“Power unearned can be a very volatile force…it will get the best of you eventually”
– T’Challa
For this episode of Marvel’s “What If…?” we see a lackluster Killmonger episode and more teases The Watcher’s involvement in the MCU.
The part that stuck with me the most from this episode is when The Watcher laid the groundwork for this particular story. You, as a reader, will come to find out that I am not too impressed with this sixth episode, but more on that in a bit. If you have read my previous breakdowns of this series, you will know I have two major theories about this show. First, the episodes are left with ambiguous endings or allude to more stories because there are plans for continuations, like Ego going to Peter Quill or zombie Thanos from the last episode.
My other theory is that The Watcher’s involvement will not just be watching and narrating the events of “What If…?”. I feel like every episode so far has seen the slow development and evolution of his character, even though he has never been at the focal point of an episode’s plot. The one minor exception of this came in Episode 4, where The Watcher was directly talking to the more evil version of Stephen Strange. This almighty viewer claims he can only watch and not get involved, but I feel like talking with a crucial member of the universe in any capacity is getting yourself involved. This chatterbox quality of The Watcher leads me into this episode and the development that occurred at the very beginning.
Before this opening scene, and in episode 4, I do not think we have seen the Watcher move his mouth as he talked. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe The Watcher has only been seen watching over in unique ways as the audience hears his narration. I could quickly be reading way too much into this, and a big chunk of me just wants more Jeffery Wright in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still, I would watch The Watcher in future episodes because I think something big is coming from that omniscient narrator.
Now, onto the sixth episode of Marvel’s “What If…?”. Rather than Tony having shrapnel thrown into his torso, Erik Stevens (or Killmonger) swoops in and saves the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. This means Tony Stark never learns the value of life, the true damage of his weapons, and he never becomes Iron Man. This saving act begins a personal and professional relationship between Stark and Stevens that everyone watching knows will turn sour. Killmonger uses Tony Stark for his brains, tech, and resources to build his drone army. Obviously, the drones need one last component: vibranium (thanks to Erik Stevens’ suggestion). And the only person Tony knows who has vibranium is the dastardly Ulysses Klaue.
Colonel James Rhodes goes to Klaue on behalf of Stark Industries, and it ends up being all a set up to draw out the T’Challa and the Wakandans while starting a war between the US government and the secret African nation. Killmonger ends up murdering T’Challa, Rhodey, and Tony Stark, which is all General Ross needs to unleash their new drone army on Wakanda. In classic Killmonger fashion, he double-crosses the United States and Klaue to infiltrate the Wakandan side of the war. Erik plays both sides like a fiddle and executes his plan perfectly. Killmonger helps his homeland destroy the drones he designed and built. This leads to King T’Chaka looking favorably on his nephew and rewards him with the status of Black Panther. In the Ancestral Plane, Killmonger sees T’Challa and ignores the caution his dead cousin tries to give.
The episode ends with an adolescent Shuri sneaking into Stark Industries to try and gain an ally in Pepper Potts to stop Killmonger from wreaking any more havoc on the world. This little tease, along with T’Challa’s quote highlighted at the top, only makes my theory of these episodes having a more extensive plan behind them stronger. For this episode, in particular, there could easily be a follow-up that leads to Shuri being Killmonger’s downfall since she has the backing of Stark Industries to aid her. I think that story has more potential to be entertaining and engaging than the one told in this episode.
I have two main gripes about this episode. First, it put two war criminals together in Tony Stark and Erik Stevens and wanted the audience to root for one of them. Audiences don’t like Stark because of his quick wit or impulsive decisions, and I feel like that is what the writers thought would be enough since they are taking away the Iron Man half of the iconic character. That time spent with Yinsen being held hostage and building in a cave with a box of scraps makes Tony a compelling hero and one people can get behind. If you take that experience away, Tony Stark is just an alcoholic asshole weapons dealer.
My other main issue is that this episode diluted the character of Erik Stevens. In Black Panther (2018), this villain is fueled by vengeance, but his plan is not to destroy the United States government himself. His goal in the iconic movie is to use Wakandan technology and weapons to give Black folx worldwide the chance to finally gain some power in situations where racist white people have held them back. All the while, Killmner is dismantling the royal family that killed and covered up his father’s death. But in this episode, his motivations are given a superficial excuse, and his plans are nonexistent. The ONLY bright side of the main story for the sixth episode of “What If…?” is that we were able to see Queen General Ramonda fight alongside the Dora Milaje and kick-ass while doing it.
If the story in this episode does get a follow-up of some kind, I want more of the Killmonger we got in the Black Panther movie. Killmonger had so much depth and intentions that most people could get behind, and unfortunately, we did not get that version here. This is by far my least favorite episode, which is a shame since Killmonger is an all-time great villain and character.
WATCH MARVEL’S WHAT IF…? STREAMING NOW ON DISNEY+
