Marvel Studios' What If...? has been showing longtime fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe glimpses of a world where the timeline goes in unexpected directions, like if Peggy Carter took the Super Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rogers. However, there are infinite possibilities of how the timeline could change, whether innocent or utterly horrifying. A great example of this is teased in the show's trailer, where heroes like Captain America and Iron Man are zombies. While little is known about the cause, one theory suggests it ties directly to Avengers: Infinity War.
During Infinity War, Thanos obtains all of the infinity stones and erases half of life across the universe. It takes another five years for the Avengers to reverse this in Avengers: Endgame, but Reddit user YinWithoutYang believes that in those five years, something terrible happens that leads to the Avengers being zombified.
The trailer reveals that two Avengers who survived Thanos' snap -- Cap and Iron Man -- are turned into zombies, but the heroes who were snapped are not infected. The evidence is shown with Bucky appearing and Spider-Man wearing Doctor Strange's cloak. Both heroes, as well as Strange, were erased during The Snap, and Bucky's look remains the same from when he disappears in Infinity War. This adds credence to the theory because it shows that the group that survived and the group that was erased still experience a world-changing event without any alterations to the lineup. However, this opens up many doors as to how one group becomes zombies in this reality, while the ones who are snapped away survive.
One idea, building off of the theory, is that the roles are reversed, and the original survivors of The Snap are the victims. Without Tony Stark and Scott Lang to explain time travel and enact the time heist, the only heroes that can make a difference are Wanda Maximoff and Doctor Strange. However, they can't travel through time to obtain the infinity stones, so they must rely on a mystical solution, but in doing so creates more risk should the spell not work.
It's possible as Wanda and Stephen work to bring back their friends, via resurrection or other means, something goes horribly wrong in the spell, and the heroes return as the undead. This could lead to Strange's death, leaving the Cloak of Levitation to Spider-Man. Now, the heroes shown in the trailer must fend for themselves with no known means of reversing what they have caused. Even if Wanda survives, she's nowhere near as skilled as Strange to reverse the effects of the spell.
Since the episode is still a few weeks away from premiering, much can be left to speculation, but the concept that Thanos' snap in Infinity War leads to a future even worse than the one in Endgame holds water. This is thanks to the small footage being shown in the trailer. In the meantime, fans will have to wait and see how the Marvel zombies shuffle their way into the MCU.
Marvel's What If...? is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes every Wednesday.
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