WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 3, "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?," now streaming on Disney+.
While it was a darker episode overall, What If…? Season 1, Episode 3, “What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” ends on a positive note. After Hank Pym murders five of the six original Avengers and leaves Earth defenseless for Loki and Asgard to conquer, Nick Fury calls in the cavalry. S.H.I.E.L.D. has found Captain America’s body frozen in ice, and Captain Marvel has returned from space. The episode ends with the presumption that the pair will send Loki packing, and set things right.
But they’re not the only figures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe able to take a stand against the invaders. Although Pym decimated the ranks of super-powered individuals, there remain numerous others neither he nor Loki is necessarily aware of. Whether Fury recruits them or they appear on their own, they make likely candidates for a new Avengers team to take their title literally as they rid Earth of its freshly minted despot.
The episode takes place during "Fury’s Big Week," which contains the events of Iron Man 2, Thor and The Incredible Hulk. Based on that, here’s a rundown of which heroes could be ready to take on Loki at that point in the MCU's timeline.
Iron Man (James "Rhodey" Rhodes)
The Tony Stark of this What If…? universe dies in the donut shop the morning after his explosive “break-up” with Colonel Rhodes. Rhodey claims one of Tony’s suits – and the title of Iron Man – and departs Tony’s mansion in disgust. In the prime universe, Tony survived and Rhodey became War Machine. Here, Tony’s death would likely hit him hard, and he always had a far stronger sense of duty than his friend. He may lack Stark’s technical expertise, but he’s a seasoned military commander and very much at home in the suit. Pepper Potts – who shared Rhodey’s disgust over Tony’s behavior the night before – could readily put the entire company’s resources at Rhodey’s disposal as well. That makes Iron Man a likely part of these Avengers after all, just with someone else under the armor.
Black Panther (T’Challa)
Wakanda remains a deeply isolationist nation at the time of Fury’s Big Week, and with King T’Chaka still on the throne, that might not change. T’Challa, however, is already the Black Panther. According to the canonical MCU comic Black Panther: Prelude, his father conceded the role to him shortly before Tony Stark revealed himself as Iron Man. While Wakanda as a whole might remain out of the fight, T’Challa probably won't, and he might even convince his father that – with Loki poised to dominate the globe – now is the time for their nation to reveal itself and face a common threat.
Wasp and Ant-Man (Janet Van Dyne and Scott Lang)
With Pym imprisoned and Hope Van Dyne dead, Fury could easily lay claim to Pym’s shrinking technology. Finding someone to use it wouldn’t be difficult, and while such an Ant-Man might not be Lang himself, it could readily be an everyman in his vein. If an expert is required, Janet Van Dyne remains among the living, though she's currently trapped in the Quantum realm and in need of rescuing. With S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources behind the effort, that might take a lot less time in this What If…? universe than it did in the prime MCU.
Renegade Asgardians
Loki is the rightful king of Asgard by law. However, he got there by questionable means, and while people like Lady Sif and the Warriors Three may be too grief-stricken over Thor to see how wrong he is, that may change with Thor’s killer in prison. Heimdall, too, bears Loki no love and may decide as he did in the prime MCU that the God of Mischief’s rule is an unjust one. Dividing his attention between Earth and Asgard may prove beyond Loki's ability, leaving plenty of room for a discontent Asgardian to strike back.
Thor (Jane Foster)
As far as this What If…? episode shows, Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, currently lacks an owner, and though Asgard doubtless has a claim to the weapon, it presumably remains stuck in New Mexico until someone worthy can pick it up. Rogers makes a good choice, as anyone who saw Endgame knows, but another MCU figure is also confirmed to be capable of wielding the hammer. Jane Foster is entangled in the events of Fury’s Big Week and is probably horrified at the death of a man she was trying to help. Getting her close to the hammer could be a swift way to bring Thor: Love and Thunder's promised female Thor into existence a full decade early.
To see Earth's Mightiest Heroes fail to form in the MCU -- and to see Fury build it anyway -- watch Episode 3 of What If...?, streaming now on Disney+.