We’ve long been waiting for what the second season of What If…? has to offer, especially after a rather interesting first entry.. Not every episode was perfect, but overall the show did some really cool things. And with the recent news that fans will be treated to a first look at season 2 during Marvel Studios’ animation panel at SDCC, now is as good a time as any to take a look at what the future may hold for What If…?. As such, let’s take a look at five ideas for new episodes of pertaining to phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What If… Wanda’s Hex Took Over The Tri-State Area?
This episode would act as a continuation of WandaVision. As Wanda’s hex expands, it takes over more and more land, which leads to more of the world being dragged into the ‘TV-Verse’ that Wanda created. It takes over the whole tri-state area, which would also include all of New York. As such, characters that live in the city like Doctor Strange, Wong, Spider-Man, and more would get dragged into this fictional world. While WandaVision played around with sitcoms, the hex’s expansion could open it up to embracing other TV genres. They can pay homage to big TV shows like Lost, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Westworld, The Walking Dead. Hell, they could even get meta and take some inspiration from The Mandalorian. Either way, more characters get involved and they have to figure out a way to stop Wanda.
What If… Loki Won The Tour de France?
In Loki, there’s a Variant that wears what appears to be a cyclist’s uniform and is holding a trophy. So, why not explore that very story on What If…? Instead of becoming Earth’s ruler by invading with an alien army, this Loki takes a different approach: gaining favor and popularity by winning the Tour de France. The episode plays out like a sports documentary, where Loki, an up-and-coming racer, has entered the race, but is unknowingly cheating using magic. And the heroes who will become the Avengers figure this out and decide they must stop him. This is how the Avengers form in this universe.
But they can’t fight Loki because he’s too popular, so they all join the Tour de France, hoping they can beat him. Captain America fairs pretty well against Loki, however, he and the Hulk get disqualified, due to “steroid usage”. Thor is also disqualified for riding his father’s 8-legged horse, Sleipnir. Iron Man builds a really good bike, but – similar to Ultron – it turns evil and fights everybody, so he’s out. Black Widow ultimately does the best against Loki, who resorts to brainwashing Hawkeye to take her out. In the end, Loki wins and uses his popularity to become Earth’s ruler.
What If… Wenwu Invaded Wakanda?
Shang-Chi‘s Wenwu is a very wealthy, knowledgeable, and worldly man, who is constantly exploring ways to expand his empire. He probably knows about Wakanda – especially if guys like Klaw will just tell you – and that it has some sort of connection to the afterlife via the Ancestral Plane. In this version of the story, Wenwu aims to conquer the country to get his wife back through the Ancestral Plane. One of the things that season 1 of What If…? did so well was that the fight scenes were terrific, especially when there was cool hand-to-hand combat. So, it would be super cool to see the Black Panther, the Dora Milaje, and all the Black Panther characters fight Wenwu, Razor Fist, and the rest of the Ten Rings army. It may be light on story but the spectacle would make up for it.
What If… Sylvie Grew Up To Be A Valkyrie?
There’s a theory out there that in Loki, Sylvie’s nexus event was that instead of wanting to become a ‘Loki’, she wanted to be a Valkyrie. Young Sylvie is shown to be playing with Valkyrie toys and that didn’t go with He Who Remain’s plan. In this version of the story, Sylvie gets to fulfill her dream of becoming a Valkyrie, where she also befriends Tessa Thompson‘s Valkyrie. They form a new team of intergalactic super viking-warriors; one that is able to successfully vanquish Hela when the time comes. Jane Foster could be the third member of the team when she becomes the Mighty Thor, especially because in the comics, Jane Foster is currently the leader of the Valkyries.
What If… Jimmy Woo Became Sorcerer Supreme?
In this version of the story, Jimmy Woo is recruited to Kamar-Taj by Wong after showing him a card trick. However, not long after, the entire sorcerer population is decimated by Mordo in his quest to eliminate all magic-users. But since Jimmy Woo’s ‘magic’ is just sleight of hand, he goes unnoticed by Mordo. With no one left to protect the Earth from mystical threats, he assumes the role of the Sorcerer Supreme. It’s a silly idea, but one of the great things about the What If…? comics is that at the end of the issue, there would be like a silly three-page story that wouldn’t make sense for a real book. A great example of this is ‘What If Ben Parker’s Nephew Was Galactus?’ from What If Vol. 2, #3. Something like that can be done here where Jimmy Woo is Sorcerer Supreme and he does close-up magic instead of actual sorcery.
