What If…? reached its sixth episode today, which started out as a retelling of Iron Man before morphing into a twist on Black Panther. In this world, Iron Man was never created because Tony Stark (Mick Wingert) was saved from the Ten Rings by Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Without suffering through his abduction, Tony continued as an arms dealer, with Erik Stevens as his right-hand man. Temporarily, at least. Major spoilers follow.
Due to Killmonger’s evil machinations and manipulations, he manages to ignite hostilities between the US and Wakanda by murdering both Rhodey (Don Cheadle) and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), making it look like they took each other out. When Tony discovers the truth, Stevens then kills him and frames the Dora Milaje. With General Ross’ backing, Killmonger launches an attack on Wakanda – only to switch sides to look like a Wakandan hero, getting himself proclaimed the new Black Panther.
Though fans aren’t exactly happy that he killed off Tony for what feels like the 100th time in the franchise, Marvel lovers have to admit Killmonger was an amazing antagonist in this episode, reminding us how great Jordan is in the role, following his acclaimed turn as T’Challa’s bloodthirsty cousin in Black Panther.
Literally.
You gotta hand it to him…
Fans also loved Stevens being revealed to be an anime fan, just like Jordan is in real-life.
Never forget that he stole his look from Vegeta.
We definitely need more from Jordan as Killmonger in the MCU.
Naturally, there’s been a lot of speculation over whether Stevens could be resurrected for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, seeing as he’s such a popular character. Jordan, for his part, isn’t ruling out a return to the role in live-action at some point, though Kevin Feige has denied that he’s back in the sequel.
What If…? continues next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
Published: Sep 15, 2021 09:02 am