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Marvel Cinematic Universe · What If...?: Season One

What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes? — S01E03

TV · 2021 · 32 minutes · Phase Four · alternate

Grief-stricken over Hope van Dyne's death, Hank Pym dons the Yellowjacket suit and secretly murders the Avengers Initiative's candidates one by one during the week Nick Fury tries to recruit them — sabotaging Tony Stark's antidote, forcing Hawkeye's arrow into Thor before killing him, and fatally wounding Bruce Banner amid the Culver University confrontation so the Hulk "explodes." Natasha Romanoff investigates the killings using a dead agent's credentials, uncovers Pym as the culprit, and is murdered by him, but manages to send Fury a final message urging him not to give up hope. With Thor dead, Loki inherits the Asgardian throne; Fury enlists Loki's help to track down and apprehend Pym, and once Pym is in Asgardian custody, Loki instead chooses to stay on Earth and declare his own conquest. As Uatu the Watcher observes, Fury refuses to give up hope, unfreezing Steve Rogers and summoning Carol Danvers to mount a last defense of Earth.

Follows on from

  • Iron Man 2
    timeline-branch — Diverges from Iron Man 2's storyline: in the film, Natasha Romanoff's syringe injection was only a temporary measure (lithium dioxide) to slow Tony Stark's palladium poisoning, not a cure; here Hank Pym rigs that same syringe, administered via Natasha, to kill Tony outright before the Avengers Initiative can begin.
  • Thor
    timeline-branch — Diverges from Thor: Hank Pym murders Thor during his banishment on Earth, leaving Loki unopposed as heir to the Asgardian throne and free to turn his ambitions toward conquering Earth.
  • The Incredible Hulk
    timeline-branch — Reimagines the Culver University confrontation from The Incredible Hulk as the moment Hank Pym fatally wounds Bruce Banner, causing the Hulk to 'explode' rather than survive as in the film.
  • The Avengers
    timeline-branch · optional — Set during Nick Fury's real-timeline effort to recruit the Avengers Initiative (later depicted culminating in The Avengers) — here nearly every candidate is assassinated before the team can ever assemble, though the episode's story is self-contained without having seen that film.