What If? Episode 1 is finally here, giving viewers a look at hypothetical scenarios that beloved Marvel heroes could have experienced. In the first episode of What If?, the focus is on Captain Carter, a clear swap for Captain America. Of course, Steve Rogers is still present and wields The Hydra Stomper armor. How does this combination fare as a series debut? . Warning: Spoilers ahead!
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Through narration from the cosmic Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), we return to World War II and the moment Steve Rogers is imbued with the Super Soldier Formula in Captain America: The First Avenger. But what If…Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?
What If? Episode 1 succeeds in introducing Marvel fans to a world of different possibilities, where Captain America never existed and was replaced by someone else entirely.
The events of the first episode are the same as the first Captain America movie, only with one significant change: Steve Rogers is injured before he is able to take the Super Soldier Serum, which leads Peggy Carter to step in instead.
Peggy Carter becomes Captain Carter and faces additional challenges due to being a woman. However, she manages to overcome this and proves herself a capable soldier, securing the Tesseract. This Tesseract powers the Hydra Stomper armor which is worn by Steve Rogers.
As an introduction to the concept of different timelines, What If? episode 1 does a good job. It’s a relatively subtle change, with Peggy switching in for Steve, and we’ll surely see crazier timeline deviations in the future, but it’s not overwhelming. As a debut episode, it’s a solid start that I hope ramps up quickly in upcoming episodes.
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For diehard MCU fans, the change from live-action to animated may be jarring at first. However, the animation allows for some awesome combat sequences, including a great aerial fight where Carter moves from enemy plane to enemy plane. I’m looking forward to more of that!
The breakneck pace of the episode could be jarring to those who haven’t seen the MCU movies, as there is a lot of info crammed into this 30-minute episode. This series is clearly made for existing fans. If you somehow haven’t watched the MCU movies, I’d recommend watching them before diving into What If?
After Red Skull is crushed by the Hydra monster, Captain Carter battles it with a sword. She struggles at first, but Steve is able to distract the beast for a moment before his Hydra Stomper suit runs out of power.
We don't get a good look at the multi-dimensional tentacle monster summoned by Red Skull (Ross Marquand, who took over for Hugo Weaving in Avengers: Infinity War), but it immediately smooshes him because he's apparently an idiot in every reality.
Carter has to ultimately sacrifice herself by pushing the monster back through the portal. She is then trapped within the Tesseract until it is opened by Nick Fury 70 years later.
Once rescued from the Tesseract, Captain Carter doesn’t know just how much time has passed. She believes the war is still going. Nick Fury and Hawkeye explain the reality of her situation.
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In the original MCU timeline, Cap ends up frozen in ice after foiling the Red Skull's plot to destroy US cities. He's thawed out in 2011 and resumes his superhero career with the Avengers.
Peggy makes a similar sacrifice in this reality, pushing Hydra's champion into whatever dimension it came from. She returns to her world in around 2011 as well, having apparently sliced the monster to ribbons, and encounters SHIELD Director Nick Fury and Hawkeye.
It's unclear if SHIELD intentionally brought her back or her return was just a happy accident, but this version of Peggy will apparently show up again -- perhaps as a member of this reality's Avengers or a multiversal team of heroes.
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The episode then ends, but we can assume that Captain Carter then goes on to replace Captain America in other scenarios. When Loki attacks Earth, Carter presumably teams up with the other Avengers to defend New York City. This could also mean that she battles Iron Man while defending Bucky, fights against Ultron, and eventually saves the world from Thanos. Of course, this is a whole different timeline, so who knows how Captain Carter replacing Captain America impacted the rest of the universe!