theater-only releases of summer extravaganzas like Free Guy and Shang-Chi. While COVID-19 still hurt box office numbers (Shang-Chi's $75.5 million US opening paled in comparison to multiple Disney 2019 releases), the revenue may have been enough to justify returning to pre-pandemic distribution.

There's also the matter of placating key factions. Disney said it has a way to pay talent fairly for hybrid theater-and-digital relases, but it wouldn't be surprising if Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow lawsuit plays a role in considering Disney+ launches. The company might not want to risk further trouble with actors and others whose income depends on theatrical performance. And then there's the theaters themselves. When chains like AMC vowed to pull Universal movies even when many locations were closed, Disney might not be willing to provoke a similar confrontation as theaters resume business.

This and Warner Bros.' 2022 return to theaters supports the expectations of many cynics — that studios only saw day-one streaming access as a temporary necessity that would disappear the moment it was reasonably safe to watch on big screens. That's not completely shocking when the movie industry's business model still revolves around theaters, but any fundamental shifts in strategy might not happen for a long, long time.

This week, Devindra and Cherlynn chat with Wired Reviews Editor Julian Chokkattu about Apple’s upcoming launch event on September 14th. What will the next iPhone be called, and what new features will it bring? We’ll bring down everything we know so far, along with other new hardware to expect from Apple. Also, Devindra and Engadget Senior Editor Karissa Bell chat about Facebook’s first smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Stories. Are we ready for a world where everyone has cameras on their faces? Probably not!

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

Subscribe!

• iTunes

• Spotify

• Pocket Casts

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

Topics

• Expectations for the September 14 Apple event: iPhone 13(?) – 1:19

• Could we see a new basic iPad? – 21:29

• Updates with Apple Watch Series 7 – 27:43

• Breaking: Hands-on with Facebook’s smart glasses from Ray-Ban – 38:47

• The Matrix Resurrections trailer looks great – 53:13

• The new Roomba will detect pet poop – 57:56

• Working on – 1:01:46

• Picks – 1:04:54

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guests: Wired Reviews Editor Julian Chokkattu, Engadget Senior Editor Karissa Bell
Producer: Ben Ellman
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos, Owen Davidoff, Luke Brooks
Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Kyle Maack
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

Twitter is testing a new label that lets automated bot self-identify as such in their labels, the company has announced. The feature is designed to help help people tell human and automated accounts apart, while giving "good bots a way to increase their legitimacy and build trust and transparency with their audience," the company wrote.

The new feature appears to be an extension of Twitter's edict last year that high-quality bot accounts must self-identify as such. At the time, it said that developers must "clearly indicate" if an account is a bot, and also identify the person running the account. 

Examples of legitimate bot accounts cited by Twitter "include bots that help you find vaccine appointments and disaster early warning systems," the company wrote in a FAQ on its help site. "When accounts send automated Tweets to share relevant information about content on another account, automated labels help you identify good bots from spammy ones and are all about transparency."

The label will roll out to 500-plus developer accounts to start with, and be available to all developers "by the end of the his year." It said that adopting the label isn't required right now, but implied that not using it would essentially be a breach of its updated developer policy that requires the use of labels.