Episode 6 of Marvel’s What If…?, entitled “What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?”, might be the flattest episode to come out of the series so far, but it at least works in the way the other Disney+ Marvel shows work. It takes a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe who didn’t get quite enough time in the spotlight and gives us more. In this case, it’s the charismatic Black Panther villain Erik “Killmonger” Stevens.
As always, Uatu the Watcher is Jeffrey Wright. In the Black Panther corner, we get plenty of returning voices like Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, John Kani as King T’Chaka, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, and Danai Gurira as Okoye. On the Iron Man side, Don Cheadle is James Rhodes, Jon Favreau is Happy Hogan, Paul Bettany is JARVIS, and Leslie Bibb is Christine Everhart.
For those replacing the original actors, Mick Wingert is Tony Stark, Beth Hoyt is Pepper Potts, Ozioma Akagha is Shuri, Mike McGuill is General Thaddeus Ross, and Kiff Vandenheuvel is Obadiah Stane. I mean, I guess Don Cheadle as James Rhodes also sort of counts here, but that’s just splitting hairs.
The pacing of the story is rather fast and you don’t even get to catch a breath when some of your favourite heroes die unfortunate deaths. While in a way it is good that the story is fast-paced, and considering its time constraint, it kind of has to be, but maybe a chance to bid farewell would have been nice, even if for a couple of moments. Instead, the writers race to the end, which, by the way, also compromises the thrilling whodunnit part of the show. Not only is the end predictable, the storyline of Killmonger is strongly reminiscent of the Black Panther movie.
What If? episode 6 moves quickly between plot points, with Killmonger saving Tony Stark before the Ten Rings can get to him. A number of interesting twists follow, with Killmonger’s true goal revealed. Unfortunately, it’s a similar goal that’s seen in the MCU Black Panther movie and this ultimately leads to a less interesting conclusion.
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The sixth episode gets points for the number of key character deaths, however, as a lot of people die. There won’t be spoilers here, though, but suffice it to say that fan-favorites face their unfortunate demise. The brutal pacing lessens the weight of these deaths, however, and the obvious answer of the whodunnit mystery makes it difficult to take seriously.
Killmonger is even more manipulative in this episode than he is in the MCU movie. However, this should make his motivations obvious, but most other characters don’t notice this.
We are not given time to mourn the fallen ones, and there is no intrigue about their killer. So what follows is pretty tame and even a little blah. Because you have seen all of this before. The end is somewhat exciting and there is one big twist, however, which is the only saving grace of the episode.
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What If? episode 6 ends with Killmonger becoming the new Black Panther.....
It seems that he has gotten away with killing T’Challa, Tony Stark, and others until Shuri visits Pepper Potts. Shuri shows Potts evidence of Killmonger murdering Tony Stark and the pair begin to formulate a plan on how to take the new Black Panther down. Just as this happens, the episode is brought to a sudden end.
While the next What If? episode is likely to focus on a new character, with rumors pointing to Party Thor, it’s clear that Killmonger’s Black Panther will eventually have to face up to what he has done, as Shuri and Potts are determined to make his betrayal known. This may happen in the series finale or it could be saved for season 2.
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