On the last episode of What If…?, we managed to get something of a fun double act as the fruit of the Watchers’ nosey nature delivered a perky two hander between Agatha Harkness and Kingo of the Eternals that occured in front of the backdrop of the golden age of Hollywood. Well, it seems that the show’s makers have figure that if it ain’t broke, you shouldn’t fix it and so the third episode gives us a good old fashion buddy comedy that’s oddly birthed from one of the darkest moments of the entire MCU.
The murder of Tony Stark’s parents at the hands of the Winter Soldier proved to be a pivotal moment in the history of the franchise that ultimately proved to be the wedge that split the entire Avengers apart, however what if that moment was thwarted by the most unlikely man possible. What if the Red Guardian blundered into one of the most integral moments of the MCU?
In 1991, Hydra super soldier the Winter Soldier (aka. poor old brainwashed Bucky Barnes) is dispatched to steal a case full of super soldier serum from Howard and Maria Stark with the added caveat of a spot of murder into the bargin; however, when Bucky is just about to deliver a killing blow to the Starks, he’s interrupted by Alexei Shostakov who, under belief that the Red Guardian is a law abiding, world famous superhero, has decided to enforce a no-killing policy. Obviously, this angers the mind-wiped master assassin who vocies his displeasure with a large, metal fist, but when the cops arrive, the two soviet super soldiers amscray with the serum and attempt to salvage a disastrous operation.
With Alexei’s boss, Dreykov, and the Winter Soldier’s Hydra handlers understandably pissed that the Starks survived, Shostakov and Barnes have to make their own way back to Russia and immediately start stealing cars to make their way to Las Vegas and locate The Rook, an international crimeboss who would have the means to transport them home, but before they know it, they have superpowered SHIELD agent Bill Foster on their red butts and he’s joined by tenacious Ranger Morales. Barely avoiding Foster’s size shifting alter ego, Goliath, the mismatched super soldiers manage to make it to sin city, but even when they manage to uncover the identity of the reclusive Rook, their escapades have left their handlers fairly pissed and unbeknownst to them, a kill order is handed out to take these two rampaging agents off the board.
However, as a road trip across America is apparently enough to generate male bonding strong enough to even punch a hole in Hydra mind control, the darkly stoic Barnes finds himself drawn to his blustering buddy and when their luck finally runs out, he has a chance to show his friendship the only way he knows how: sacrifice.
So it’s time for another big, goofy double act that seems to curiously be a taster for the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie which will see David Harbour’s Red Guardian and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes actually meet without the benefit of animators later this year. But if this episode really is supposed to be a taster for the future release, it proves to be quite a fun teaser to whet our appetite for more super soldier shenanigans as it turns on the buddy movie juice hard and rides it out to the river end. It all fits really well; after all, you have your more serious, buttoned down Jack Lemmon of this Odd Couple in the form of the monosyllabic Barnes who proves to be every bit the cool, well oiled killing machine we remember from his bad old days. In comparison, the booming, idiotic Shostakov fills the Walter Matthau slot with aplomb – especially if Matthau was a hulking Russian constantly spouting communist rhetoric and stunned fast food workers. If the pairing of Stan and Harbour works even half as well in Thunderbolts* than it does here, then the film is in great shape, but the animators manage to compensate for Stan’s stoicism with some winning facial expressions (although I do hope the actor wasn’t paid by the word).
Filling out the episode’s guest list is Laurence Fishburn’s Bill Foster – who has now racked up more What If…? appearances than he has actual movie ones – and America Ferrera, as a plucky ranger, makes her MCU debut, which is odd considering that she’s a rather famous actress and What If…? is a spin off series. However, it’s cool to see Foster’s Goliath on screen again and he and Ferrera are good foils to the central duo. It’s just a slight (if understandable) shame that Obadiah Stane and Dreykov are played like sound-a-likes and not by Jeff Bridges and Ray Winstone.
While the last episode pulled out all the stops to visually reference the golden age of Hollywood, head What If…? director Bryan Andrews uses The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier to reference a whole bunch of buddy movies to a winning degree. Behold Bucky and Alexei recreating the fateful final jump from Thelma And Louise (which they survive) and the final charge from Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, but while the vast majority of the episode is devoted to light hearted farce, fast paced action and giving Harbour free reign to bang on at length in his booming Russian accent, but it actually ends of something of a poignant note when Bucky manages to break his programming and sacrifices himself to yet another bout of Hydra brainwashing in order to allow The Red Guardian to escape where he’s finally accepted into American society and eventually finds his way into the Avengers (although it’s not explained how his “daughter” Natasha Romanov feels about this).
I’m starting to notice a slight pattern with this season of What If…? and it seems to be that they’ve all been made up of a main pairing (Sam Wilson & Bruce Banner, Agatha & Kingu and Bucky and Alexei, respectively) that’s dedicated itself to a particular genre (Kaiju film, 20’s musical and buddy movie) that’s trying to cram in as many phase 4 characters as humanly possible to share space with a smattering of lesser used classic faces. Thankfully, if this is the template the showrunners want to use, there is so many diffrent combinations of characters and situations to play with, it probably won’t end up feeling like a one trick pony, but seeing as the next episode is about Howard the Duck and Darcy, expect my theory to get shot out of the sky in a matter of hours.
What If…?’s countdown to Christmas continues unabated with a knockout action comedy that ends up being something of a loose prelude to an upcoming movie, but among the thrills, spills and constant mentions of Lenin, a surprisingly moving ending makes this a great instalment about a couple of comrade in arms.
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