The following article contains spoilers for episode 8 of What If…?
In the past eight weeks, Marvel fans have witnessed some very interesting plots unfold onWhat If…?Several of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s stories have been retold, with a small spin to the turn of events. Up until this point, it felt like each episode was an individual plot, and the series appeared mostly disconnected. But, episode 8 of the series changes things.
Just a week before the finale episode ofWhat If…?premieres, the series has seemingly formed a connection with some of the most important events that have occurred in previous episodes. A lot has happened since the series premiered on Disney Plus, fromPeggy Carter taking the super-soldier serumall the way to Thor turning into a party animal. But, the latest episode brings it all together, and even ventures into the Multiverse to prepare viewers for what’s to come.
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It all began with episode 7 introducing Ultron, albeit in Vision’s body. At the end of the episode, when party Thor is apologizing to Jane Foster for his disorderly ways, he comes across a group of sinister-looking androids, being led by none other than one of the MCU’s biggest villains. While the first glance might have confused some viewers, thinking that Vision had suddenly turned into a villain, everybody soon understood that it was in fact Ultron arriving to carry out his evil plans of destroying the universe.
Marvel fans will remember that in2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultron, Vision was first created when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner merged the vessel created for Ultron’s artificial conscience with J.A.R.V.I.S’s artificial intelligence. TheWhat If…?world clearly had Ultron succeed in gaining access to Vision’s body, like it was originally intended in the MCU, and Vision as fans know him was never born.
When the episode ended, it set up the remaining two episodes of the first season ofWhat If…?The penultimate episodehad fans diving deeper into Ultron’s plans and how he goes on to kill the Avengers (that’s right, Stark dies again) and destroy the universe. Once he is done, the realization that his purpose has been fulfilled dawns upon him. With his plan successful, Ultron has no reason to live, but has to survive in the universe he destroyed, all alone.
During this scene, The Watcher arrives to make the same observation and wonder where Ultron will go next. However, something completely unexpected happens. The Watcher has been on the sidelines for most of the series, hardly ever interacting with the characters. He did previouslyinteract with the evil Doctor Strangein episode 4, but apart from that, he has been doing his job and watching without interference.
This all changes when Ultron discovers The Watcher’s presence. At this moment, Ultron realizes that there is more to the universe, and he still has purpose in his life. Destroying the Multiverse becomes his new mission, and he goes on a hunt for the gateway to The Watcher’s realm. When he finally gets there, the most epic multiversal battle takes place between the two characters, which only promises some great battles ahead in the MCU, withthe Multiverse now a reality.
The episode ends with The Watcher reuniting with evil Doctor Strange, who many fans believe could potentially be themost powerful being in the MCU. He has single-handedly destroyed a universe himself, even though it was unintentional. He seems like the most worthy opponent toWhat If…?’sUltron and it isn’t surprising that The Watcher asks for his help.
Watching episode 8 ofWhat If…?will make fans realize that there was a plan all along. While the first few episodes of the series, when watched individually, will seem disconnected, the latest episode changes all that. The Watcher has been quietly observing the incidents thus far, but there were moments where he almost interacted with several of the heroes. This was probably his way of reaching out to them, to prepare an army that can fight the extremely powerful Ultron.
Themid-season trailer ofWhat If…?included a moment where many of the heroes from the previous episodes will unite to fight a big threat. It is obvious now that the threat will be Ultron, and the Avengers will have to assemble to bring him down. They have done it once before in the MCU, so it doesn’t seem unlikely that a similar battle is coming soon.
What started off as individual stories from the MCU seem to all be coming together for one purpose - to bring down Ultron. This might just be the best decision that Marvel has made, asAvengers: Age of Ultronis regarded by many fans as the worst film in the MCU’s rather large roster. There were several behind-the-scenes issues with the film, especially between Joss Whedon and Marvel. This might beMarvel’s way of retelling Ultron’s story, and could even garner a more positive reaction from fans.
It won’t be surprising if the final episode ofWhat If…?’sfirst season ends with a bang, like most MCU projects do. Fans are already expecting a major battle, potentially between Ultron and the Avengers, led by the evil Doctor Strange. Perhaps fans should watch all theWhat If…?episodes one more time to form all the possible connections between each before the finale premieres. There have been many cliffhangers in the season so far, and it should all be worth it when the finale premieres.
