Space Iron Man Gets A Full Episode In What If Season 2

WARNING: This post contains SPOILERS for What If…? season 1, episode 9

Space Iron Man will appear in his own episode of What If…? season 2. The final episode of What If…? season 1 featured a glimpse of Tony Stark in a high-tech space suit and Gamora on the planet Nidavellir destroying the Infinity Gauntlet before Uatu the Watcher recruits Gamora to his Guardians of the Multiverse. The scene raised a lot of questions for many as this version of Iron Man and Gamora had not been seen in any previous episode of the series.

What If…? season 1 was originally set to feature ten episodes, however, the episode ended up getting scrapped from the first season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not much is known about the episode, although it was previously hinted that it was a comedic episode similar to ‘What If…Thor Were an Only Child?’ It now appears the tenth episode would have been focused on Tony Stark and Gamora, setting her up for the final episode like the rest of the heroes. While Gamora was recruited by the Watcher, Iron Man was left behind.

Fans need not fret, as it appears that the delayed episode featuring Space Iron Man and Gamora will be featured in What If…? season 2. In an interview with Variety, head writer A.C. Bradley hinted at exactly what happened in the episode with Tony Stark, and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the production of the episode. When asked if that universe will return, Bradley confirmed it as a definitive yes. Read the full quote below:

“That’s a definite yes. Basically what happened was we originally had an episode planned for earlier in the season that was a fun, light-hearted, living, breathing Tony Stark-centric episode with Gamora. However, due to the COVID pandemic, one of our animation houses was hit incredibly hard, and the episode needed to be pushed into Season 2, because it would not be finished in time. Given everything that we’ve all went through over the past two years, pushing an episode of television is absolutely nothing in comparison. And we understood. We hope fans enjoy the ride next year.”

A common critique of What If…? season 1 was the fact that Tony Stark is killed multiple times. The character dies on-screen in four of the series’ nine episodes, and only one of the episodes (episode six, ‘What If…Kilmonger Rescued Tony Stark’) featured Tony in a prominent role. A popular point of compassion was that Tony Stark was to What If…? was what Kenny is to South Park, a character who repeatedly dies. Part of this could be that given Iron Man’s major presence in the Infinity Saga, the show’s creator instead opted to put the focus on other supporting characters like Peggy Carter, Erik Kilmonger, and Hank Pym.

Space Iron Man is a multifaceted reference for fans of Marvel Comics and the MCU. In 2012, as part of the Marvel Now! line, Iron Man joined the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics. This was seen by many as a way to beef up the Guardians of the Galaxy title before the release of their first film in 2014. When one of the armors for Iron Man 3 was revealed as the Space Suit, an early rumor began to speculate that Iron Man 3 would end with Tony Stark flying into space and would meet the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of their film. That did not happen, but it appears that the MCU will be delivering on that fan theory after all these years in the next season of What If…?.

Source: Variety

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Richard Fink
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Richard Fink is a news writer for Screen Rant. He graduated from Arizona State University in 2016 with a degree in Film and Media Production. He loves the finer things in life, like cold Diet Coke on a hot summer day. Richard is a fan of all things Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and Film History.

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