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

What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas? — S02E03

TV · 2023 · 29 minutes · Phase Five · alternate

On Christmas Eve, Happy Hogan is left overseeing security at Avengers Tower during a holiday party while the Avengers are unavailable. Justin Hammer and his associates break out of prison to steal Tony Stark's technology and a sample of Bruce Banner's blood, and in the chaos Happy is accidentally injected with the blood, slowly transforming into an intelligent, Hulk-like being. With the tower's systems offline, Happy reaches out to Darcy Lewis for help, and Hammer's crew hijacks Iron Legion armor and the Hulkbuster suit, taking Darcy hostage as bait. During the fight, Maria Hill is ambushed by a hijacked sentry and has her leg broken while trying to stop Hammer's henchmen, and the returning Avengers briefly mistake the transformed Happy for the threat. Once his transformation completes, Happy destroys the hijacked armor and subdues Hammer, even saving him from a fall, before Hammer is returned to custody. The Avengers arrive to find the crisis resolved and praise Happy's heroics before resuming their Christmas celebration.