What If S01E02 Review: King Without A Crown

What If, Season 1, Episode 2: What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?

One thing that I did like about not reviewing What If's first season on an episode-by-episode basis was that I now get to put some distance between the untimely death of the star of Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, and talking about the episodes that he starred in. Now, let's be clear -- we didn't know it at the time, but Boseman actually provided his voice and performance to way more episodes than just this one, which now allows me to treat this episode as something more than just 'a tribute to a great actor'. 

And, to be honest... I've always found the idea of casting T'Challa in a role-swap with Star-Lord to be frankly very random. There really isn't any basis for this in the source material -- be it the comics or the live-action movies -- and unlike Captain Carter in the season's premier episode, this one just felt like them throwing darts into the character dartboard and shrugging. Which I suppose is kind of part of the charm of Star-Lord T'Challa? Where most of the other alternate-universe variants throughout the first season was a bit more logical, there's one that's just... out there. 

There is some attempt by the posters and Uatu's narration about the nature-vs-nurture thing, but it really wasn't given much beyond lip-service. Yondu's as good of a parent as he is in the sacred universe (or even maybe a better one), and T'Challa is basically as heroic as he was in the sacred timeline. We wouldn't really get a proper 'what if a hero became truly evil' until the next couple of episodes, sorry.

And I probably would've complained a bit more if this episode wasn't just so... so fun. Having rewatched the entirety of the first season recently, I would very easily say that this is the funniest and most light-hearted of all the What If's. We get through the concept of Yondu's henchmen Kraglin and Taserface picking up the wrong kid because they arrived at whichever place on Earth had the highest amount of cosmic radiation... and Yondu adopts T'Challa as his 'son' the same way that he adopted Peter Quill in the sacred/prime timeline. 

And unlike the self-aggrandizing lovable-loser that Peter Quill was at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, T'Challa is suave, badass, and so well-known all over the galaxy that he and his band of Ravagers are basically superstars at that point, well known as... well, superheroes across the galaxy. There is a nice riff of the opening scene of the first Guardians movie as Korath, instead of going 'who?' instead acts like a total fanboy. I honestly do find Djimon Honsou's excited voice-acting to be one of the low-key comedic highlights of this episode. Korath not really knowing how to really 'spar' with a hero that he's supposed to beat up is fun, and it really does set the tone for the rest of the episode as T'Challa basically recruited Korath into the ranks of his Ravagers, allowing Korath to join the motley crew. 

Korath's presence is great, because as the 'new guy', he's allowed to ask a lot of questions for the other Ravagers to exposit back. And some of the line deliveries are just top-notch from Honsou. 

We get to see how T'Challa essentially reforming the Ravagers have changed a lot about the galaxy, at least in terms of the characters we know and love. Most hilariously is the casting of Thanos as what's basically a grumpy member of the Ravagers after T'Challa managed to talk him out of his genocide plan. Again, it's very tongue-in-cheek, but I do really like the constant insistence of this universe's Thanos that his plans has merit. Thanos's relationship with Nebula has also had a fair bit of improvement in this timeline, with Nebula walking around in a dress with a full head of blonde hair, and having a far, far less abusive relationship with his dad. 

Drax also has a brief role, thanking the Star-Lord for rescuing his planet, and it can be presumed that T'Challa's Ravagers also beat up Ronan off-screen. Anyway, after a couple of brief jokes here and there in the big fancy space bar, Nebula recruits T'Challa for a heist for the Embers of Genesis, some magical MacGuffin that fits in T'Challa's Robin-LeechHood-style heists. During this conversation, we also get the brief reveal that some kind of internal war had claimed and destroyed Wakanda, which explains why T'Challa hasn't gone back to Earth and is happy to go around gallivanting around the galaxy as a space troubadour. 

The heist itself is pretty standard, though, again, it does get elevated with the sheer ridiculousness of seeing normally-serious characters like Thanos, Black Panther and Korath act out a heist that would feel more at home in an Ant-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy movie. We've got Korath and Thanos fighting to do a distraction outside, and we're jumping on a bit ahead, but the huge plot twist is that Nebula actually triple-crossed everyone, something that helps to keep the episode moving a bit faster than episode 1's story. 

It also helps that there are a lot more antagonists to play around with. Our primary baddie is Tanaleer Tivan, the Collector -- a character that is grossly under-utilized in the movies and is basically more of an excuse for a particularly fancy location more than anything. The Collector's played up more as a sinister creep this time around, and he's employed the Black Order from Infinity War to serve as his security guards -- allowing our heroes some people to actually fight. 

We also get a brief wacky cameo from Howard, who leads T'Challa around after being freed. He does have much more to say in this single episode than his entire MCU cameo-career, but Howard the Duck actually getting lines and being allowed to walk around and exist as a character is yet another showcase as to why the animated format does benefit this side-expansion of the MCU universe. 

The big reveal, of course, is when T'Challa discovers a Wakandan spaceship in the Collector's base, realizing that Yondu had lied to him about the fate of Wakanda from a selfish, misguided reason to 'keep' T'Challa. It's a bit more malicious, I think, than what Yondu did to Peter Quill in the sacred timeline, and I'm not sure if the vague explanation of 'T'Challa is an explorer' is enough to exonerate Yondu. I honestly feel like this twist didn't need to happen in the midst of everything? 

Anyway, after some confrontation between Yondu and T'Challa, the Star-Lord is brought in front of the Collector. Nebula (who seemed to have double-crossed the Ravagers) reveals her triple-cross, freeing Yondu and the others and killing Corvus Glaive. There's also a neat sequence as T'Challa uses his Vibranium necklace to escape, but the telekinetic Ebony Maw uses some debris to handcuff T'Challa... only for Carina to pick up a gun and blast Ebony through the gut. It's a nice, happier ending than the Power-Stone-assisted suicide that the sacred timeline Carina went through, and I feel like the episode still works just as well even if you don't remember who Carina is. 

We have probably one of my favourite action scenes in the season, as the way-more-buff-than-the-live-action-actor Collector shows up, tosses off his pimp robes and starts pulling out random weapons from the MCU canon, like Korg's hand, Malekith's dagger and Hela's sword-summoning helmet. Yondu shows up to help T'Challa out, leading to a 2-v-1 between the two Ravagers and the jacked-up Collector. Again, I must say just how much I appreciate this usage of the Collector, who was barely a supporting character in the live-action movies. This happens alongside a couple of other climaxes, but ultimately Star-Lord and Yondu beat the Collector, stuff him in a cage, and leave him to the mercies of the freed members of the Collection. 

But I do really like how this episode also commits to its alternate-universe Thanos, making him a bit more than just a one-note joke about how his plan is genocide. With a rather badass one-liner ("not crazy... mad.") Ravager Thanos goes in and fights his own 2-v-1 against the remaining members of the Black Order, Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian, to buy time for the other Ravagers and mostly his daughter Nebula to run away. Let's not really talk about power-scaling here -- presumably Thanos simply just isn't anywhere as fit as his sacred timeline counterpart. But just like how Yondu and T'Challa made amends, this adopted father/child pair ended up being wholesome as Nebula runs back to save her dad, rescuing Thanos and killing the two Black Order goons by unleashing the Embers of Genesis on them. 

With the brief background addition of (a non-speaking) Cosmo the Space Dog, the episode ends with a rather nice coda of T'Challa returning to Wakanda with his new space family in tow. Which... again, feels rather tacked-on and I guess is just a way to both have the cake and eat it? Things happened a bit too smoothly on this end of things and I almost wished that Yondu was telling the truth about Wakanda. Eh, whatever. It's a small part of the episode in the grand scheme of things. 

...oh, and Uatu leaves us with a hilarious alternate extrapolation about this universe. With Peter Quill still just some teenaged kid living on Earth, there's nothing stopping Ego from claiming Peter for his own, with a rather sinister, if comical, 'teaser' of Ego arriving on Dairy Queen to grab Peter. 

And ultimately, I think I like this episode a lot more after knowing that this isn't Boseman's only role in the series, and that the Star-Lord T'Challa actually would show up later on as part of the finale. Ultimately I do feel like while most of the vocal performances and jokes did an okay job at making the episode entertaining, it is still missing a certain je ne sais quoi. I do like the episode a lot more after I realized that this is an episode that shows a world that's majorly changed by the episode concept, as opposed to episode 1 or 3 of this season. It's all right. 

Marvel Easter Eggs Corner:

• The episode very loosely adapts Guardians of the Galaxy -- insomuch that most of the characters and settings are shared with that movie, only with T'Challa replacing Peter Quill. Multiple characters from Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War also show up. 
  
• The end of the episode also has Ego show up to collect Peter Quill, presumably setting off an alternate series of events different from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. 
• Planet references: Krylorians are the race of pink-skinned people featured throughout most of the GOTG movies, including Carina. Tarnax IV is the current homeworld of the Skrulls in the comics -- Yondu even references Skrulls when discussing the planet. Ankar is a planet with bug people featured in Fantastic Four comics.
• T'Chaka mentions that he found only 'pain' in the outside world. While this episode doesn't dwell on it much, Black Panther establishes that at this point in time, T'Chaka has already confronted and forced to kill his brother N'Jobu.
• The Collector's trinkets include Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer, Loki's helmet, Hela's helmet, Hela's Necrosword, Malekith's dark matter dagger, Korg's arm, a Nova Corps ship, the Grandmaster's party ship, Hank Pym's Quantum Realm ship, and a Skrull.
• While Hela's weapons was never mentioned to be called a 'Necrosword' on-screen in Thor: Ragnarok, it's mentioned in all promotional material. This causes a bit of a continuity snarl since the later-produced Thor: Love and Thunder would also have Gorr wield a different weapon called the Necrosword.
• In addition to Howard, other things visible in the collection include Cosmo and a Dark Elf (both present in GOTG). Howard also mentions Kronans and Frost Giants being part of the collection.
• In the comics, Nebula does have prominent long hair (at least before the live-action Guardians of the Galaxy caused her 'bald cyborg' look to be ported to the comics). Unlike the comics' black or purple hair, however, this universe's Nebula has blonde hair inspired by her actress, Karen Gillan's natural hair.
• Korath's 'Who?' line is an often-repeated joke in the original Guardians of the Galaxy trailers, and has been used as a meme online. Here, of course, instead of not knowing who Star-Lord is, he's a gigantic fanboy of T'Challa.
• Thanos continually tries to explain the merits of his 'resources' plan to most of the people he meets, which is a reference to the meme popular during Infinity War about how Thanos's plan doesn't make real sense, especially once he has the cosmic powers of the Infinity Stones. 
• Thanos is also mentioned to 'garden' now, which is the profession he immediately did in his retirement after the Snap in Infinity War and the opening part of Endgame.
• Yondu's "you're just like me" speech is a variation of his speech to Rocket Raccoon in GOTG2, albeit about being explorers instead of being jackasses who secretly love their family.
• Ego confronts Peter Quill at a Dairy Queen. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Ego's celestial seed was planted next to a Dairy Queen. 
• This Reality is Designated... Earth-21818.
• Role Reprises: Chadwick Boseman (T'Challa), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Benicio del Toro (The Collector), Djimon Honsou (Korath), Seth Green (Howard the Duck), Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Chris Sullivan (Taserface), Carrie Coon (Proxima Midnight), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Ebony Maw), Ophelia Lovibond (Carina), John Kani (King T'Chaka), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Kurt Russell (Ego).
• Notable non-reprisals are Drax (with Dave Bautista apparently not being contacted to reprise his role); Peter Quill and Corvus Glaive. Drax and Corvus are instead voiced by veteran voice actor Fred Tatasciore, and Peter Quill by Brian T. Delaney.
• In addition, Cull Obsidian, Cosmo, Ramonda and Shuri appear but are not voiced.