What If finale references missing Gamora episode, now part of season 2

Season 1 What If …? Marvel Studios’ first animated series for Disney Plus. The finale echoes the best of Avengers Age of UltronPlease see the following: Finale. The Watcher, who had broken his promise to never interfere in the inner-workings of the multiverse’s workings, assembled heroes from all over the world to form The Guardians of the Multiverse. Captain Carter, Star-Lord T’Challa, Party Thor, Killmonger/Black Panther, and Dormammu-ish Doctor Strange were all there.

Gamora was also not a part of an episode, even though each Guardian had been established in a prior one-off. What If …?. How did Gamora catch The Watcher’s eye? There’s a practical reason, and we’ll likely see the backstory in the future.

[Ed. note: The rest of this story contains spoilers for What If…? episode 9.]

Image: Marvel Studios

In the early scenes of “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” Jeffrey Wright’s omniscient character arrives to the planet Nidavellir to greet Gamora, Iron Man in a Hulkbuster-esque armor, and Elitri, king of the dwarves, recalling a moment from Avengers: Infinity WarRocket Raccoon and Thor fetch an axe from the dwarven forge. In this world and timeline, Iron Man hopes to use Elitiri’s skills to put “a suit of armor around the world,” in a nod to his plan that spawned Ultron. Why are they together? Because there’s an entire episode of What if …?Waiting to be completed in which they meet in Sakaar’s orbit

In this episode’s first batch, a Tony Stark-centered episode was meant to debut. What If …?Polygon received confirmation from A.C. Bradley that Bradley was the creator. The episode could not be finished on schedule due to COVID-19 production problems, so producers had to push it back to What if …?Season 2 (which will be good news to anyone who is looking for a better season) What if …?Season 2.

While “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” now raises some accidental questions about Tony and Gamora’s relationship in a pocket of the multiverse, Bradley says it was worth the trouble. “Given the global tragedy of the pandemic, pushing an episode is nothing,” she wrote to Polygon. “I only hope viewers have been entertained these last 9 weeks, and enjoyed the ride as much as I did.”

The episode certainly delivers with or without an explanation for why Gamora is among The Watcher’s chosen ones. In the grand finale, the combined powers of the Guardians of the Multiverse — Gamora included — are enough to subdue an Infinity Stone-wielding, universe-consuming Ultron and allow none other than Black Widow to step up and infect the bot with the digital Arnim Zola from The Winter Soldier: Captain America. Natasha Romanoff’s death was one of the most polarizing aspects of Avengers: EndgameThe animation acknowledges her Soul Stone sacrifice. What If …?It renews your character with an energy that is heroic enough to win a great cosmic battle. It reigns.

So what’s in store for Gamora and Tony in What If …?What’s season 2? While a few pre-season-1-premiere leaks hinted at the episode’s plot, including how Tony arrives to Sakaar (a location name-checked in “What If… How did The Watcher break his oath? and why The Watcher refers to Gamora as the “destroyer of Thanos,” nothing is completely certain with production resuming and the Iron Man episode folding into a new batch What Ifs. Season 1’s finale did what every Marvel episode should: it left us wanting more.