WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 6, "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?," streaming now on Disney+.
Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger has certainly staked his claim as one of the best villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And even though he tried to kill Black Panther and use Wakanda as a hub of war, people did feel sympathy towards him during the events of the Black Panther movie. He became caught up in royal politics as he tried to break the chains of oppression globally, coming off as a misguided liberator more than a terrorist. Ironically, Disney's What If...? has him following the same philosophy but while he achieves victory, his new plan isn't as good as in Black Panther.
The reason for this is simply that Killmonger has painted a target on Wakanda's back in "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?," which takes away the veil of secrecy, which is where he operates best in.
In the film, Killmonger pitted outside forces against Wakanda, offered up the vibranium-stealing Ulysses Klaue as tribute and then challenged for the throne, as was his birthright. He won, took the magical herb and became a corrupted Panther whose mission was to seed weapons out to militia contacts he made during his time as a covert-ops soldier.
The idea was to be the catalyst for a global movement, one that would free Black nations from the system and fight back against bias and inequality. In his eyes this was the equivalent to war reparations, and the only way forward was to burn it all down and rebuild. In the original plan, however, Killmonger retained plausible deniability. The weapons could have been traced back to Wakanda, but he could easily have spun it as the weapons being stolen, like what Klaue did to the vibranium. He would have had the power, but in the shadows, both owning his kingdom and infecting the outside world the way he always wanted.
In this alternate reality, he adopts a similar path, offering Klaue up and giving himself an easy in to the throne. He fakes a war with America, duping them in to sending in Liberator Drones, which means that once Killmonger helps the royals defeat the invaders, he becomes the new Panther. The problem is, America won't take the loss lying down, as Thunderbolt Ross thinks Wakanda is responsible for Tony Stark's death. He also thinks Wakanda has been provoking the United States for some time, especially after Killmonger makes it look like they also killed James Rhodes. So it's easy to see Ross Ross reacting to Killmonger's high profile role by evolving the drones Killmonger created, as well as other Stark tech. Ross could also retaliate with the help of other genius scientists like Reed Richards or Hank Pym, who could become his allies in that pocket of the Marvel Multiverse.
It's all narcissism on Killmonger's part but the thing is, Ross' ego can integrate things like SHIELD, a warped version of the Avengers and an expanded military in the name of vengeance. What compounds Killmonger as sloppy is that he left enough breadcrumbs for Shuri to find, as she shows Pepper Potts footage she hacked from JARVIS that confirms Killmonger killed Stark as part of the bloody, merciless plan to infiltrate Wakanda.
They end the episode vowing to stop him in what's essentially a temporary victory, as he left the enemy with just cause and deadly weapons. Rather than partner with Ross, the ladies could get the royals to turn on Killmonger, which just reaffirms this plan had too many loose threads as opposed to the film, where the only error Killmonger made was not killing T'Challa at the waterfall. Had he done that, he'd have kept ruling and waging a secret war from an impenetrable fortress, with no one inside having apt reason to break the country's law and challenge him.
To see the flaws in Killmonger's new plan, the latest episode of What If...? is streaming now on Disney+.