What If? Season 2, episode 4, opened with the Watcher narrating another story of an alternative reality that speaks about Gamora’s journey differently. In this alternate universe, Gamora wasn’t betrayed by her father, but she became the one who finally chose a side to put an end to Thanos, with the help of Iron Man. This episode featured Iron Man being unable to return to Earth and crash landing on Sakaar, a trash planet led by Grandmaster. Let’s see how events unfolded in Sakaar.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Iron Man Meet Gamora?
Everything starts with Iron Man traveling through space and accidentally crash-landing on Sakaar, where he meets Grandmaster, who calls him by the name of “Metal Mojo Man.” Grandmaster was overjoyed to see Iron Man, as he had already laid waste to Thanos’s army and gained immense fame; however, Tony struggled to comprehend how Grandmaster could have learned about it. Grandmaster explained to him that, due to the nature of space travel, Tony had spent a lot of time away from home without even knowing it. Grandmaster showed him a video in which Pepper was upset because Tony never made it back, which broke Tony’s heart. Tony wanted to return to Earth as soon as possible, but Grandmaster stood in his way, asking him to stay as it was his 21st birthday party. Tony still wanted to leave, but backed off, realizing that he might not return alive if he didn’t listen to Grandmaster.
Grandmaster almost forced Tony to stay there and enjoy a car race, which appeared to be an intergalactic Formula 1 race. In this race, Valkyrie participated, but after she couldn’t win and got out of her car, according to Sakaari tradition, everyone booed at her, throwing things and animals like hamsters at her. Not only that, but the Grandmaster also unleashed a snuffy monster to kiss Valkyrie. Though Valkyrie was least bothered, and chugging beer, Iron Man, wearing his armor, rushed into the racecourse to save her. However, as Snuffy runs towards Iron Man, someone from behind shoots Snuffy and explodes him. It turned out to be Gamora, Thanos’s daughter, who saved Tony’s life only because she wanted to capture Tony and bring him back to Thanos.
What Happened To Thanos?
Gamora and Tony were locked up in a room, where they also found Korg, who was already fanboying over Tony. Tony couldn’t understand why Gamora was after his life, as they had never met earlier. Gamora explained that she was the daughter of Thanos, whose Chitauri army Tony had defeated earlier. Tony tried to convince Gamora that he never caused any personal damage to her, so why would she try to kill him? Meanwhile, Tony was also planning to escape Sakaar, so he included Korg in his team and decided to recruit a skilled pilot to drive away from the planet. They thought of Valkyrie, who was still boozing somewhere at a bar. Tony and Korg asked Valkyrie to join them and help them leave the planet. Initially a little bit reluctant, Valkyrie decided to help them, because she also didn’t like Grandmaster.
Gamora, in the meantime, tried to attack Tony once again, but Tony and Korg managed to lock her up inside a room; however, it was not difficult for Gamora to find a way out. Tony, donning his Iron Man armor, announced another car race to take place in Sakaar. Grandmaster had no idea why Tony was trying to start another race, but according to Tony’s demand, Grandmaster also had to participate in the race. Grandmaster agreed to participate with the overconfidence that he would never lose it. However, the reality was way beyond his imagination.
The race took place, and Iron Man, backed by his partners Korg and Valkyrie, managed to overtake every race car, but when they were about to overtake Grandmaster, he couldn’t stand the possibility of losing the race, so he decided to cheat. Grandmaster once again unleashed the Snuffy monsters to kill the rest of them, but Gamora intervened. Gamora was also in the race, but her sole purpose was to defeat Iron Man and kill him; however, Tony Stark managed to bring about a change in her mindset. When Gamora was about to face the Snuffy monsters, Iron Man contacted her and tried to convince her that she wasn’t supposed to take revenge on someone just because of her father. Gamora should lead a life with her own identity and work towards the goal she wants to achieve in her life. Gamora listened to Tony, and for once, she agreed to forget the fact that she was the daughter of a tyrant like Thanos, who was only harming innocent people to gain more power. Gamora decided to forget that identity given to her by her father and learn to recognize herself in a whole new light. She once again threw some explosives at the Snuffy monsters to get them out of her way. Tony’s team eventually managed to defeat Grandmaster, who was still not accepting his defeat in an honorable way. Instead, he asked Topa to bring his sword to attack Tony, but Valkyrie managed to intervene and counterattack Topaz. The sword slipped from Topaz’s hand and accidentally stabbed Grandmaster, who melted into a liquid substance. Tony expressed his gratitude to Valkyrie and made her the new king of Sakaar.
However, Gamora was not done yet. Initially, it seemed like Tony had probably failed to convince her to choose the right path, but it turned out that Tony was not only successful in his pursuit, but he also managed to encourage her to put an end to Thanos’s tyranny. Gamora pretended to capture Tony and brought him to Thanos, who realized that it was Tony who killed his Chitauri army. However, instead of killing Tony, Gamora brings a twist to the plot by freeing Tony from captivity. Tony handed her a sword, and Gamora, clutching the weapon, jumped right over Thanos to stab him to death. In this parallel reality, Gamora became responsible for the death of Thanos, which ultimately saved many lives, including Tony Stark’s. Let’s see what other exciting alternative realities What If…? season 2 has to offer in its upcoming episodes.
