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What If…? gave fans the satisfaction of knowing how wrong Tony Stark was about Steve Rogers’ special qualities only coming from a lab experiment.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If…? Season 1, Episode 1, “What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger,” streaming now on Disney+.
Steve Rogers is famously known as the super soldier Captain America. However, What If…? gave MCU fans a new look at the war hero in a world where Agent Peggy Carter became the super soldier instead. Instead of staying out of the war effort, Steve fought against Hydra in Howard Stark’s armored mech nicknamed the Hydra Stomper. The episode does an excellent job showcasing Steve’s heroism while also making a subtle callback to the first Avengers movie. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers’ friendship started off pretty sour, thanks to the two taking jabs at each others’ character. But What If…? showed why Tony was wrong about Steve and what makes him special.
The Avengers brought together six superheroes with different personalities. Stark and Rogers stood at the farthest ends of the table, with the two constantly coming at odds during the early parts of the film. During a confrontation, Tony claimed everything special about the war hero came out of a bottle, referencing Rogers receiving the Super Soldier Serum.
As the first episode of What If…? showed, Steve was always meant to be a part of the war. After Captain Carter and her team successfully recovered the Tesseract from Hydra, Howard Stark put together an Iron Monger-looking suit of armor powered by the Infinity Stone for Rogers to pilot. Rogers worked with Peggy as an unstoppable duo as they took down Hydra’s forces.
Rogers didn’t let the loss of the Super Soldier Serum hurt his desire to serve in the war or his affection for Peggy. Not only did he fully support her transformation into Captain Carter, but he also proved himself a hero in his own right as he charged straight into battle with the help of Howard and the Tesseract. Rogers proved he was special even without the Super Soldier Serum. When later stating he was just a man in a suit, Peggy told him how the man in the suit mattered, indirectly referencing Tony Stark’s own story.
The MCU did an excellent job showcasing Stark’s journey and how he grew to be a true hero by the time of his sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Rogers’ journey in the movies was always more focused on being a man out of time forced to live in a world without the people he loved. From the beginning, viewers knew Rogers was a hero, never having to prove his intentions thanks to his valiant nature.
Rogers may have used a high-tech suit of armor to fight, but he had no qualms about charging into battle, with or without the suit. His willingness to face danger even saved his team as he took the brunt of a surprise explosion trap on a train they were intercepting.
Anyone who may have doubted Rogers’ courage without superpowers can rest easy knowing he’d find any way to defend his country. Even without a super soldier’s powers, he aided his allies in battle. He may not have become the First Avenger in What If…?‘s new timeline, but he will certainly be remembered as the war hero Hydra Stomper.
To see Steve Rogers’ epic romp in the Hydra Stomper, watch the premiere episode of What If…?, now available on Disney+, with new episodes debuting on Wednesdays.
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