As a long time comic book reader my advice when it comes to What Ifs and why there were differences from the previous work which shouldn't have changed like that from the premise (i.e. Red Skull in Norway, Kruger not waiting for the experiment to complete before detonating the bomb etc):

Just go with it. Happens all of the time, now you're seeing it for the first time in animation form.

On the pacing, again that's a feature in What Ifs, cramming multiple issues into one is much like cramming a 2+ hour movie into a 30 minute animation.

As for the show, I enjoyed it but I never had a huge amount of love for What Ifs so it hasn't hit me in the heart yet. However the production & performances were a huge leap in quality for Marvel Animation.

Imo I thought the episode was bad.

Did Steve really need to die? smh

This is a What If story people, anything can happen. At least they should have subverted our expectations. We all know some had to go.

Marvel could’ve capitalised on that.

I would have preferred if Steve had died for real in the train explosion/avalanche. It would have been a great way to show that these stories can go in all kinds of unconventional directions, like how the Red Skull was built up as the big bad and then went out like a bitch once the giant squid monster showed up.

By the way, there's no way that monster is Hive. Even if they were taking Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into account, he struggled to stay alive during the centuries he spent on Maveth and he was always of human stature and never close to being a massive, unstoppable behemoth.

Overall, I thought the episode was solid. The animation style was interesting and the voiceovers were quite good. Josh Keaton really surprised me, as I would have just assumed that was Chris Evans had I not known that it wasn't going into the show. Fun fact, the Nazi General that the Red Skull kills was voiced by SNL alum Darrell Hammond, who you may know for his impressions of Bill Clinton and Sean Connery.

Really underwhelming. I'm starting to think that Marvel Studios should've just stick with the movies and let Marvel TV do their thing.

The pacing felt rushed, some scenes could've lasted longer. They didn't even explain what that monster was.

They treat these new universes as something completely new, The Watcher literally says "nothing will be the same", but honestly, this could've been in the main timeline and everything would've still been the same.

When Steve blew up I thought they would either kill him or make him some kind of Winter Soldier... but no. Kinda disappointing.

How on Earth did Peggy keep herself young? Huh?

Overall the most fun I had with the episode were 2 jokes I made to myself about how "Winter Soldier Steve" would be named the Summer Sergeant, and how an alternate version of myself is watching a What If...? episode about Steve becoming a super-soldier.

I am truly missing the old TV era, not gonna lie. My family and I tend to watch the Disney+ shows, but they will pass on What If...?, we are watching Daredevil instead.

I enjoyed it.. I never knew one small change with Peggy staying to watch could cause a difference in Super Soldiers, a misogynistic ahole guy who I never heard of show up, and end with big Kraken monster. In a way, I'm a bit sad that this is an anthology show, since I'd love to see Captain Carter kick ass in 2012. This was bonkers and a lot of fun. My favorite first episode of the MCU Shows so far. Heck, I can't even tell it isn't Chris Evans as Steve, since Josh Keaton does a good job sounding similar to him. The animation is great also. 9/10 episode.

The guy you never heard of is John Flynn, from the Agent Carter One-Shot.

@Chandlerbing5 After the final scene I'm pretty sure you will see more of her in 2012

@HYDRA Agent you’re just trying to cover up for your masters aren’t you?