Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Marvel's What If...? episode 9.
The dramatic ending of Marvel's What If...? season 1 saw the Watcher transformed into the "Protector of the Multiverse." The MCU's first animated TV series, What If...? was an exploration of the Multiverse created in Loki. What If...? season 1 generally took an anthology approach, with each episode set in a different timeline, one where reality had turned in a slightly different direction - some more unusual than others, some in apocalyptic form, others with apparent "happy endings."
The last few episodes took a different approach, though, unleashing an invincible version of Ultron across the Multiverse. Even the Watcher could not defeat Ultron, and so he chose champions to battle in his stead, heroes and villains who could unite and defeat the synthezoid life-form. He told them exactly what they needed to know, the consummate chess grandmaster whose knowledge outstripped Ultron's and allowed the Guardians of the Multiverse to triumph - albeit in a manner completely different to anything they expected.
But, of course, because any MCU TV show exists within a shared universe, the story it tells isn't just important in its own right - it also serves as setup for the future. Here's how the Watcher outmaneuvered Ultron, how the heroes of What If...? season 1 were transformed by the experience, and how it affects the MCU going forward.
The Watcher looked through infinite timelines and chose champions who he believed could defeat Ultron. They were the Guardians of the Multiverse, protecting all reality against Ultron's forces. Their members were:
- Doctor Strange Supreme, the twisted version of Stephen Strange who had destroyed his own universe in an attempt to save the woman he loved. Strange served as the Watcher's right-hand-man, his powers - enhanced by all the magical energy he had consumed - giving him the ability to resist even the might of Ultron.
- Star-Lord T'Challa, the charismatic hero who had even managed to redeem the Thanos of his dimension, plucked from his timeline partway through his battle with Ego on Earth.
- Captain Carter, the living legend of World War II from a timeline where Peggy Carter became a super-soldier instead of Steve Rogers, lifted from her universe during a mission to the Lemurian Star - her equivalent of the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Gamora, champion of Sakaar, who presumably originated from a timeline where she had never been adopted by Thanos but had instead been stranded on Sakaar. In that timeline, she had Eitri forge the Infinity Crusher, a device that could destroy the Infinity Stones, and she successfully killed Thanos.
- Killmonger, ruler of Wakanda, betrayer of Tony Stark, ironically chosen because he would make the immoral decisions at the right moment - and provide a perfect way to take the Infinity Stones out of the equation.
- Black Widow, the last human on Ultron's Earth, armed with a computer virus that would allow her to take him out. She was something of a secret recruit, inducted into the team over the course of events rather than initially.
They're an eclectic team, hand-picked according to the Watcher's requirements. Interestingly, dialogue suggests the Watcher selected them in coordination with Doctor Strange Supreme, because he revealed he'd read files on heroes like Captain Carter.
It is possible Ultron could not have been defeated had he simply remained in the Panoptichron, the Watcher's home, which is outside of space and time. But the moment he entered a timeline to oppose the Guardians of the Multiverse, his actions became foreseeable by the Watcher, a cosmic being who can perceive all that is, was, and ever will be. The Watcher goaded Ultron into making this mistake by deliberately placing the Guardians of the Multiverse in a dimension that was empty of life, knowing their unexpected life-signs would catch Ultron's eye. They then retreated to Ultron's home dimension, stealing the Soul Stone - and thus forcing Ultron to pursue them.
In truth, the Watcher's goal at this initial stage was simply to force Ultron to return to that dimension. As seen in What If...? episode 8, the Black Widow of that timeline had successfully found a weapon that could defeat Ultron - an arrow loaded with a computer virus based on the mental engrams of Arnim Zola. When Black Widow joined the fight, swiftly given the same magical protection by Doctor Strange Supreme as the rest of the Guardians of the Multiverse, she was able to shoot that arrow into Ultron's eye. This allowed the virus to be uploaded into his mainframe; Zola extinguished Ultron's intelligence, and took control of his body.
The final part of the Watcher's plan was undeniably the smartest, because it wasn't enough to stop Ultron; he also needed to take those Infinity Stones off the table. He accomplished this by choosing Killmonger as one of his tools, aware Killmonger would claim the power of the Infinity Stones for himself. Arnim Zola and Killmonger wound up locked in a duel for the Infinity Stones, their wills matched - and the Watcher stepped in directly, trapping them both in a pocket dimension that would forevermore by guarded by Doctor Strange Supreme.
The Guardians of the Multiverse disbanded, returning to their home dimensions, although it is notable the Watcher allowed them to retain their memories of these Multiversal events - potentially allowing him to call on them again. In each case, What If...? episode 9 took a moment to reassure viewers they'd returned to a timeline where things were progressing as they should, with the promise of heroism and adventures to come. Party Thor found himself reunited with Jane Foster, who had apparently survived the Ultron invasion; Star-Lord T'Challa united with Peter Quill against Ego, and because they were fighting on Earth rather than on the Celestial planet itself, Ego's power should have been limited enough to be defeated in that timeline. Only one of the key timelines was not revisited, the one where Killmonger had taken over Wakanda, simply because his fate meant he had effectively been erased - thereby liberating Wakanda. It is reasonable to assume he was about to lose in this timeline, and the Watcher had taken him from it at a point where his disappearance would cause the minimum disruption.
The ending of What If...? episode 9 is bittersweet because of the real-world implications. Chadwick Boseman sadly passed away after completing his recordings for What If...?, and this marks his last appearance in the MCU. Marvel has chosen not to recast T'Challa for the live-action MCU, although it remains to be seen whether they will choose another voice-actor to play the part in What If...? season 2.
The most tragic of the Guardians of the Multiverse was Black Widow, the last surviving human in Ultron's home dimension - in truth, the last surviving living being, for though she did not know it he had destroyed all life there. Black Widow refused to return to her own world, but the Watcher revealed he had other plans. Instead, he took her to the timeline from What If...? episode 3, a world where Earth had lost its Widow and Loki had conquered the planet. She intervened at a key moment in the battle against Loki, disarming him at just the right moment and giving that universe's Avengers - Nick Fury, Captain America, and Captain Marvel - the chance they needed. This was the most dramatic act of intervention by the Watcher, redirecting an entire timeline, because it looked as though Loki was about to triumph and defeat this new group of Avengers. Curiously, there's a minor continuity error in that scene, because Loki possessed the Scepter containing the Mind Stone - a weapon he should never have acquired in that timeline.
There are beautiful, poignant parallels between Captain Carter and the main timeline's Captain America, with Peggy wishing she could get her "Happily Ever After" by returning to her own timeline shortly after the Second World War and living out the rest of her life with Steve Rogers. The Watcher refused, telling her she was still needed, and instead sending her back to the Lemurian Star and the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier - which proved to have played out slightly differently in her timeline. Apparently here, the Lemurian Star was transporting the Hydra Stomper, which had presumably been captured by Hydra after the end of the Second World War - and it actually contained someone inside it. The implication is that, in Captain Carter's timeline, Steve Rogers became the Winter Soldier. Although his story has taken an unpleasant twist, he has nevertheless been reunited with Captain Carter, and that timeline's greatest love story will continue.
It's interesting to note that the Watcher seems to have disrupted Captain Carter's timeline with particular care. Her experiences with Arnim Zola essentially serve as foreknowledge of Hydra's continuing existence and Zola's potentially still being alive in a digital form, and that prior knowledge could have a massive effect on her near-future. Hopefully What If...? season 2 will pick up where the post-credits scene leaves off.
Doctor Strange Supreme returns to his own universe, now tasked with watching over the pocket dimension containing Ultron and Killmonger. He embraces this role, aware that by doing it he is protecting the entire Multiverse from two potential threats of catastrophic proportions. What If...? episode 9 ends with Strange and the Watcher considering one another friends, and it's pretty clear the Watcher intends to drop in to talk with Strange Supreme. The story has essentially redeemed its darkest, most tragic figure, and set him up as a defender of the Multiverse. That, of course, raises the question of whether Doctor Strange Supreme could return in live-action form in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as has been rumored for some time now; there's been no official confirmation, but it can't be ruled out. It would be fascinating to see Strange Supreme interact with a variant of himself who, he would learn, seems rather more ambivalent about his beloved Night Nurse/Christine Palmer than he is; the story potential there is remarkable, but it all depends just how interconnected Marvel wants to make What If...? with the main MCU movies.
Jeffrey Wright, the actor who voices the Watcher, had always teased his character would be transformed over the course of What If...? season 1. "In the comics, he's an observer—and then some," Wright explained. "Here, in the first season, he starts off as an observer, but he gradually becomes more compelled by what he watches." He hinted What If...?'s Watcher would interfere, and that was fulfilled, with the Watcher transformed into a being who is willing to step in when he feels it is necessary. What's more, What If...? episode 9 confirms this isn't just a temporary change in the Watcher's behaviors, but rather is a new status quo. No longer is the Watcher a mere multiverse observer, now he considers himself the Protector of the Multiverse. The Multiverse is key to the MCU's Phase 4 and beyond, with Loki setting up Kang the Conqueror as its greatest threat. As seen in Loki, variants of Kang the Conqueror are destined to wage war across the dimensions, and the only way one can triumph is by establishing a single timeline and destroying all others. What If...? season 1 sets up the Watcher as Kang's true nemesis, a cosmic being who is outside of time and space and thus could well match him.
Scripts for What If...? season 2 have already been completed, and showrunner A.C. Bradley has suggested it's a tricky balancing act; while she wants to revisit certain characters, the ever-growing nature of the MCU means there are so many more potential stories to tell, and there will be Phase 4 influences on What If...? season 2. "Hopefully, we'll see hints of Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Black Widow characters," she observed in one interview. "The fun of What If...? is that we get to explore the entire infinite multiverse, so we try and bounce around as much as we can. I want to play with all these characters, and as much as I love Captain Carter, we've got to share the love. I'm very excited to show new worlds, new heroes." While the Guardians of the Multiverse will undoubtedly return, their line-up may be changed somewhat, with the excuse being that the Watcher selects whatever team he feels appropriate for the Multiversal threats of What If...? season 2.
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