MCU’s animated anthology series, What If…? returns with its third and final season, with a release schedule of a new episode every day, making the holiday season just a little bit more enjoyable for series fans. Tackling one alternate reality story at a time, as an MCU narrative, What If…? has much more freedom in storytelling aspects than other Marvel media and has occasionally provided hints regarding what is to be expected from the upcoming live-action ventures as well. Despite having a consistently good track record through its first two seasons and being the most innovative direction the MCU had taken regarding the multiverse arc, What If…? will conclude its journey with the current season, as the massive rescheduling through the cinematic universe has shuffled things up in a big way. Nevertheless, we can enjoy the series while we still have the chance, without getting caught up in the confusion of franchise retcons and stuff.
The first episode of the third season of What If…? is an instant winner for me, as it serves as a tribute towards “Super Sentai” and the Kaiju subgenre of Tokusatsu media. If you wanted Marvel comics crossovers with Godzilla or Power Rangers franchises to be showcased in other mediums as well, the first episode titled What If… the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers? could serve as the closest thing to wish fulfillment.
How Was Apex Created?
As always, the cosmic observer of the Marvel Multiverse, the Watcher, begins the story with his narration, and this time, viewers are taken to a reality where the Gamma War ended the Avengers as we know it. The beginning of the episode, which highlights a kids’ TV show, Go Avengers: Heroes of the Gamma War, is a callback to the iconic catchphrase of Power Rangers.
The first episode brings an unlikely friendship into focus—which might or might not have something to do with the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. Sam Wilson befriends Bruce Banner, and after learning of his struggles with anger management and the self-loathing resulting from how much Banner detests Hulk, his destructive, monstrous alter ego, Sam decides to help him. Instead of taking a more technical approach, Sam, a down-to-earth guy, opted to take Banner in for counseling, believing words could cure what machines and miracles couldn’t. Unfortunately, Banner, who was too ashamed and afraid of his friend seeing him as a monster after turning into Hulk on one occasion, refused Sam’s help and decided to root out his inner monster by blasting himself with gamma radiation.
Unfortunately, this resulted in the creation of Hulk’s darker, unhinged, monstrous self, Apex—a monster that resembles Ultimate Abomination from comics. Apex created a horde of Gamma Beasts, who wreaked havoc on the planet, and to stop them, Tony Stark planned to create an army of Hulkbusters, modeled on the members of the Avengers controlling them. This Mecha Avengers is essentially MCU’s version of Super Sentai Zoids, or giant robots like Gundams, and the way Mecha Avengers are shown to be upgraded with each generation is once again an homage to the rich history of giant robot media. Anyway, the first generation of Avengers—led by Steve Rogers—fell in their efforts to eradicate Apex and his Gamma Beasts, and the second generation, led by Captain America Sam Wilson, established temporary peace by eliminating all the Gamma Beasts. The new generation of Mecha Avengers includes Sam, Nakia, Monica Rambeau, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Melina Vostokoff, Shang Chi, and Moon Knight—the heroes who are probably supposed to lead the MCU post-Multiverse saga, but now with the major rescheduling, nothing is certain. However, despite the Gamma Beasts being eliminated, Apex was reborn, and a decade later, he is found to have created a massive army of even stronger Gamma Beasts, who can destroy the planet in their wake. Realizing how outmatched the Mecha Avengers are, Bucky and Monica advise Sam to seek counsel from Banner, but Sam is too hurt by his own sense of failure to approach Banner. However, upon witnessing Apex’s ever-growing numbers of Gamma Beasts, Sam begrudgingly agrees to meet Banner and locates him on Astra Island, where Banner is living in an abandoned nuclear warplane crash site.
How Did Banner Stop Apex?
Sam asks Banner to turn into his alternate self to help the Avengers neutralize Apex and his Gamma Beasts, but Bruce appears too afraid and ashamed to ever give the reins to the Hulk. He blames himself for the crisis the world has faced during the Gamma Wars and has created a contingency plan with the ‘Mighty Avengers’ protocol, with the intention of stopping himself if he ever goes rogue. Banner provides Sam the protocol, which is basically a way to combine all the Mecha Avengers droids like in “Voltron” to create a single Super Mecha Avenger.
As Apex and his army rise, Sam initiates the ‘Mighty Avengers’ protocol, and the giant Zoid initially cuts through the majority of the Gamma Beasts with ease. However, despite that, the significantly outnumbered Avengers get beaten by ever-increasing numbers of Gamma Beasts, resulting in Banner’s resorting to a final option. Making himself act as the nuclear gamma core, Banner drops a bomb and exposes himself to extreme levels of gamma radiation as a result—which turns him into Mega Hulk. Apex’s creature design was a reference to Japanese Daikaiju traditions, but with Mega Hulk, who shares a visual likeness with Godzilla himself, the tribute to the giant monster franchise comes full circle. Mega Hulk engages in a grueling battle with Apex, who manages to initially get an upper hand. However, Sam uses his Zoid as a timely distraction, allowing Mega Hulk a chance to unleash a devastating gamma blast—mimicking Godzilla’s iconic atomic breath, which ultimately finishes off Apex for good.
The Gamma Beasts follow Mega Hulk as their new leader, and Banner’s sacrifice of his human form for the greater good ultimately saves the day. The Avengers get a bit shaken seeing Mega Hulk heading their way and wonder whether they have to take on a new threat all over again. However, Sam still sees his friend inside the giant monster and commands the Avengers to not attack Mega Hulk as he believes in Banner’s inherent goodness. Sam’s faith is not misplaced, as Mega Hulk leaves with the Gamma Beasts to settle on Astra Island. Banner has finally accepted his true self by breaking away from the shackles of fear and prejudices of the world, and that is as much of a heroic act as saving the world from Kaiju threats.
As the episode comes to an end, I am sure many fans would love to imagine this version of Godzilla-like Hulk as the MCU’s version of World Breaker Hulk. We’ve been due for a proper Hulk movie for the longest time, and the first episode shared a glimpse of how Bruce’s inner demons, Hulk’s darker self, can be used as a platform for an action-packed, emotional spectacle—which needs to be emulated in live action in the near future. The upcoming second episode, focusing on Agatha and Kingo, will focus more on the showbiz side of things, promising an entertaining meta commentary on cinematic franchises.
