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#10: The Hero Battle Has Several “Avengers” (2012) Callbacks
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After Thor's party gets a little too out of control, Captain Marvel flies in to shut the festivities down. Seeing her drop in from above to confront the god of thunder reminds us when Steve Rogers took the high ground to try to calm the Asgardian down in 2012’s “Avengers’. It’s funny to think Thor was confronted by heroes that had Captain in their names in the show and movie. In both stories, the Asgardian shows a huge display of power after being asked to put his hammer down. And both the movie and show feature a scene where Thor’s lightning isn’t very effective against his heroic foe. These parallels and more helped pay homage to that legendary 2012 hero team up.
#9: Skrulls Imitating Thor is Not Always Funny
Thor invites a wide range of aliens and allies to his wild rager. While he's socializing, he gets a few Skulls to imitate him. Although the shapeshifting is played for laughs in the episode, it was a much more sobering occasion in the comics. During the “Secret Invasion” storyline, a group of heroes that includes Thor crash land on Earth and confront other Avengers. Both sides accuse the others of being fake and fight. But after Reed Richards arrives, it's revealed that the Thor from the spaceship as well as other Heroes were indeed skrulls. We know Marvel is making a live action “Secret Invasion” series set in the MCU. Let's just hope no Skrulls imitate Thor for bad reasons on that show.
#8: Drax’s Voice Actor Is the Lead of Another Marvel Show
Our favorite literal guardian Drax was played by legendary voice actor Fred Tatasciore in this “What If?” episode. While we could easily fill a top 20 with his notable roles, we’ll just highlight his past Marvel roles like Venom, Crossbones and Hulk for now. In the near future, Tatasciore will step into another big and marvelous role as “Hit-Monkey” on the characters’ self-titled show. This animated series will see the actor play a gun-toting primate that takes on criminals in Tokyo while also getting advice from a ghost voiced by Jason Sudeikis. While we’re sold on “Hit-Monkey’s” wild premise alone, Tatasciore’s presence is also a fantastic sign. We can’t wait to see him add another great credit to his ridiculously stacked resume.
#7: A Subtle Star-Lord Reference
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Over the course of this week's story, we saw nearly every member of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” MCU lineup make a cameo. A couple of their sovereign enemies even showed up for a picture. However, their leader Star-Lord was notably absent. But there's an indirect reference to him early on in the narrative. When Jane is scanning the party guests to see which alien arrived first, she briefly passes over Yondu. If the show follows the original Guardians timeline, then the blue ravager visited Earth in the 1980s to kidnap a young Star-Lord. Yondu probably didn’t make Jane’s Ipad go crazy because the episode likely takes place in the 2010s. But his brief appearance on her device definitely made us think of Star-Lord’s origins.
#6: The Mojave Desert Was More Important Than It Seemed
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While the heroes are trying to figure out a good place for Captain Marvel to unleash her full power against Thor, Maria Hill suggests a sandy location. But the Mojave Desert has been so much more than a prospective fighting arena in the MCU. Within this dry location, Mar-Vell developed the light speed engine that would eventually give Carol powers. Thor's brother Loki also arrived on Earth inside of a facility located inside the Mojave Desert. And Phil Coulson also started unravelling the dark truth behind his resurrection in a nuclear test site within this sandy location. Given the Mojave Desert’s importance in the MCU, we’re glad Carol and Thor didn’t destroy it during a brawl.
#5: Return of the Fake Infinity Gauntlet
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Before Thor and his friends leave for midgard, they walk by a full Infinity Gauntlet. We first saw this golden item on Asgard during the God of Thunder first movie. As the MCU expanded Infinity stones started popping up across the galaxy. After fans realized there was no way the Asgardians could have a full gauntlet, Hela fixed this continuity problem in “Thor Ragnarok”. Her declaration that the Asgardians had a knockoff glove was both hilarious and a great way to correct a huge potential plot hole. While Thor may not have a real set of Infinity Stones in the main timeline or this alternate reality, at least his hammer is always authentic.
#4: Darcy Gives a Shout Out to the First Captain Marvel
Darcy is pleasantly surprised to find out that Captain Marvel is a badass heroine instead of a hero. She may have gotten this misconception from reading older Comics. A man named Mar-Vell first appeared as the titular captain in the late 1960s. After an impressive superhero career, he died in a pivotal graphic novel. The Captain Marvel mantle would later be held by characters like Monica Rambeau, Phyla-Vell and of course, Carol Danvels. These heroines all honored the name they inherited by demonstrating tremendous acts of heroism and courage. Thanks to their stories and all the ones to come, the Captain Marvel legacy will never die.
#3: Thor’s Mythical Drinking
The party Prince stops celebrating for a moment to give Skurge an enchanted cup that would put any bottomless brunch drink special to shame. This magical mug has deep roots in real Thor folklore about a contest. While the details vary depending on the source, the basic premise sees the god of thunder challenged to show off his drinking abilities. But despite his extensive experience, he can’t empty the drinking horn he’s given. It’s later revealed Thor was doomed to fail because his horn was linked to the ocean. Turning one of his greatest mythical failures into a funny sight gag in “What If?” was also a great way to revisit a joke writers set up in “Thor: Ragnarok”.
#2: Another Carol & Thor Fight Had A More Shocking Ending
There was a moment where it looked like S.H.I.E.L.D. would fire nuclear weapons right in the middle of Captain Marvel’s fight with Thor. Fortunately, Frigga’s Sudden appearance prevented any radioactive consequences. Although her presence was unexpected, it’s not nearly as shocking as a comic fight the heroes had. Captain Marvel is forced to battle Thor to save innocent lives. During the close and tense battle, the god of thunder is separated from his hammer. She proceeds to knock him unconscious before showing her boss gruesome evidence that she slayed Thor. Fortunately, it was revealed that Carol faked his death through elaborate means. But for a moment, it looked like Captain Marvel’s battle with Thor had ended in a brutal way.
#1: A Terrifying Vision
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Just when it looked like a “What iF?”episode would have a completely happy ending, robots arrive. Their leader wields all the Infinity stones, has physical similarities to Ultron and what appears to be Vision’s face. His look reminded us of the time in“Age of Ultron”, where the evil robot tried putting his consciousness in Vision's body. That movie’s events take place after Thor's early 2010’s arrival to Earth. So, the figure we’re seeing likely comes from a dark universe where Ultron got Vision’s body and Infinity stones. The villain used the soul gem and a virus to create more robots like him in comics. If Ultron can do that and hop through dimensions, heroes in every reality must unite to stop him.
