"What If...The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?"
That was the question posed by The Watcher in today's episode of What If...?, and we got to see things head to some crazy places as a result. Revisiting Iron Man 2, we see Black Widow once again administer that antidote to Tony Stark in the diner...only for the Armoured Avenger to immediately drop dead!
Next, we head to that fateful night in Thor when the God of Thunder tried and failed to lift Mjolnir. This time, however, something causes Hawkeye to slip and his arrow kills Thor after piercing his heart. In custody, Clint Barton also dies under mysterious circumstances, prompting Loki and his Asgardians to invade Earth. Black Widow, meanwhile, tracks down Bruce Banner.
That campus battle plays out as it did in The Incredible Hulk, but this time, Bruce is shot and when he becomes the Jade Giant, he inflates and grows to the point where he literally bursts/explodes.
Natasha figures out who was responsible for the death of those Nick Fury planned to use as part of his Avengers Initiative, but is herself taken out by an invisible enemy. That's enough for the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director to come to the conclusion that Hank Pym is behind these murders. Later, we learn that, in this reality, Hank has become Yellow Jacket and is out for revenge after his daughter, Hope, joined Fury's organisation and ended up being killed in the line of duty.
Fury and Loki team up to take him out, but the God of Mischief decides to conquer the planet, leaving Fury with only one choice: he calls Captain Marvel back to Earth and finds Captain America frozen in ice. With that, a new team of Avengers is created, but that's sadly where we leave things here...