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? This is the GameRevolution review. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
What If? Episode 1 Review: “A solid start”
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.
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?
What If? Episode 1 ending explained
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.
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. This is in place of Captain America who was revived from the ice.
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!
In other Marvel news, could the MCU be building towards a Dark Avengers movie? The evidence so far certainly supports the theory.
The Spider-Man: No Way Home black suit has been revealed. What’s more, it appears to have a possible connection with the Loki show.
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