With so many superheroes set to appear in What If…? Season 2, it can be difficult to keep track of who’s showing up in the Disney+ series.
Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation kicked off in 2021 with the first season of What If…? As the title would suggest, the show explored various events in the MCU if things had gone a little differently.
Narrated by Jeffrey Wright’s Uatu the Watcher, What If…? brings in several recognizable characters and their Variants from around the MCU’s Multiverse. And with Season 2 dropping in quick succession at the end of December, the series’ superhero roster is about to expand.
Every Hero in What If…?’s Second Season
As with any Marvel project, What If…? Season 2 features superheroes abound. Here’s a breakdown of every hero that has been confirmed to show up in the second season of the animated show thus far.
Peggy Carter/Captain Carter
Not only will Peggy Carter act as director of SHIELD in one of What If…? Season 2’s episodes, but a separate installment will see Steve Rogers’ old flame grab her vibranium shield and suit up yet again as the mighty Captain Carter.
Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
The trailer confirmed that Wanda Maximoff will be back as a Scarlet Witch Variant. Fans will know that Wanda seemingly met her end after a Darkhold-induced walk on the wild side in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
As the Scarlet Witch stans of the world wait for Elizabeth Olsen to return to the role in live-action, they will have to make do with an animated appearance in What If…?
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Although she valiantly sacrificed her own life so Clint Barton could retrieve the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame, Natasha Romanoff lives on. Or, at least, her Variants do.
the first season of What If…? positioned Nat in a major role as the Watcher selected her to help stop an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron. Now, with the show’s sophomore outing on the horizon, the Black Widow will return for more Multiversal fun.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
As the longtime face of the MCU, Tony Stark appeared in live-action a total of nine times. So, naturally, the character was shown heavily in What If…? Season 1, cropping up in four different episodes.
Unfortunately, much like their Sacred Timeline counterpart, most of these Iron Man Variants wound up dead by the end of their respective episodes. Season 2 will have Tony trapped on Sakaar in place of the Hulk for some Thor: Ragnarok-inspired shenanigans.
Valkyrie
Glimpsed briefly in the trailer, Valkyrie, or as she’s known on Sakaar, Scrapper 142, will appear alongside a stranded Tony Stark. However, it’s currently unclear whether she’ll be acting as a friend to the Armored Avenger, or a foe.
Gamora
Thanos’ favorite daughter Gamora is confirmed to have a part in Season 2. But this particular Gamora Variant is said to headline an episode in which she actually succeeds in killing the Mad Titan.
Korg
Thor’s rocky pal Korg is shown very briefly in this season’s trailer, riding atop a Sakaaran speeder in a race, as he destroys one of his opponent’s vehicles. It’s not known whether or not Korg has a larger part to play in this new Season of What If…? though.
T’Chaka/Black Panther
T’Chaka, father of T’Challa, served as the King of Wakanda while his son eventually took up the mantle of Black Panther. What If…?, though, will include an episode set during the late 1980s, when T’Chaka was still in fighting shape.
In the episode in question, a team of heroes is formed to attempt to put a stop to the rampage of a preteen Peter Quill Variant who was delivered to his father Ego and promptly schooled in the ways of his destructive celestial powers.
Dr. Hank Pym/Ant-Man
The original Ant-Man, Dr. Pym will be a member of the aforementioned anti-Peter Quill squad. This episode is reportedly set in 1988, a year after Hank’s wife Janet van Dyne was lost to the Quantum Realm.
The trailer for What If…? Season 2 shows Hank wearing the original Ant-Man suit that will one day be donned by Scott Lang.
Dr. Wendy Lawson/Mar-Vell
Posing as a human scientist in flashback sequences from Captain Marvel, Dr. Wendy Lawson was really Kree rebel Mar-Vell. She wanted to use the cosmic power of the Space Stone as a means of sending refugee Skrulls to a new home.
In What If…? Mar-Vell is another member of the proto-Avengers team sent in to stop Quill. Her Kree physiology would likely give her an advantage against the junior half-celestial.
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
Although he’s set to return in 2025’s Thunderbolts movie, Bucky Barnes hasn’t been seen in live-action since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Now, What If…? will show Bucky during his days as the deadly Winter Soldier serving as yet another piece of the puzzle that SHIELD assembles to put a stop to Peter Quill’s antics.
Dr. Bill Foster/Goliath
Dr. Foster was once Hank Pym’s protege. They collaborated on a project codenamed Goliath in the 80s, as established by Ant-Man and the Wasp. But Foster and Pym eventually had a falling out and parted ways.
Now, audiences will have a chance to see Bill Foster in action, suited up as Goliath, as the final member of the 1980s-era superhero team trying to stop the future Star-Lord.
Kahhori
Kahhori is not a name from the comics. The young Mohawk woman is a newly-created Marvel character who will star in her own episode from What If…?’s second season.
The installment will be set centuries in the past as Kahhori becomes a superhero after the Tesseract lands near her home. Kahhori is the MCU’s first wholly original hero and did not originate from the comic books.
Steve Rogers/Captain America
The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan. The First Avenger. Steve Rogers has many names. And in What If…? Season 1, he took on another one: The Hydra Stomper. In an alternate timeline, Steve was injured before he could undergo the process that would turn him into a super soldier, forcing Peggy Carter to volunteer instead.
Still wanting to fight, Rogers was given a giant suit of armor built by Howard Stark, and he fought alongside Peggy until she found herself in the modern day. But even decades later, Carter and Natasha Romanoff located a cryogenically-preserved Hydra Stomper suit, with Steve presumably still inside.
Season 2 is rumored to show a clash between the two former friends, as Steve is acting on the will of Hydra Itself. Beyond that, Cap will feature in other Season 2 episodes as well.
Thor
Thor was notably featured in a couple of first-season episodes of What If…? including one where an alternate universe version of the Thunderer became a total party animal, all because Odin never adopted Loki.
It’s not known how large a role Thor will have in What If…?’s sophomore run, but he was seen in the trailer fending off a group of villains. An Avengers: Age of Ultron-era Thor will likely also be featured in the Die Hard-inspired, Happy Hogan-centric Christmas episode.
Odin
The Asgardian Allfather Odin was a stern paternal influence on his sons Thor and Loki throughout their lives. Thor wanted to be more like him, while Loki just wanted his throne.
A What If…? Season 2 episode will reportedly put Odin against the dad of another MCU hero: Wenwu, leader of the Ten Rings. The power of Asgardian magic vs. the might of mysterious ancient weaponry- who will win?
Hulk
Dr. Bruce Banner‘s and the Hulk‘s journey in the MCU very likely isn’t finished yet, with Mark Ruffalo routinely expressing interest in another solo movie for the character.
But until the Jade Giant’s next live-action MCU appearance, he’ll have a part to play in What If…? The trailer for the upcoming season showed a Hulk Variant that was sporting a beard and mustache. Surely, the story behind that must be an interesting one.
Rocket Raccoon
"Ain’t no thing like me, ‘cept me!" A line uttered by Rocket in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. Although Rocket likely wasn’t aware of the infinite number of his Variants that exist throughout the MCU‘s Multiverse.
As such, after being essentially all-but-absent from What If…? Season 2, the trailer for the second season shows a Rocket that looks to have even more cybernetic enhancements than his Sacred Timeline version does.
Strange Supreme
Dr. Stephen Strange may have an ego, but it’s nothing compared to that of his What If…? Variant, who attempted countless times to prevent the death of his love Christine Palmer. These acts eventually tore his reality apart, leaving almost nothing left of it.
This twisted, corrupted Doctor Strange Variant was nonetheless invaluable in the first season finale during the fight against Ultron. In Season 2, Strange Supreme will make a comeback, but it’s not yet known how.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Last, but most certainly not least, is the everyman Avenger, Clint Barton aka, Hawkeye. In What If…? Season 1, Clint put his impeccable marksmanship to the test in a wartorn wasteland, as he teamed up with Black Widow in a world where Ultron had won.
Clint is in the trailer for the new season, albeit briefly. It’s been confirmed that he’ll have a role in the Christmas episode, which will see Happy Hogan in a John McClane-esque role, crawling through the vents of Avengers Tower.
The season premiere of What If…? arrives on Friday, December 22, with one new episode dropping on each of the subsequent eight days.
