What If...? is set to showcase a plethora of alternate realities within the MCU's vast multiverse, and one of them involves zombified versions of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
The upcoming Disney+ series will tackle the world of Marvel Zombies, a storyline where superheroes become infected with a virus that ultimately leads to bloodshed. This narrative will be realized in What If...? as one of the alternate worlds set within the confines of the newly-opened multiverse.
So far, marketing for What If...? already revealed that heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, and Hawkeye will become zombies in the episode while heroes like Bucky, Hulk, and Spider-Man, the latter who's been dubbed as a Zombie Hunter, are expected to defeat them.
Now, it seems that the early moments of the outbreak in the What If...? episode may have been revealed in a new promo.
MARVEL ZOMBIES PRELUDE
A new promo spot for Marvel's What If...? might have revealed the opening moments of the highly-anticipated Marvel Zombies episode of the animated series.
At the start of the video, it shows Iron Man, Captain America, Natasha Romanoff in her Infinity War outfit, Hawkeye, and T'Challa getting off a quintjet for a potential mission that might be set during the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
Based on what's been revealed so far, it's reasonable to assume that this could serve as an early scene before the zombie outbreak begins in the episode. This is mainly due to the fact that the zombified versions of Hawkeye and Captain America are wearing the same outfit from the trailers.
The video can be seen below:
THE BEGINNING OF MARVEL ZOMBIES IN WHAT IF...?
It seems likely that the Avengers' mission before the zombie outbreak will be set before or even during Thanos' invasion in Avengers: Infinity War. It's possible that the alternate events of Ant-Man and the Wasp could also tie into this, especially after the second trailer of What If...? revealed that Janet Van Dyne could serve as patient zero of the whole outbreak due to her time in the Quantum Realm.
Connecting the dots, the scene above could actually become the introduction to the Marvel Zombies episode of What If...?, and this could also mean that the Avengers shot that was featured in the latest promo would follow suit.
In Infinity War, it's worth pointing out that the Avengers are in disarray due to the events of Captain America: Civil War. However, in this Marvel Zombies timeline, it's possible that Steve Rogers and Tony Stark worked out their differences to contain the outbreak, but it was already too late.
The fact that Natasha Romanoff is already wearing Yelena Belova's vest in the episode further amplifies the idea that it will be set during Infinity War, meaning that the Avengers will need to deal with both the outbreak and Thanos' invasion all at once.
It's safe to say that the odds are pretty much stacked against the Avengers this time around, thus cementing a different kind of loss that they experienced against Thanos during Infinity War.
It makes narrative sense for MCU heroes like Spider-Man, Hulk, and Bucky to lead the zombie resistance, especially considering the fact that the web-slinger wasn't part of the Avengers at that time, the Winter Soldier was safely kept in Wakanda, and Bruce was off-world.
Whatever the case, the Marvel Zombies installment of What If...? is shaping up to be a must-see for MCU fans, and it will be interesting to find out how this outbreak will be solved once and for all.
The first episode of What If...? will premiere on Disney+ on August 11, 2021.
