Marvel’s What If…? continued with its second episode today, and it featured a wild twist on a familiar character. No, not Black Panther becoming Star-Lord, but the most dangerous villain in MCU history becoming a good guy. Yup, in this divergent timeline, the Mad Titan himself had turned over a new leaf and was now helping the heroes instead of fighting them.
What If…? episode 2 reveals that Thanos abandoned his plans to acquire all the Infinity Stones after he encountered T’Challa and the Wakandan hero – who, in this reality, had made a name for himself stealing from the galaxy’s rich and aiding the poor. Thanks to his actions, T’Challa revealed “there was more than one way to reallocate the universe’s resources,” and he left a strong impact on the once-villain. The redeemed Thanos was a surprisingly laidback, easy-going dude. And Marvel fans are here for it.
All kinds of reactions to Nice Thanos are going around on Twitter today. At first, folks were weirded out by the good guy variant.
But soon they started cheering him on. When Thanos joins up with T’Challa and the Ravagers to take down the Collector and his Black Order, Thanos takes the henchman on single-handed. “Are you crazy?” Nebula says. “Not crazy,” replies the big guy with a grin. “Mad.”
Who’d have thought we’d ever root for Thanos?
Accurate.
Thanos and Nebula actually had a wholesome father/daughter relationship for once.
We need more from this do-gooding dog-lover.
Just as episode 1 ended with a tease at a follow-up storyline for Captain Carter, episode 2 promises more to come from this timeline, as Ego traveled to Earth to locate his son, Peter Quill, setting in motion the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Now we just need Star-Panther and Thanos to team up once again and save the day. Now that’s something you’d never thought you’d read.
What If…? continues next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
