The following contains spoilers for Marvel’s What If…? Episode 6, “What If…? Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark.”

So far, What If…? has explored numerous chapters of the MCU, but in episode 6, the Watcher takes the audience back to the very beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The universe diverges from the moment that could have made Tony Stark into Iron Man, but the episode doesn’t only feature Easter eggs and callbacks associated with Tony Stark.

Instead, the episode sees two characters who never crossed paths in live-action meet up: Tony and Erik Killmonger. It allows for the audience to see just how certain events truly shaped Tony into the hero he became, but to also see just how Killmonger could have manipulated events if he hadn’t gone straight for Wakanda and his cousin T’Challa first.

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The Episode Opening

Erik Killmonger stands in front of Tony Stark with his gun in What If episode 6

As is true for most of the episodes of the animated series, this one opens with a familiar shot for movie fans. The opening is the same as that of 2008’s Iron Man: Tony, in the back of a vehicle, drinking, and taking photos with the soldiers inside before they’re ambushed.

The paths diverge here in that when Tony sees the weapons labeled “Stark Industries,” there isn’t another explosion or kidnapping. Instead, Erik Killmonger strides up and leads him out of the desert. The animation certainly gets the swagger of the two characters down from their debuts.

Christine Everhart

A split image depicts Christine Everhart in Iron Man and What If episode 4

Christine Everhart is one of the reporters at the press conference when Tony returns to California. She’s the one who presses Killmonger as to why he’s able to rescue Tony, and fans will recognize her from an appearance as a reporter in episode 4 as well.

She’s also a popular reporter in the wider MCU as she began with an appearance in the first Iron Man movie before becoming the face of the fictional WHiH news for the movie universe. She’s appeared in promotional material for a few movies as well as had cameos in more.

The Sonic Taser

Obadiah Stane uses the sonic taser on Tony Stark in Iron Man

The sonic taser that Killmonger picks up in Tony’s workshop is the same weapon he uses against Rhodey and T’Challa later in the episode. The audience has actually seen a version of it before.

It’s the same weapon Obadiah Stane uses against Tony in Iron Man when Tony finally figures out that Obadiah is behind everything. Obadiah just happens to have a smaller version of it. That reveal happens a little earlier in this episode as Killmonger uncovers the plot first.

“I Like Anime.”

Killmonger shows Stark his drone design in What If Episode 6

When Killmonger broaches the topic of his doctoral thesis to Tony, Tony is quick to suggest they work on the abandoned project together. Killmonger’s designs for his drones, however, look like something out of an anime (the audience can gather it’s Gundam, specifically), according to Tony. Killmonger’s response is to admit, “I like anime.”

This isn’t an in-universe nod to the character. Rather, it’s a nod to the actor who plays him. Michael B. Jordan has been vocal in interviews about his love for anime, so it’s a nice touch.

An Arc Reactor VS Vibranium

Tony Stark is surprised in What If episode 6

When work on the drones stalls because they need a power source, Tony theorizes about making a miniature arc reactor, but quickly dismisses the idea. A miniature arc reactor, of course, is what kept him alive after shrapnel was embedded in his heart and chest in Iron Man. He even puts his hand over his heart when he has the idea.

Of course, Killmonger suggests vibranium instead as part of his larger plan to get into Wakanda. Tony asserts that his father used it all. Before the introduction of Wakanda to the MCU, the vibranium the audience knew about was used by Howard Stark to create Captain America’s shield, something Tony doesn’t have in his possession because it’s still buried in the ice with Steve Rogers at this point in the timeline.

The Drones Are An Iron Man 2 Callback

Hammer drones line the stage in Iron Man 2

When Tony creates his suits, he does create ones he can control from afar, eventually, but initially, they are all meant to act as an extension of the person wearing them. It’s Iron Man 2 that produces the idea of drones, much like Killmonger suggests here.

That idea is courtesy of Ivan Vanko. He’s also the villain known as Whiplash, making the drones an idea of a villain using Stark technology in both universes. In the movie, Vanko creates them for the movie’s real villain, Justin Hammer. Tony’s idea to use Jarvis to pilot the drones, however, is much like his later MCU idea of a “suit of armor for the world.”

The Salvage Yard

Klaue sits in his hideout in Avengers: Age of Ultron

When Rhodey meets with Klaue at a salvage yard to get his hands on vibranium for Tony and Killmonger, it might look familiar for fans. It’s the same place where Klaue hides out when the audience first meets him in Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

There, it’s the Maximoff twins who meet him first, but this meeting happens earlier in the timeline. Wanda and Pietro likely haven’t even started using their abilities yet. Killmonger does, however, still end up betraying Klaue and using his body as a “gift” when he comes to Wakanda, just as he does in Black Panther.

General Ross Commandeers Stark Technology

A split image depicts General Ross in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and Black Widow

General Ross is getting a lot of screen time in the MCU these days. He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk, but has played a role in Captain America: Civil War and Black Widow as well. He also made a What If…? appearance in episode 3.

He’s the face of the military as they commandeer the technology owned by Stark to use against Wakanda here. That’s exactly what Tony Stark prevented happening in Iron Man 2. When Tony was called into a government hearing, he refused to give up his proprietary technology for military use because he was Iron Man. Rhodey eventually got the War Machine suit instead, but with both of them gone, Ross takes anything he wants.

General Ramonda

Queen Ramonda uses a Dora Milaje spear in battle in What If episode 6

Queen Ramonda is the leader of the Wakandan forces against the drones sent by the US military. This isn’t a nod to her role in the comics, but more likely, a nod to the history of the Dora Milaje in the comics.

While the Dora Milaje are elite fighters in both the comics and the movies, they did have a slightly different start on the page. They were originally seen as potential wives for the future king of Wakanda. Ramonda being both a queen and a military leader marries those ideas for What If…?

Killmonger’s Black Panther Suit

Killmonger dons the black and gold Black Panther suit in What If episode 6

When Killmonger is given the magical herb to become the next Black Panther, not only does he interact with T’Challa on the ancestral plain, but the audience also gets to see him don his own version of the Black Panther suit.

That version is straight out of the Black Panther movie. In the movie, T’Challa’s suit has hints of purple to it when it absorbs kinetic energy, a nod to the purple of the herb. Killmonger’s, on the other hand, has gold. Even the teeth of the neckpiece is gold. The same is true in animation.

What If…? is currently available to stream on Disney Plus with new episodes added on Wednesdays.

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