By [ad_1]
“What If…?” ended its season by presenting a surprise for Captain Carter, but is there more to it?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If…? Season 1, Episode 9, “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?,” streaming now on Disney+.
What If…? spent much of its first season ending its stories on a cliffhanger. Naturally, the season finale followed suit with an enticing glimpse of the future for its most notable superhero. Captain Carter, who spearheaded the Guardians of the Multiverse’s successful efforts to defeat Ultron, returns to her own reality to find a surprise. The HYDRA Stomper armor, once piloted by Steve Rogers, is intact, along with a human inside it.
The episode strongly suggests that it is Rogers, but that itself opens up a new line of questions. In this universe, Rogers never received the Super Soldier serum that kept him alive and prevented him from aging. That hints that either Captain Carter has a ghoulish surprise waiting for her under that armor or that something else is afoot.
Season 1, Episode 1, “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?” diverged from the prime Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline when Carter was forced to take the Super Soldier serum in Rogers’ place. Armed with the vibranium shield and fantastic new powers, she serves the same role in her universe that Rogers did in the prime MCU, with a slight wrinkle. Her Rogers, though still frail, joined her in the fight, using the HYRDA Stomper developed by Howard Stark.
The episode also ended in a manner paralleling the end of Captain America: The First Avenger. The Red Skull uses the tesseract to open an interdimensional portal, and this time there is a tentacled being attempting to break through. Skull is devoured, and Carter forces the creature back into the portal while Stark closes the gate. Carter re-emerges in the modern era , mirroring Loki’s arrival at the beginning of the original Avengers movie.
Season 1, Episode 9, “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” ends with Carter and Black Widow uncovering the HYDRA Stomper in the hold of Batroc’s ship. The person inside is presumed to be Steve, though other figures such as Stark or even Red Skull might be possible, as the latter’s death was off camera. However, if it is Steve, that still leaves the question of how he survived all those years without the Super Soldier serum.
The likeliest explanation is that Carter’s version of Rogers will become her universe’s Winter Soldier. Like Bucky Barnes in the prime MCU, he’s could be presumed dead, only to turn up later as a prisoner of the Red Skull’s forces. The prime MCU Bucky was infused with a variation of the Super Soldier serum as a prisoner, and the circumstances are similar to suggest the same thing happened to Rogers, providing a ready explanation as to why Steve would survive all those years.
Furthermore, the armor was found on Batroc’s ship, suggesting a similar connection to the remnants of HYDRA and the Winter Soldier program. This scene even shares some visual cues to the scene to the opening of Captain America: Civil War, primarily thanks to the cinematography.
Considering that the episode closely matched the opening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that stands as the most likely explanation for Steve’s survival. Anything is possible of course, but with Season 2 underway and Captain Carter an established part of What If…?’s corner of the MCU, the question will likely be answered one way or another. As it stands, it’s unlikely that Marvel’s star-crossed lovers have finished their story in this reality, and Carter – like her prime counterpart – is in for some surprises before it’s all through.
To see the Guardians of the Multiverse assemble, What If…? Episode 9 is streaming now on Disney+.
About The Author
[ad_2]
