Originally published What If? Vol. 2 #24 (1991) Another great thing about What If? is the bluntness of the titles of each issue. You can probably be pretty certain that Wolverine turns into a vampire without reading the synopsis of "What If Wolverine Was Lord of the Vampires?", but hopefully that title is intriguing enough to make you actually go past the cover page. After the transformation and defeat of Dracula, Wolverine proceeds to turn every mutant and human he can find into a child of the night like himself. New York is quarantined and effectively decimated by the vampire plague. Some heroes are turned into vampires themselves (Spider-Man, all of the X-Men) and others are forced to watch from outside New York as the isolated city is destroyed (Captain America, Iron Man). Doctor Strange, seemingly, is the only one who can stop the plague by reciting a spell that destroys all vampires - but Strange himself is soon killed by the hulking vampire Juggernaut. Such is life. If this all sounds absurd, it's because it is - but the magic of these theoretical tales is that you're almost automatically along for the ride, knowing that no matter how many famous characters die or turn to vampires, it'll all wrap up into a self-contained continuity and be able to exist on its own forever. So, by the time Doctor Strange's ghost inhabits the subconscious of the Punisher and goes on a super-badass vengeance spree, you've already forfeited any disbelief. And even the Punisher shrugs it all off - "If I can believe in vampires, I guess I can stretch the point to include ghosts." The ending of this issue isn't on par with the rest of the story, but the unlikely pairing of Doctor Strange and Punisher is well done and enough to warrant a place on this list by itself. The status quo of the standard Marvel continuity is drastically changed by this story and others like it, and it's refreshing to be led astray from the regular timeline in such an inventive way.
