WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, streaming now on Disney+.
The first season of What If…? trended unusually dark, even for a series based on one of Marvel’s more downbeat titles. The concept of events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe turning out wildly differently based on one small decision has led to some decidedly grim outcomes, including extinction-level events in at least three of the first season’s nine episodes. The season finale – Season 1, Episode 9, “What if… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” – sets things right for at least a few of its more tragic universes, though. For fans working through the show’s nihilistic side, it comes as a relief, and indeed helps put the show’s darker moments in a brighter context.
Perhaps the most fitting fate belongs to the hero who suffered the most in her own universe, only to be taken to one desperately in need of her help. The Black Widow variant from Season 1, Episode 8, “What If… Ultron Won?” is taken to one of the season’s tragic realities, and reveals it to be perhaps even brighter than the prime MCU’s. It didn't seem that way at the time, though its comparative darkness was eclipsed by even gloomier episodes later in the schedule.
That includes “Ultron Won,” which finds the mad robot -- armed with the Infinity Stones -- carrying out the mass extinction of every living being in his universe. Only Black Widow survives, allowing her to come to the aid of the Guardians of the Universe as they stop Ultron from repeating his genocide in other universes. Afterwards, the Guardians return to their respective realities, but Black Widow rightfully refuses. She explains to the Watcher that her reality is a graveyard before accusing him of indifference.
In response, Uatu sends her to the universe of Season 1, Episode 3, “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” That, too, seemed to be one of the show’s darker plotlines, as a vengeful Hank Pym kills Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Hawkeye and its own Black Widow. It leaves Earth helpless before Loki and his Asgardian armies, who conquer the planet without a fight -- or so it seems. Left without his original Avengers, Nick Fury summons Captain Marvel from space, just as Captain America is discovered frozen in ice. The Widow from “Ultron Won” appears on the deck of the SHIELD Helicarrier with the heroes in pitched battle with Asgard’s forces. Black Widow swiftly knocks the Scepter out of his hands, then turns it on him – already aware of how to use it from her own universe’s conflict with Loki in The Avengers – to help save the day.
The results might very well cement a brighter, happier reality for “Mightiest Heroes.” With Stark gone, this universe will never have to face an Ultron, which in turn means no Sokovia Accords and no divided team, a la Captain America: Civil War. Captain Marvel’s return to Earth will likely keep her closer more often, and with other heroes such as War Machine and Black Panther still very much among the living – to say nothing of heroic Asgardians like Heimdall and Lady Sif no longer under Loki’s sway – a united Avengers team would be far more likely to stop Thanos before he makes the Snap. Here too, the Widow from “Ultron Won” will prove invaluable, having faced the power of the Infinity Stones in "Broke His Oath," and better able to prepare her universe’s Avengers for the dangers he represents.
It’s proof that Uatu is telling the truth when he claims to care so deeply about the worlds he visits. Having broken his oath of noninterference, he allows himself to help the most people he can in the most expedient way. In so doing, he gives Black Widow her much-deserved future while ensuring that her new reality is far more optimistic as a result. It puts What If...?'s other dark realities in a more positive light as well, and suggests that – no matter how grim the Multiverse may get – heroes will always be there to find a happy ending.
What If...? Season 1 is complete and available to stream on Disney+.