WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If…? Season 1, Episode 1, “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger,” streaming now on Disney+.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier is one of the deadliest characters around. Initially a brainwashed Hydra operative, Bucky worked to redeem himself and went on to help the Avengers take down Thanos. However, thanks to the first episode of What If…?, which is titled What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger,” the Winter Soldier’s origins get majorly disrupted.
The MCU’s Bucky became the Winter Soldier after the tragic events of Captain America: The First Avenger, in which he fell off a train during an attack on Hydra. Initially presumed dead, Arnim Zola and Hydra saved Bucky’s life, only to subject him to a mind-control program. Due to his arm being lost, he was fitted with a cybernetic one as well as a revamped take on the Super Soldier Serum. Thus, the Winter Soldier was born. As the Winter Soldier, Bucky killed a lot of people in the decades after World War II and played a major role in empowering Hydra. Among those Bucky killed were Tony Stark’s parents — Howard and Maria — and the discovery of that fact played a key role in breaking up the Avengers.
What If…? totally changes that series of events, creating a new alternate reality in the process. This time around, Peggy Carter takes the Super Soldier Serum, which transforms her from Agent Carter to Captain Carter. Zola gets captured early on. when Peggy and the Allies get intel on Hydra transporting the Tesseract. She doesn’t waste time waiting on misogynistic superiors and instead goes after the relic herself. After beating down some of Red Skull’s goons, she brings the cube back to what would eventually become SHIELD. Thus, thanks to this mission, and with Zola being incarcerated, the Winter Soldier brainwashing program loses its chief and seemingly never gets off the ground.
However, even if someone else was running the program, Peggy rescues Bucky’s squad after they’re captured, and there’s no indication they’re anything other than prisoners of war. Hydra seemingly doesn’t take Bucky to experiment on him. As such, he remains a normal soldier.
Finally, the biggest change comes when Peggy regroups and leads the heroes on their version of the train raid. At one point, Bucky stumbles and is about to fall off the train. However, Peggy grabs him. In response, Bucky even jokes about her nearly ripping his arm off, a nod to the fact this world’s Bucky will never become the Winter Soldier.
Ultimately, Peggy’s decision to become Captain Carter doesn’t just save Bucky a world of heartache, it also ensures history is a little less bloody. Without Bucky becoming an assassin, many influential figures are saved — including Howard — in what may just end up being a better world.
Created by A.C. Bradley, the first episode of What If…? is now available on Disney+, with new episodes debuting on Wednesdays.
About The Author
