In the first episode of “Marvel Zombies”, Kamala is saved by Blade, who declares that (thanks to her powers as a Khonshuvavia), he is aware of the program system she protects. Kamala has no choice but to trust him, so they travel together in a shield base in Ohio, where they meet Yelena and Alexei, alongside the brilliant Melina (Kari Wahlgren). Melina has found a way to control the zombies, but the arrival of the army of the undeads of Wanda cancels this strategy because they find a way to replace this technical command. Melina died shortly after, which encouraged Yelena and Alelei to help Kamala save the world, regardless of the cost.
Episode 2 brings the group to the floating city of Helmut Zemo (Rama Vally) (a kind of arch for the survivors of Noah, but sinister). There, they team up with Shang-Chi, Katy (Awkwafina) and Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) after Zemo tried to feed the superheroes of the aquatic zombies. However, the arrival of Zombie Namor leads to all the hell that stands out, which prompted everyone (including Zemo!) To find refuge in an escape pod which can potentially lead them to security. Unfortunately, the pod requires a manual exemption, and Yelena makes the quick decision to be the only one to do so. After ensuring that everyone is safe inside the pod, she says goodbye to Alexei, who is next to him with the sorrow while pushing the launch button.
It’s a powerful moment, because Yelena decides not only to die in her own words, but also saves everyone in the process. “It’s a good death,” she said to Alexei, the pressing to help Kamala protect the world, even if she is no longer part. The moment is soft to be, like the sacrifice of Yelena, while being impactful, deprives us of a convincing character in a show where most people are killed in the blink of an eye. The Arc d’Alexei is also deeply tragic from this point when it channels its sorrow, but ends up paying an unprecedented price in Asgard.
Yelena has undergone a complex and transformer arc in the MCU so far (in particular in “Thunderbolts *”), but her fate in “Marvel Zombies” alludes to a altruism that stems from a real desire to save the world. According to Alexei’s words, the best way to honor the dead is to ensure that they are not died in vain, which is the burden that Kamala could have to bear in the animated series of the future.
The four episodes of “Marvel Zombies” are currently broadcast on Disney +.
