The MCU's latest Disney+ series finally resolved a four-year-old cliffhanger from What If...? Season 1. Marvel Zombies is, of course, a spin-off/sequel to 2021's "What If...Zombies?!" The post-apocalyptic tale picks up five years after the original episode's jaw-dropping cliffhanger, which saw three survivors faced with an undead Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos in Wakanda after escaping a zombified Scarlet Witch's clutches. Those survivors were Spider-Man, Paul Rudd's Scott Lang (or rather just his head), and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, who makes an emotional, silent return in Marvel Zombies.
Fans are kept waiting until Marvel Zombies' third episode for a resolution to the Thanos cliffhanger, which is narrated by Spider-Man (voiced by Hudson Thames, who fills in for Tom Holland in Marvel Animation). This group of heroes, met by Thanos in Wakanda, set forth into the battle as a trio.
Peter Parker revealed that the survivors were met by "something [they] had been warned about" in Wakanda. The undead Mad Titan already had five Infinity Stones and an Infinity Gauntlet when he faced the group, who were in possession of the Mind Stone and aiming to use it and Wakandan tech to cure the zombies.
The narration noted that this Thanos still wielded "unimaginable power, but his infected brain couldn't focus it." Despite that, Parker described how "Zombies Thanos was learning, and it wouldn't be long before he was unstoppable," as he gradually came to grips with how to use the Infinity Stones.
While the group was "outnumbered" and "things were looking bad," they were met with a surprise entrance from Thor, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon. This initially resembled the trio's dramatic arrival in Avengers: Infinity War, but that was quickly undercut when they were obliterated by the Power Stone.
As Thanos tore through Wakanda's Golden City and "[exposed] the molten vibranium in its reactor's core," Spider-Man took his own chance at defeating Thanos, only to repeat Thor's iconic Infinity War mistake and fail.
When T'Challa failed in his own efforts to beat the Mad Titan, Thanos succeeded in acquiring all four Infinity Stones, seemingly setting him up to Snap.
Here, T'Challa took on Tony Stark's tragic role in Avengers: Endgame's climax, declaring "Wakanda Forever" quietly before charging Thanos into the reactor, killing them both and saving the universe.
However, Parker explained, "The energy of the stones was escaping all around us" and created a cataclysmic Infinity Storm, "warping the fabric of reality."
While Parker and Lang initially seemed marked for death, they ended up pulled through a magic portal as they were "rescued by the friendly sorcerers of Kamar-Taj," where they had seemingly lived out the following years.
In terms of the Infinity Storm, that is integral to Scarlet Witch's evil plans and the story of Marvel Zombies, which explains how it created the Infinity Hulk.
The What If...? Cliffhanger That Set Up the Perfect Storyline
Initially, it was unclear whether What If...? was leaving the door open to a sequel story with its Zombie Thanos cliffhanger or just trying to keep fans guessing what came next for the survivors with a general sense of impending doom.
Of course, the answer turned out to be the former thanks to Marvel Zombies, which may have begun a multi-season Disney+ story. While it's too soon to tell how fans could be kept waiting for Season 2 to see the cryptic cliffhanger resolved, at least What If...?'s shocking turn has finally been answered.
Ultimately, the resolution was not just unique, action-packed, and shocking at every turn; it also proved to be rather emotional. The scene silently offered a send-off for this T'Challa Variant, offering him a sacrifice moment akin to Tony Stark that couldn't be offered in the live-action MCU due to the actor's passing.
In terms of why fans were waiting four years for What If...?'s Thanos cliffhanger to be resolved, it seems that wasn't always the plan. Director Bryan Andrews confirmed in an interview with Brandon Davis that Marvel Zombies was finished last year and delayed to avoid clashing with Agatha All Along, as both were intended for spooky season, and they didn't want either to "eat each other:"
"We were developing this so long ago, and then we finished it, and I think it's sat around for a whole year before it was released because it was actually ready to go back when ['Agatha All Along'] was coming out last year. But that means they would have had two things happen during fall/Halloween, and they didn't want any of them to eat each other."
