After weeks of zombie apocalypses, universes ending, and Tony Stark dying over and over, What If…? finally delivered another light-hearted episode today. Titled “What If… Thor was an Only Child?”, this highly comedic storyline followed Chris Hemsworth’s fun-loving Thor variant as he got in trouble hosting a wild party on Earth. The episode was pure laughs—until the shocking, dramatic cliffhange,r which reintroduced an iconic villain long since seen in the MCU.
After arranging a date with Jane Foster (on the planet of the unicorns, no less), Thor is confronted with a portal opening, from which emerges a troop of Ultron clones and the evil A.I. himself, not only occupying Vision’s body but also possessing all six Infinity Stones. That’s right, Ultron is back—and more powerful than ever.
And fans are losing it. First of all, the sharp change in tone alone was enough to send Twitter into meltdown.
The party’s definitely over.
This show loves its cliffhangers, but this one has got to be the best yet.
WE NEED MORE!
This is an important question that needs answering:
Remember, Ultron’s cameo here was a set-up for episode 9, season 1’s finale, which will be a big team-up episode bringing together the heroes from previous weeks. And this fan has made a pretty good stab at guessing how the plot will unfold.
Ultron hasn’t appeared in the MCU since his debut in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is odd, considering his importance in Marvel lore in the comics. So What If…? is finally righting a big wrong here. Episode 7 didn’t clarify anything about this Ultron variant, but presumably he hails from a reality where his plans to use Vision’s body as his own final form were not stopped by the Avengers, so he conquered his world and went on to beat Thanos to the Infinity Stones.
First, episode 8—focusing on Gamora—arrives next week before the What If…? season finale lands Wednesday, Oct. 6 on Disney Plus.
