The second season of Marvel’s What If…? is here. The animated series will once again take us through various hypothetical situations that put some of our favorite characters in completely new circumstances. And with the eighth episode, we get an answer to the question, “What If… The Avengers Assembled in 1602?”
This is the first episode of the season that was previously teased. When Peggy disappeared in “What If Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?,” we got a brief glimpse of “1602″ and now we get the rest of that story. The episode opens with Loki performing a play for a bored audience. The show is interrupted though when a green rift opens in the sky and starts to pull Loki toward it. Captain Carter leaps into action to save him. Hela, who is the queen in this universe, is pulled up next and while Peggy tries to save her, she comes up short. Angered by Peggy’s failure, King Thor orders his guards to hunt Captain Carter, sending her on the run. This episode is loosely based on a comic arc simply titled “1602,” which will have similar plot points along the way.
After the title sequence, The Watcher explains that Captain Carter was brought to 1602 to help fix this rift problem by the Scarlet Witch, who knows she previously saved another universe. There is a bit of an inconsistency here though as when we first saw Peggy arrive in this universe, Nick Fury asked if she would be able to save their queen. However, we now know that their queen was not taken until after Peggy arrived. It’s an odd gaffe for this series.
As The Watcher continues to explain the story, Peggy reveals that she can hear him. After his initial surprise, The Watcher offers to send Peggy back home because this universe is destined to die. Peggy refuses and insists that she will save it instead.
Fury informs King Thor that the rifts continue to rip their world apart and he orders again for them to find Carter. Scarlet Witch contends that Carter is not the issue, but rather their is another person there from outside their time: a forerunner. She asserts that this person needs to be found and returned to their time. Fury whispers to Carter, who is perched on the balcony outside, unbeknownst to the rest of the room. The cause of the storms is a forerunner in the comic story as well.
Peggy wakes up Tony Stark, a floundering invention in this universe, to brainstorm a solution to these rifts. She informs him of this forerunner and Tony explains that he could build something that could find them if they had something to power it. They come to the conclusion that they need King Thor’s staff and to get it they’re going to need a thief.
We’re then introduced to Rogers Hood, a Steve Rogers x Robin Hood hybrid. He is joined by Scott Lang and Bucky Barnes and together they rob Prince Loki to give his riches to the needy. Their mission is interrupted though when Peggy arrives and Rogers is shocked because the Peggy of this universe is dead. Loki escapes while they’re distracted and they return to their treehouse.
Peggy explains the plan to Rogers and he seems to be on board before they’re interrupted by Happy Hogan, the King’s head of security, and the royal guard, an army of Yellow Jackets with swords. A fight breaks out and there are hints that Happy could take his Hulk form we saw in “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?.” There is also a reference to Clint Barton that seems to imply that he is also dead in this universe.
The fight comes to a head when Happy unleashes the Destroyer on them and he wipes out their treehouse. Peggy surrenders herself so the others can get away to find Stark and get to work on their plan to steal the King’s scepter. Locked in a cell, Peggy calls for The Watcher and asks about the forerunner. He offers to take her home instead but again she refuses. She breaks free from her chains and makes a run for it.
With the royal guards chasing her, Peggy comes across another cell, where she speaks to the prisoner inside. We see that it is Bruce Banner in the cell and she gets the guards to shoot at his door, unleashing the Hulk. In the ensuing chaos, Peggy and the Hulk escape.
Stark unveils his new invention to Peggy and Banner: a device that will return the future person to their own time. Rogers and his men arrive and they discuss their plan to infiltrate a court session to steal the King’s scepter and save the world.
As the court session begins, another rift opens, causing panic in the hall as the Scarlet Witch uses her power to hold it back. The Hulk launches in to the room to add to that panic and to signal Peggy and Rogers to begin their plan. They begin taking on the guards en route to the king. Stark heads toward the throne with his device while Peggy makes her way to Thor to secure it. Meanwhile, Rogers fights with Hogan, who becomes angry and takes his Hulk form.
While Rogers and his men take on the guards and the two Hulks battle, Carter takes on Thor, who now wields a vibranium sword. Eventually, the Scarlet Witch uses her powers to freeze Thor and Fury takes out a guard to get the scepter to Stark, who places it in his device. As the rift breaks free of the Witch’s powers, Stark manages to activate his machine just in time. It reveals that the future person is none other than Rogers Hood, who explains how he got here. We see a recreation of the Battle of Wakanda from Avengers: Infinity War, in which Rogers took on Thanos. He threw a strike with his shield and hit the Time Stone, which sent him to 1602. After yet another emotional goodbye between the two of them, Peggy sends him back to his time, saving this universe. Rogers is the forerunner in the comic arc as well, only in that story, he has taken the role of a Native American bodyguard named Rhojaz.
Peggy finds herself alone in the hall, the world now being saved. Later, she sits alone in a bar and hears what she thinks is the arrival of The Watcher. Instead, she is joined at her table by Strange Supreme, who tells her he has a story to tell her before we see the words “To Be Continued…”
Aside from one small inconsistency, this was one of the most perfect episodes of this series. It was epic in the way an Avengers story typically is, but still completely different from anything we had seen previously. And of course, with just one episode to go, it accomplished the job of setting up what should be a very exciting season finale.
New episodes of Marvel’s What If…? season 2 will debut daily between now and December 30 on Disney+.