WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 8, "What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?," streaming now on Disney+.
The finale of What If…? united heroes from across the Marvel multiverse to fight Ultron, with appearances by characters from every Season 1 episode, from Captain Carter to Strange Supreme. However, two figures are new to the series, teasing an adventure cut from the season because of production delays caused by COVID-19.
Among the recruits for the Guardians of the Multiverse is a version of Gamora (voiced by Cynthia McWilliams) whom The Watcher refers to as "survivor of Sakaar and destroyer of Thanos." She adopted her father's helmet and double-bladed weapon after killing him. Accompanying Gamora is Tony Stark (Mick Wingert), someone her Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart never met. Wearing massive armor not unlike the Hulkbuster, Tony traveled with Gamora too Nidavellir to destroy the Infinity Gauntlet, but the circumstances that led them there are left a mystery in the finale.
That's, of course, because they were to debut in what head writer A.C. Bradley has described as "a more light, upbeat Tony Stark episode" that was originally planned for Season 1. Now, because of production changes caused by coronavirus-related delays, it will be released as part of Season 2.
According to a June report by The Illuminerdi, the missing episode detailed Gamora's mission to assassinate Tony Stark before the two ultimately form an alliance. The claim is supported by a LEGO set featuring Tony Stark in his What If…? armor, named "Tony Stark's Sakaarian Iron Man." Going by the name, it appears that Tony ends up on Sakaar, the trash planet that made its MCU in Thor: Ragnarok. However, Gamora isn't included in the LEGO set; Tony Stark, the Watcher and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) each receives a minifigure.
That said, there is little doubt of the storyline it's meant to represent. Valkyrie has yet to make a major appearance in the show, least of all with this version of Tony, so it would be odd to include her unless it was indicative of the episode pushed back due to the pandemic. Coupled with the fact that Valkyrie's first MCU appearance was on Sakaar, it seems a forgone conclusion that this set, rather than being designed for Tony's cameo appearance in the Season 1 finale, is actually for the episode that will eventually appear in Season 2.
Meanwhile, Gamora will almost definitely be a part of the Season 2 episode, despite being absent from the set. The Watcher calls her "Survivor of Sakaar," which indicates she defeated Thanos in a terrible battle on the planet. This encounter presumably had many casualties, possibly even costing Valkyrie's life, given her absence on Nidavellir.
Regardless of Valkyrie's fate, What If…? has teased an exciting episode for its next season, even if Gamora and Tony's appearances were not intended to foretell future events. The pandemic has undoubtedly changed plans for the series, from the aforementioned missing installment to the released episodes being shortened. However, What If...? has overcome those issues to become an indisputable success.
To see Gamora and Tony before their standalone Season 2 episode, stream What If…? on Disney+ now.