Marvel’s What If? Writer Explains Ultron/Loki Infinity Stones Plot Hole

Marvel’s What If…? writer A.C. Bradley has explained how Ultron is still able to use the Infinity Stones across the multiverse. Marvel Studios’ animated series on Disney+ continues to reimagine the Infinity Saga by visualizing how it would’ve panned out if a core story element was changed. In its penultimate episode 8, the show used the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron as its jumping off point, presenting a universe where the corrupt robot succeeded in defeating Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Aptly titled “What If… Ultron Won?,” episode 8 saw Ultron going above and beyond his initial plans in the Sacred Timeline. After wiping out all life on Earth, he continued his crusade across the cosmos, killing all living things on other planets with the aid of the Infinity Stones. He doesn’t stop there, however, immediately setting his sights on the multiverse. The Watcher made a last-ditch effort to stop Ultron, resulting in what’s likely one of the most creative one-on-one battles in the MCU. The pair’s tussle brought them through multiple universes, with the antagonist still being able to use the elemental stones the whole time. This understandably lead to questions from fans regarding the rules of the Infinity Stones. In Loki, the gems were rendered powerless in the TVA, with the idea being that they won’t work unless used in their original universes.

Writer Bradley took to her official Twitter account to address the issue, citing that both Ultron and the crystals came from the same reality, hence why he’s able to use them. She also noted that the robot was “punching across multiverses turning them into one messy universe soup.” To cap the post off, she promised the “amazing” fans that the team did their “homework,” assuring them that they’re not creating plot holes in What If…? Check out her full tweet below:

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Bradley’s explanation makes sense. In the case of Avengers: Endgame, the heroes simply went back in time and stayed in their reality, so the Infinity Stones still worked when they back to their primary time period. That said, these questions highlight how unclear the rules for the multiverse in general are. Moving forward, Marvel Studios needs to be more forthcoming in laying down these guidelines, otherwise, fan queries like this will continue to pop up. While the writer was able to clarify this issue, her comment about Ultron turning the multiverse “into one messy universe” is particularly striking. In the broader sense of things, it will be interesting to see if this will play a part in future projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Marvel’s What If…? episode 8 sets up a finale where Ultron, who is wielding all six Infinity Stones, battles it out with the Guardians of the Multiverse. After resisting the urge to meddle, the Watcher was left with no choice but to finally intervene. He teamed up with Doctor Strange Supreme, who made a surprising return in the animated series after his own universe dissolved into a black hole in episode 4. Together, they may assemble variants of several heroes to fight and take down the unhinged villain once and for all – but fans will have to wait until the What If…? season finale in episode 9 to find out.

Source: A.C. Bradley/Twitter

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