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The latest episode of What If…? is called ‘What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?’ and just like the last few episodes, the actual divergent point is even earlier than the question title of the episode. We learn eventually that Killmonger had discovered that there was an assassination attempt on Tony Stark and intervened — this is the actual divergence of note, when Erik changed his particular plans for vengeance to different plans for vengeance.
The episode starts by showing us the Watcher in full light, no shadows at all — what it means of course, is yet unclear but it could mean he’s closer to interfering than ever before. Or it could mean he’s closer emotionally to the story or who knows? The underlying theme is about heroism and power, as the Watcher starts by saying that heroes aren’t born, they are shaped in darkness, forged in battle, defined by sacrifice — and at the end he says that they are never really gone while those remain that carry on their fight.
In what is really just unfortunate timing, T’Challa is one of several big time characters killed by Erik, even if he does show up in the final moments in the astral plane to give another key bit of advice that power gained by theft may lead to great sorrow. At the very least, all three episodes with T’Challa have given him something meaningful and often poignant to say, which helps a bit with the loss.
Erik also kills Rhodey, framing him for killing T’Challa — it’s debatable how logical this plan is in terms of how it would work, but it directly leads to him then killing Tony. Did he intend for Tony to find out (and nearly die in the process?) or was it simply improvisation in the moment? He makes the point that Tony may be similar in some ways (orphans, complicated backstories with their fathers) but in the ways the world treats them based on the color of their skin, Tony is too color blind.
Of course we know that Killmonger has always been ruthless, so sacrificing people along the way to gain the trust of Wakanda and infiltrate their society feels quite in character. But it does seem surprising that essentially only two people notice anything’s out of the ordinary — every time Erik shouts out a ‘Wakanda Forever’ it never feels sincere and he literally tells his uncle that he’s been driven by wanting to avenge his father’s death.
Nothing wrong with having a competent villain, of course, but when that happens at the expense of the intelligence of other characters, it’s not quite as interesting. I suppose there is also the note of vengeance as a destructive force — after all, when Tony tries to get justice himself, it obscures that Erik was involved. The episode is quite clear that suffering only creates more suffering.
The final moments have Shuri and Pepper working together, the only two working for the betterment of the world. I suppose I’m a bit mixed on the episode overall, it’s entertaining as always, but there are a lot of little issues and some structural problems that keep it lesser compared to some of the other ones — and it’s neither as hopeful or as hopeless as some of the other ones, so that means you must rely on the ‘game’ of the episode. And that game was alright, considering it had to be compressed to 30 minutes. It does seem that the season is shifting in a new direction, so despite enjoying some of these standalone ones, I am curious to see what the ‘plan’ of the show really will be.
New episodes of What If…? stream Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
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