What If Episode Six brings us back to our Marvel Cinematic Universe roots during the intro of Iron Man. Although in this timeline, Killmonger rescues Stark and he doesn’t become Iron Man.
I’m really enjoying this concept Marvel is doing with What If and I’m happy that we’re getting more with Season 2 confirmed!
This review contains spoilers so please tread lightly or watch the show first.
What If…? Episode Six: What If Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?
Quick Recap 📝
Going back to the opening scene of Iron Man, Tony Stark rides in an armored van in Afghanistan. They get ambushed by the Ten Rings but Erik Killmonger saves him. Back in the US, Stark holds a press conference where Killmonger exposes Obadiah Stane’s connection to the Ten Rings. Stark hires Killmonger and they design and build a drone robot made of vibranium.
They arrange for Rhodey a covert transaction with Ulysses Klaue to get more vibranium. Klaue lures T’Challa by sending a word to Wakanda, but Killmonger kills both T’Challa and Rhodey, framing it as if they killed each other. Stark confronts Killmonger angered by Rhodey’s death. He orders the drone to kill the latter but Killmonger kills Stark, making it look like a Wakandan attack.
General Thaddeus Ross assumes as head of Stark Industries as Killmonger proceeds to create an army of drones using the stolen vibranium. He kills Klaue and brings him to Wakanda, earning the trust of King T’Chaka and the Wakandans. He leads the drone army into Wakanda but double-crosses Ross by cutting off his control and reactivates their fight function. Killmonger leads the Wakandan army to destroy the drones, staging himself as a hero.
After the battle, King T’Chaka bestows the Black Panther mantle to Killmonger. He meets T’Challa in the astral plane and warns him of his demise. Ross leads the US military to destroy Wakanda. Meanwhile, Shuri, who was suspicious of Killmonger, meets with Pepper Potts and plans to expose the truth about Killmonger.
Also Read: What If T’Challa Became Star-Lord?
Episode Thoughts 🧠
Black Panther is one of my top MCU movies and it was fun to see T’Challa and Killmonger again in this What If episode. It was also fun to see Happy again, especially after the zombies episode 😂.
I like that they stuck with Killmonger’s personality and his belief. Like the other MCU antiheroes/villains, his beliefs are valid but his execution isn’t. I’m glad they retained that side of him from his character in the movies. Like Karli from Falcon and The Winter Soldier, I also understand Killmonger’s motives. Plus, I think it’s one of the reasons why his character was actually well-written. It was also interesting to see him meet and interact with Stark and the other characters from Iron Man.
This episode was a little miss for me though. Honestly, I feel like the What If episodes are a little hit or miss, but it’s great having them as filler eps. I know they’re canon to the MCU but sometimes there’s too many changes that my mind can’t keep up.
What If Episode Six was too fast paced in my opinion. Actually, most of the What If Episodes are fast-paced. I wish we could get more runtime because 30 minutes isn’t enough! I want more!!!
I guess it’s really a good thing we’re getting a second season so at least there’s more stories to come. Although, for this season we’re down to the last episode once this post goes live. I think we’re getting the Guardians of the Multiverse in the finale on Wednesday.
I guess we’ll see. Also, I know I’m pretty late with these reviews but watch out for my Party Thor review next!
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Let’s Chat! 💬
Are you watching What If? What alternate storyline would you want to see?
