WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 6, "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?," streaming now on Disney+.
The latest episode of Marvel's What If...? brings back fan-favorite villain Erik Stevens, AKA Killmonger, pulling him out of his murky military background to save Tony Stark's life in Afghanistan. This stops Tony from ever needing to produce his heroism-inducing suit of armor, as Killmonger quickly steps into the CEO's inner circle and offers him a new project to focus on: unmanned combat drones. Dreamed up by Stevens when he was a student at MIT, the Liberator drones were intended to "make human soldiers obsolete." While the U.S. military already uses unmanned drones in warfare, Killmonger's fictional alternatives are bipedal and AI-driven, with a visual flair reminiscent of Gundam that's even noted in the episode itself.
Tony quickly agrees to help Killmonger develop his passion project, building out a prototype, that while a little less "anime" than Stevens' initial design, still resembles something out of a comic book. But it's also plagued by functional errors, as its AI processing uses up way too much power. Tony suggests miniaturizing an arc reactor, but is swayed by Killmonger's suggestion of using Vibranium as a power source. This leads the pair down a scummy, criminal-infested rabbit hole as they turn to Ulysses Klaue to help with procuring enough Vibranium.
The episode then pivots to Killmonger's biggest habit — playing both sides. The military operative leaks news of the deal to the Wakandan War Dogs, only to cut in at the last second and kill both his cousin T'Challa and James Rhodes. He gets away scot-free but is confronted by Tony, who recorded footage of the entire incident through Jarvis. This leads into the Liberator's first combat test, as Tony sics one on Killmonger in an attempt to avenge Rhodey's death. The drone is initially built up as a match for Stevens, with its combat AI modeled after his fighting style, but is dispatched fairly swiftly when he just decides to "freestyle it."
This also costs Tony his life, as Killmonger buries the same Wakandan spear he used to dispatch the drone in its inventor. While the combat drone's design is impeccable, it's only half of the equation that made Tony Stark so formidable as Iron Man. The technology is a tool, and without someone to wield it it can be tricked, outfoxed and defeated. Tony Stark is just a man, and without a weapon to defend himself, he can be struck down in swift order. The drones are a terrifying threat in theory, but in practice they're no match for a fighter as skilled as Killmonger.
This dynamic plays out beat-for-beat for the rest of the episode, just on a larger scale. The U.S. military seizes manufacturing rights for the Liberator, mass-producing it using Vibranium taken from Klaue and sending them to fight the Wakandans. But Killmonger slips in ahead of the infantry and defects to the side of the Wakandans, offering up Klaue's body as a peace offering -- just like in Black Panther. He then tricks the Wakandan royalty into letting the drones past the city's force-wall, claiming it will cut off their connection to Jarvis and shut them down. All this accomplishes is setting the stage for an all-out battle, and Killmonger rides out into the thick of it to prove himself to his new family.
The combat drones once again put on a poor showing, and the Wakandans emerge victorious with Killmonger as their new crown prince and Black Panther. While they spend a large part of the episode in the spotlight, the combat drones end up being little more than a stalking horse for Killmonger; an empty threat defeated as soon as they're introduced. While this is just what the villain intended, the drones' combat ineptitude is also likely connected to Stark's death halfway through the episode. Tony was always refining his suits' technology, and the evolution of their capabilities was a constant part of the Marvel film canon. Without him the drones can't ever learn or grow. They're stuck at first base against an enemy who's more than happy to take advantage of their stagnation.
To see Killmonger and his Liberator drones disrupt the MCU, the latest episode of What If...? is now available on Disney+.