- "The year is 1602. She is Captain Peggy Carter. But how does a time-displaced super-soldier end up in such a strangely familiar reality? The sad truth is that there are worlds among the Multiverse simply meant to die. But every once in a while, a glimmer of hope can emerge. With their world collapsing in on itself, a band of heroes gathered together to save their reality."
- ―Watcher
What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602? is the eighth episode of the second season of What If...?
Synopsis[]
Captain Carter tries to undo the anomaly that strands familiar heroes and villains in the year 1602.
Plot[]
Thor, Hela, Nick Fury, and many other people, attend a play performed by Prince Loki, while holding a skull. Thor expresses his dislike for the play and makes fun of Loki's acting, wishing to throw cabbages. Suddenly, another rift in reality occurs in the sky above them, much to the people's horrors. They escape, but Loki is pulled by the rift, due to him still acting despite the crowd running away. Carter manages to catch him and pull him back down with a rope while he is about to get sucked into the rift. Hela is pulled by the rift, but Carter is unable to pull her down, and Hela is sucked into the rift. It closes, and everyone assumes Hela dies, crowning Thor the new king. Thor then blames Hela's supposed death on Carter, saying she had failed what she was summoned to do, and orders her to be captured. Carter evades and takes Loki's skull with her, and is on the run, from then on.
While contemplating, Carter is able to hear Watcher talk about her and is visibly annoyed. She says that, from what she knows, two time periods, the 21st and the 17th century, is being compressed together, and if she does not find a way to un-compress them, this universe would shatter. She expresses her desire to save this universe from its impending doom, but the Watcher tells her that this universe is destined to destroy, and that it is a normal cycle in the Multiverse. He offers to bring her back to her home universe, but she rejects, and goes to the castle where Scarlet Witch, Thor, Fury and Sir Hogan are.
As the cracks grow in strength and number across the globe, Thor becomes impatient and demands Carter to him, but Maximoff tells him that she still believes that Carter is the key to their survival. She does not think that Carter is the cause of the universe collapsing, and she believes that there is another, like Carter. A "Forerunner", from a time yet to come, unaware that their presence in this universe is causing it to collapse. When Hogan asks Maximoff how they can find this person, she answers that it is beyond even her capabilities. Carter overhears, and thanks Fury for her new discovery, before leaving the castle.
Carter finds Tony Stark and explains to Stark what the Forerunner is and that she is looking for them, as she believes that they give off the same energy as the rips in reality do. Stark explains that theoretically they could, but they would need an extensive amount of magic to do so. Carter then remembers Thor's scepter, and Stark suggests that she would need someone to steal it, to which she inquires who. Loki and a few other noblewomen are in a carriage when they are intercepted by Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Scott Lang, who steal the treasures on the carriage. Carter walks to them and asks for something to drink, much to Rogers' shock, as in this universe, his Peggy died. They both look in each other's eyes, and Loki uses this to escape. Carter saves Rogers just as the carriage is about to run them over, and he invites them to his secret treehouse.
In his treehouse, Steve asks if she needs him to steal King Thor's scepter and she says yes. Steve also says that most people would be driven half mad at the mere idea of being stranded in a foreign world, but Carter shrugs it off because at that point, being in the wrong place at the wrong time was her specialty. Steve asks Carter if there was another Steve Rogers in her world, to which she says yes. Carter askd Steve if he will help, even though she's not his Peggy and Steve replies that his Margaret would want to save that time period as well and that was her specialty. Suddenly, Hogan and the Royal Yellowjackets invade the treehouse and says that the king wants Carter alive and that the rest is up to them. After Barnes shoots Hogan with arrows, Steve warns him not to make him angry and then, the Destroyer appears and destroys the treehouse, leading Hogan to think that they're dead. While Carter tries to shield herself from the Destroyer's blast, she tells Hogan that she's trying to save their reality and Thor and Hogan pridefully exclaims that Thor is not the one that requires saving. Carter tells him that they're friends in another world, prompting Hogan to stop the Destroyer and he says to Carter that it would be a farce to see, leading Carter to surrender to him.
After she is taken to a prison,in a cell, Carter senses the Watcher and asks him if he is watching, to which he repliss that he always is and asks Carter if she is ready to go home. Carter declines and that there is still a chance to save their reality if she locates the Forerunner and asked the Watcher if he knows who it is. The Watcher then says that he's unable to see the coming events clearly when a universe is close to extinction and that reality is destined to die and she can't change that. Carter said that if he sees someone hurt, he'll help them, but the Watcher tries to make her change her decision by saying that she cannot comprehend the consequences of her actions and akss her what happens after she finds and destroys the Forerunner, to which Carter replied that she has to try and that's she Captain Carter and tells The Watcher that if he's not going to help her, he should get out of the way, prompting her to escape.
Carter finds Bruce Banner in a nearby cell, but he doesn't leave his cell, saying he prefers the quietness of his cell. She then distracts a few soldiers, prompting them to open fire at Banner's cell door, to which he turns into the Hulk, and breaks out of his cell, while Carter hitches a ride on his back, and they go to Stark's barn. Banner says that he hates this world, and noisy people are wrong, and Carter then says that she hopes she'll fix it. The next morning, Stark gives Banner grain alcohol to set him straight and Stark said that he might've indulged in a few pints last night, which led him to finish his invention, which left Banner and Carter stunned. Carter asks Stark if his invention will find the Forerunner and Stark told her that it will reveal it and send them back from when they came once the Time Stone is inserted inside. Rogers, Barnes, Lang and their crew the appaer, and Barnes said that storming the castle is their thing.
At the castle, Carter tells them that their best chance is during the upcoming court session and that they'll enter in disguise and blend in with the crowd, with Rogers adding that lords and ladies from across the kingdom will be there and with any luck, so will the Forerunner. Carter said that Tony will lie in wait with the device and she and Rogers will get the stone and save the world. Suddenly, another rift appears, much to the horror of the crowd, and Maximoff tries to hold it back with her powers. After the rift appears, Rogers asks Carter what the signal is and she said that Tony said they'd know it when they saw it. After Hulk gave the signal, the crew fought off the guards and Thor told Loki to join the fray and asked him where his hammer is, and Loki told him that he misplaced it. Maximoff tells Thor that they are short on time. Rogers swordfights with Hogan and accidentally slices off his feather on his hat, so he transforms into the Freak.
Rogers asks help from Hulk, and him and the Freak fight. Carter jumps in front of Thor and desperately tells him that he needs to trust her and hand over the scepter, to which Thor recalls Hela's death, and says that they trusted her, and she failed them and asked one of the guards to fetch him the All-Father. Carter mutters that the All-Father was made of vibranium and Thor said that it was a coronation gift from T'Challa and that Wakanda has been plagued by the rifts as well. Carter and Thor then fight, but Maximoff holds Thor back, telling him that they're out of time, signalling Fury to get his scepter, and bring it to Stark. She tries to hold Thor and the rift back at the same time, but Thor overpowers her, and she collapses, as the rift grows more powerful. The Freak also overpowers Hulk, and runs to Carter, while Thor does too. Stark manages to get the machine working, and it turns into a glove which Carter wears, and she shoots it at Thor, releasing a green blast around the castle.
After Carter activates Stark's invention, the Forerunner is revealed to be Rogers, who says that he remembered a battle with "a monster from the skies", who was "armed with a golden glove". He then states that he punched the Infinity Gauntlet in his hand, but accidentally punched the Time Stone, which changed the entire universe to the year 1602, and wiped out the memories of everyone on Earth, turning the planet into an Elizabethan-era esque one. Thor pressures Carter to finish the task she was summoned for, and Rogers uses Stark's device and the Time Stone to return to his own time, restoring the universe to normal and saving it from destruction.
Carter narrates that there was a superstition back during her days in the war that victory was its own sort of curse, and that every battle she won, every inch she gained would mean she would only getting further from home. Carter thinks it is The Watcher who arrived, but instead it is Doctor Strange, who says that she could use a friend. Carter asks Strange what he was doing here and he then says that he has got a story for her.
Cast[]
Starring Cast
- Jeffrey Wright as Uatu/Watcher
- Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter/Captain Carter
- Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
- Chris Hemsworth as King Thor
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki
- Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
- Jon Favreau as Sir Harold Hogan/Freak
- Mick Wingert as Tony Stark
- Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers/Captain America/Rogers Hood
- Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
- Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (archive audio)
Guest Stars
- Terri Douglas as Additional Voices
- Robin Atkin Downes as Additional Voices
- Matt Lowe as Additional Voices
- Marcella Lentz-Pope as Additional Voices
- Helen Sadler as Additional Voices
- Fred Tatasciore as Additional Voices
- Debra Wilson as Additional Voices
- Matthew Wood as Additional Voices
- Cate Blanchett as Queen Hela (uncredited)
Non-Speaking Characters
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- London, England
- Washington, D.C. (flashback)
- Triskelion (flashback)
- Wakanda (flashback & mentioned)
- Nebula's Observatory (mentioned)
- Isle of Ego (mentioned)
- Groot Groves (mentioned)
Events[]
- Chase of Captain Carter
- Escape from the Tower of London
- Theft of the Scepter
- Infinity War (flashback)
- Battle of Wakanda (flashback)
- World War II (mentioned)
Items[]
- Vibranium
- Captain Carter's Uniform
- Scepter
- Ant-Man Suit
- Infinity Stones
- Time Stone
- Space Stone (flashback)
- Mind Stone (flashback)
- Reality Stone (flashback)
- Power Stone (flashback)
- Soul Stone (flashback)
- Asgardian Armor
- Winged Helmet
- Hela's Crown
- Yellowjacket Suit
- Yorick
- Hamlet
- Uru (flashback)
- Infinity Gauntlet (flashback)
- Mjølnir (mentioned)
- Captain America's Uniform (flashback)
- Arc Reactor (mentioned)
- Opium (mentioned)
Concepts[]
Vehicles[]
To be added
Sentient Species[]
- Watchers
- Humans
- Asgardians
- Frost Giants
- Titans (flashback)
- Ghosts (mentioned)
Creatures[]
Organizations[]
- Asgardian Royal Family
- Einherjar
- Merry Men
- Royal Yellowjackets
- Avengers
- Order of the Watchers
- S.H.I.E.L.D. (flashback)
Mentioned[]
- Nebula
- Ego
- Groot
- Margaret Carter
- Steve Rogers
- Tony Stark
- Happy Hogan
- Odin (indirectly)
- T'Challa
- William Shakespeare
- Othello
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Strange Theme | Michael Giacchino |
|
Videos[]
Clips[]
Trivia[]
- This episode is inspired by the Marvel 1602 limited series written by Neil Gaiman.[1] However, Gaiman himself was never consulted in the making of the episode.[2]
- The episode was initially conceived by A.C. Bradley as a version of the Avengers in the Victorian era which Bradley pitched in order to get hired for What If...? When the episode was pushed to the second season, it turned into an adaptation of Marvel 1602 inspired by the success of What If... Zombies?! that focused on the friendship between Captain Carter and Watcher.[3]
- The episode was inspired by Holodeck episodes of Star Trek.[3]
References[]
External Links[]
What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602? on Wikipedia- What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602? on Marvel Database
- What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602? on IMDb
- What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602? on Disney+
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