The following article contains spoilers for the What If…? series.
After three episodes, What If…? has definitely delivered on its promise to turn the Marvel Cinematic Universe upside down with storylines involving the heroes fans have grown to love ver since Robert Downey Jr. first put on the Iron Man suit back in 2008
However, for its third seemingly unrelated chapter the show dares ask an even bigger question with the title “What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” as audiences are left to see how Hank Pym’s most notorious comic book persona goes into full Yellowjacket mode to take out each one of the Avengers, thus leaving planet Earth prime for the taking in the eyes of Loki. Although Nick Fury’s trusty pager can always be relied upon to ask Captain Marvel for help, this does leave a rather somber scenario for that particular universe.
It bears reminding that this Nick Fury and the Hawkeye that was murdered by Pym are not the same ones that Captain Carter meets at the end of her own time travel journey, meaning at this point fans are looking at no less than two -most likely three- different universes with more realities on the way. But what exactly is the purpose of depicting all these universes? Well, if the What If…?’s earliest trailers are any indication the series is setting up a multiverse crossover that comes bundled with a new group of Avengers.
Unless What If...? is willing to kill all the Avengers again, Steve Rogers won't have time to warm up before he's turned into a zombie for the reality shown in the trailer where his and Iron Man's undead bodies are attacking Marvel's finest. All things considered, with its current state, it's this specific universe that would appear to be the perfect place for all things evil to unfold given it's the one where Nick Fury's Avenger initiative is more short-staffed with him having almost as many superhero caskets to count as when Thanos snapped half of them away.
And that's just as far as that reality goes, because while The Watcher has so far been limited to carefully overseeing the development of these events, producers did initially say that it was this otherworldly being and Captain Carter who were supposed to be on the story’s forefront. Peggy Carter can be seen when the alternate Avengers’ are fully assembled alongside T’Challa’s Star-Lord, his cousin Erik Killmonger as Black Panther, a fully armored Gamora, and the variant known as Party Thor but screenwriters are certainly playing their cards close to their chests before revealing how all of that unfolds.
In that regard, besides the ones previously mentioned, there are probably three other characters left to be shown with potentially huge roles to play in the What If…?’s plot: the darker version of Doctor Strange seen talking with Captain Carter; the caped Spider-Man; and, the finalized version of Ultron. Putting all of these together will definitely prove to be a challenge with just 6 episodes or three hours of television left for What If...?
Unlike its comic book counterpart, Disney Plus’ What If…? is supposed to be more than just a collection of one-off stories, the show’s purpose is to tie these together for possibly the type of superhero roundup MCU fans have grown to love. This premise becomes even more important considering Loki already introduced the Multiverse concept and mounting speculation that some of the character variants shown in What If…? could get starring live-action roles in the future, with Captain Carter leading the pack.
Despite Marvel Studios not releasing an official description or trailer for episode four, this one is rumored to be the one featuring one or more versions of Doctor Strange, who seems like the proper guy to make some sense of The Watcher’s current brand of entertainment. At the same time, there’s a chance his involvement in What If…? could shed a light on just why Doctor Strange is catering to Peter Parker’s wishes in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer.
Killing nearly all the Avengers and turning them into zombies is quite the bold move for What If…?, however, even in an animated format the show would do well to properly pay off these events. Perhaps the Killmonger Black Panther that rescues Tony Stark is in the same universe as T’Challa Star-Lord and that’s the link between those two, but just how will Ultron take over Vision and collect all the Infinity Stones? Is Gamora trying to prevent that and that’s why she’s wearing Thanos’ armor? How do Captain Marvel and the frozen Steve Rogers meet Zombie Hunter Spider-Man?
At the moment What If…? is a perfect ambitious showcase for fan fiction stories and to let one’s imagination go wild with Marvel, yet for every new smaller story that is shown on-screen writers have to find a way to carry it onto the endzone. Disappointment is not something often related to the MCU but with the kind of plot setups currently in play, it seems like What If...? is aiming for absolute superhero glory or bust with no point in-between.