The third episode of What If...? season 3 begins by showing us some familiar security footage from Captain America: Civil War in which The Winter Soldier murdered Howard and Maria Stark. However, in this reality, Bucky Barnes is busy fighting...Red Guardian?!
Exploring how we reached that point, it's revealed that Dreykov wants to send Red Guardian to Ohio where he'll be forced to go undercover as a data analyst. He's not keen on the idea and wishes to prove himself, especially with the Red Room relying on The Winter Soldier more often.
They both travel to America; Alexei Shostakov is in economy class and Bucky is dropped into the country by his superiors. Red Guardian interrupts The Winter Soldier's mission and stops him from killing the Starks; as the police close in, both men are forced to flee but with only one dose of Super Soldier Serum left, Bucky has failed his mission.
Bill Foster, Head of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Science Division, is tasked with investigating the case and is joined by Ranger Morales. Alexei and Bucky, meanwhile, steal a car and travel to Las Vegas in the hope that the mysterious Red Room sleeper agent "Rook" can help extract them.
Bill stops them at the roadside and a chase ensues which sees him transform into Goliath. Red Guardian defeats the hero and the two Russian agents escape, growing close in the process (Alexei helps Bucky remember some of his past; specifically, Coney Island).
Unfortunately, The Winter Soldier is told to kill Red Guardian because he's a liability; he's reluctant and when the duo finds "Rook," the sleeper is revealed to be Obadiah Stane. It turns out he leaked the intel to the Russians not because he's loyal to them but because he wanted Howard dead.
Red Guardian is devastated and a fight ensues which ends with Bucky throwing Stane to his death. After holding off the Red Room Task Force, our leads are once again pursued by Goliath and, having become friends, it looks like they might get a happy ending after outrunning him...until their superiors, and a small army, close in.
Despite managing to overcome the code words that force him to comply, Bucky was recaptured and Alexei escaped. Returned to Dreykov, the former is forced to continue being their assassin but, who knows, perhaps he'll manage to shake off their brainwashing thanks to his bond with Red Guardian.
As for Alexei, he's become a gym teacher but, after being enlisted by Bill to join S.H.I.E.L.D., he's later shown alongside the original six Avengers at the Battle of New York! Plus, by saving the Starks and destroying the last lot of serum, Civil War will never come to pass...
It is 1991, and the Red Guardian takes it upon himself to join a high-profile mission and prove himself to his Red Room superiors. When his antics interfere with the Winter Soldier’s own mission to kill Howard Stark, the two Soviet supersoldiers must form an alliance to escape the United States.
The cast in episode 3 includes Jeffrey Wright, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Laurence Fishburne, America Ferrera, and Piotr Michael. The episode is directed by Bryan Andrews and written by A.C. Bradley.