Marvel’s What If…? reached its penultimate episode of its first season today, breaking out of its anthology format in the process. Last week’s episode 7 ended on a huge cliffhanger, as Party Thor was faced with a variant of Ultron armed with the Infinity Stones. Episode 8 reveals where he came from – an alternate reality where the AI villain defeated Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
When the episode begins, Ultron has subjugated Earth. Once he gets his hands on the Infinity Stones, though, he conquers the whole universe. But armed with the gems, he then ascends to another level of consciousness… and hears the Watcher’s narration! Ultron breaks through into the Watcher’s interdimensional realm and the pair fight through the multiverse, with the robot besting Uatu in a fight. The Watcher is forced to retreat as Ultron declares that “no one can stop me now.”
But maybe he shouldn’t be so sure about that. The Watcher is revealed to have fled to the shrunken universe of Doctor Strange Supreme, who has been trapped “in a prison of my own making” ever since the Watcher refused to help him undo his actions in episode 4. The cosmic being admits that he must break his oath never to interfere and that he needs the corrupted Sorcerer Supreme’s help in defeating Ultron.
As you might have guessed, Episode 8 is the first half in a two-part finale storyline. As the trailers have revealed, the Watcher and Strange will gather together the Guardians of the Multiverse – made up of Captain Carter, Party Thor and other heroes we’ve met in previous weeks – to save all reality from Tony Stark’s twisted creation.
Don’t miss the ninth and final episode of Marvel’s What If…? season 1 when it lands next Wednesday on Disney Plus. Fans of the animated series don’t need to worry, though, as a second season is already on its way.
