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Time. Space. Reality. It’s more than a linear path… And the exploration of multiple realities and timelines on the screen comes roaring to the next phase in Marvel’s What If… now streaming on Disney+. 

After the events of Loki’s season finale, (which, spoiler, featured beautiful monologuing from Guest Star Jonathan Masters in his first MCU appearance as He-Who-Remains-slash-Kang, the villain from the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania film.) we see the so-called “Sacred Timeline” splintering and fracturing into a multitude of timelines. Marvel fans already knew that something like this was going to happen, as Sam Rami’s Doctor Strange sequel is literally titled Multiverse of Madness, and the use of the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home is the worst kept Disney secret since Miley Stewart told an entire town she was Hannah Montana and then had a season and a half where nobody mentioned it. 

The Multiverse had already been touched upon in Into the SpiderVerse, but since that was a Sony-led, non-MCU storyline, Loki was the first MCU property to really flesh out the concept first presented in Avengers: Endgame. And What If… is the first MCU property to begin the dive into the stories that now exist in these fractures.

A major part of the fun of What If… is centered on the easter-egg like nature of these stories so far. Easter eggs and inside references have been a huge part of the fandom’s love for the MCU projects. From Stan Lee’s iconic cameos to the after credit scenes, the MCU’s inside jokes build the foundation of the What If… series. 

Narrated by Jeffery Wright as Uatu the Watcher, he explains how one small choice creates alternate timelines. The first episode shows us an alternate timeline where Peggy Carter receives the super solider serum and becomes “Captain Carter” rather than Steve becoming Captain America. The second episode follows T’Challa as a version of Star-Lord rather than Black Panther. 

Both of these first two episodes also address deeper themes already present in the MCU and the original versions of these stories. Captain Carter focused on proving one’s self, just like the original Captain America. T’Challa’s episode dealt with the concept of family and sense of belonging. Using these universal themes and the appeal of these inside joke moments What If… is establishing these stories as a way to develop the emotional connection between Marvel’s previously established characters and the audience.

As of now, there isn’t a connection between episodes. Each story seems to be self-contained. However, the official release trailer features a scene where Captain Carter is seen speaking to a version of Doctor Strange and a scene where T’Challa is leading a group of Guardians of the Galaxy, neither of which occurred in their respective first episodes. This means that each story may not be occurring in separate universes, but instead all occurring on one alternate timeline. It’ll be interesting to see if all these anthology stories mesh together by the end of the season.

What If… new episodes stream Wednesdays on Disney+. Poster from Marvel.