Marvel’s What If…? has proven to be a surprising rollercoaster of emotions. While fans went into the series expecting some fun explorations of alternate worlds, each new episode has ended up delivering a bunch of dark, shocking, moving and/or tear-jerking moments. This week’s episode 5, “What If… Zombies?”, is no different. And its most emotional scene concerns some touching words delivered by the much-missed Chadwick Boseman.
Long story short, episode 5 sees the Marvel universe overrun by the undead, with only a few heroes still left standing, many of whom don’t make it to the end of the half-hour alive. In the final scenes, Spider-Man (Hudson Thames replaces Tom Holland) laments the loss of so many of his friends, to which Black Panther (Boseman) responds: “In my culture, death is not the end. They are still with us as long we do not forget them.”
Needless to say, these words carry far more weight now than they were ever intended to, considering that the beloved actor sadly passed away following his recording of these lines. Here are just a few of the many fan reactions to this heartbreaking moment that are going around on social media today.
Boseman previously had a starring role in the animated series’ second episode, which imagined a reality where T’Challa became Star-Lord. Following that one’s premiere, What If…? director Bryan Andrews revealed that the star recorded two further episodes this season prior to his passing in August 2020. Now we have had one more, that likely means his last performance in the role will come in the season finale, which looks to feature an Avengers-like team-up of heroes from previous one-shot stories, like Captain Carter, Doctor Strange Supreme and T’Challa’s Star-Lord.
Marvel’s What If…? continues with its sixth episode next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
