Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel’s What If…? season 1 finale.

Marvel’s What If…? season 1 finale secretly references Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter’s (Hayley Atwell) most heartbreaking moment in Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios’ fourth series on Disney+ wrapped up with the introduction of the Guardians of the Multiverse. The team was assembled by the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) after it was clear that Ultron (Ross Marquand) powered will all six Infinity Stones could destroy the multiverse. It is composed of Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), T’Challa’s Star-Lord (Chadwick Boseman), King Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), Party Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a variant of Gamora (Cynthia McWilliams), and Doctor Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch).

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What If…?‘s storytelling format is essentially the same for the Sacred Timeline. Every member of the Guardians of the Multiverse has previously appeared in the show; each one headlined their own episode — except for Gamora, whose outing was delayed to season 2. For Captain Carter, her narrative has mostly been the same as Steve’s arc in the main MCU, with the animated series pulling from both Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Part of this is her tragic love story with skinny Steve, who was left in the 1940s when she was transported to the modern-day.

Essentially, the pair just switched situations in What If…? — at least with regard to their romance. While the show didn’t tackle their reunion at the end of Endgame, it referenced their heartbreaking encounter in the 2019 film. After the Watcher assembled the Guardians of the Multiverse, the heroes were transported to the make-shift pub created by Doctor Strange Supreme. Peggy saw a photo of Steve, with her own image reflecting through the glass. As cited by Twitter user, Marvel Perfect Shots, this mimics Steve looking at Peggy through the glass panel in her office during ’70s-leg of the time heist where he and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) traveled further back in time to acquire the Space Stone. For a brief moment, it’s as if Steve would actually reach out to her, but he eventually backed out, realizing that not only were they on the clock, and talking to her could ultimately derail their plan.

The aforementioned scene in What If…? actually sets up the show’s post-credits scene with Peggy. After the defeat of Ultron, while Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) and Killmonger have been trapped in a pocket dimension, Peggy returned to her own universe. A little bit disoriented since she was unceremoniously dropped in the middle of her fight with Batroc (Georges St-Pierre), Black Widow (Lake Bell) came to her rescue, and then lead her to where the HYDRA stomper was being secretly kept. The show wrapped up with the idea that skinny Steve may be inside. If this is the case, it parallels what happens between Steve and Peggy in Endgame. It can be remembered that after Captain America returned all the Infinity Stones to their respective origins, he decided to retire and spend living a quiet life with Peggy in the late ‘40s.

Given the way What If…? season 1 ended, chances are that season 2 will see the return of some of these characters. That certainly includes Captain Carter as the animated show answers the lingering question about the post-credits scene. Perhaps, like what happened in Avengers: Endgame, she eventually gets to ride into the sunset with Steve.

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Marvel’s What If…? season 2 returns on Disney+.

Key Release Dates
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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Ana Dumaraog
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Accidental movie and TV fan who is perpetually curious, Ana rekindled her love for writing and married it with everything pop culture. The result is a passionate writer who could ramble (and of course, pen) about films and series multiple hours a day. She has a soft spot for procedurals and old sitcoms (The Golden Girls!) but won’t dare watch any horror films although she’s (ironically) dying to see one. Though a bit late to the party and was an actual Force non-believer, she now finds the Star Wars franchise quite fascinating (fun fact: it was a crazy Jar Jar Binks/Sith theory that drew her in).

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