What If..? S01EP01: What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?

What If..? S01EP01: What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?

What If..?
S01EP01
“What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?”
Disney+
August 11th, 2021
Directed by Bryan Andrews
Written by A.C. Bradley

“Following the creation of the multiverse in Loki’s first season finale, What If…? explores the various alternate timelines of the multiverse in which major moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films occur differently.”

Even with as fascinating as Disney+’s previous original series have been, What If..? is the series that I have been waiting for. A fan favorite title of the 80s and 90s, the latest Disney+ series promises to be just as thrilling as the MCU live action series’. The animated format always lends the chance for these potentially complicated stories to be told in a manor that befits what we’ve come to expect from MARVEL.
While the series isn’t Peggy Carter’s first outing as Captain Carter, that would be 2018’s “Exiles” vol.3 #3, this is Captain Carter’s introduction into the proper MCU. Voiced by Carter’s live action counterpart, the incredibly talented Hayley Atwell, Captain Carter is rumored to be a major player in the “What If..?” series, possibly with Atwell even reprising her role in the live action movies. It could also be possible for Jeffrey Wright’s Uatu, The Watcher, to appear in future MCU movies. Lest we forget that it was Uatu who first warned the world of the coming of Galactus in 1966’s Fantastic Four #48.
SPOILER ALERT: Its likely that the creature Red Skull summons through the Tesserect is SHUMA-GORATH. The inter-dimensional creature is also rumored to be the main villain in “Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness”. For those of you wondering, Where Eagles Dare, the covert operation Captain Carter leads Bucky Barnes, took its name from a 1968 British World War II action movie directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. The film follows “a Secret Intelligence Service paratroop team raiding a castle”.
“Time. Space. Reality. It’s more than a linear path. Its a prism of endless possibility. Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities, creating alternate worlds from the ones your know.”
With Sylvie cracking open the Multiverse at the end of LOKI, What If..? gives us a glimpse at the other versions of established MCU characters and alternate story lines, and even hints at the possibilities of the Multiverse characters crossing over into the MCU.
The previews of the series have given us glimpses of a post-Apocalyptic Black Widow, Zombie versions of Captain America, Iron Man, and Hawkeye, T’Challa as Star-Lord, and a twisted version of Dr. Strange. The series will no doubt lead directly into 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, and 2022’s “Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” but only time will tell how much these alternate timelines effect the MCU.