Marvel’s What If…? series, based on the original What If…? comics, has opened the door to the numerous possibilities in the multiverse to MCU fans. The audience can now see characters they’ve loved for over a decade and see them in a new light that makes the characters feel fresh. From the rebirth of Peggy Carter as the super-soldier Captain Carter all the way to Prince T’Challa taking up the mantle of Star-Lord, along with many more that have yet to be shown. Each of these new characters comes with a brand-new timeline for the MCU. Small decisions that seem insignificant send the universe on an entirely new path.
However, the character with the most impact on the timeline has got to be Prince T’Challa in the role of Star-Lord. Diverting away from the space-faring pirate that Peter Quill was known as, T’Challa sought to use his diplomatic training to bring a new age of peace to the galaxy.
6 Infinity War Never Happened
Probably the biggest change to the MCU timeline is that the large-scale conflict that occurred in Avengers: Infinity War will not happen. The race against time with Thanos trying to collect the six Infinity Stones that eventually led to the Blip event may have been completely avoided.
Thanos appears in the series as a somewhat reformed individual who sees the error of his plan, though likes to remind everyone how efficient it was. Instead of being the Mad Titan known for wiping out half of a planet’s population, he has chosen to abandon his life of piracy and joined the Ravagers with T’Challa protecting the innocent.
5 Nebula Is Fine
Alongside many improvements to the galaxy, Nebula, the adopted daughter of Thanos, has a much better life. Though she is still his adopted daughter, it can be assumed that not only did T’Challa save her much earlier than the Guardians did in the original timeline, but she has had the time to completely recover from her trauma.
It can also be assumed that she has even gained a certain level of status in the underground intergalactic crime scene, introduced as a fixer for T’Challa, tipping him off to various job opportunities.
4 Ronan Was Stopped Much Earlier
Ronan is never seen during the episode, but it is clear that he has nowhere near the amount of power he has in the original timeline. In this new timeline, Drax is a simple bartender who never sought to avenge the death of his family, because his wife and daughter are still alive. And, based on how he reacts when he sees Star-Lord, it is possible that Star-Lord was the one to defeat Ronan years before Quill and the Guardians ever did.
With the Kree empire being decimated by Captain Marvel decades ago, and without Thanos to support him, Ronan was never able to become the warlord he was known as.
3 The Avengers Lost In The Battle Of New York
During T’Challa’s final conflict with the Collector, he opens a display case showing many of his collected artifacts from across the galaxy. Two important elements in this collection are Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and Captain America’s shield. This could either suggest that both Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson died at separate points in their life, or they died during the Battle of New York in the first Avengers film.
Since it is unclear when Thanos was reformed, it is possible that Star-Lord’s actions against the Mad Titan caused him to improve his army, leading to the Avengers losing in New York. From there, it is not hard to imagine how the Collector managed to acquire these trophies.
2 The Ravagers Are All Reformed
Though he was young when he was taken from his home planet, T’Challa was raised to be a good person. He was granted the highest education that Wakanda could offer and trained to one day replace his father as a diplomat. Those skills would come to be his most powerful weapon as where Peter decided to leave the Ravagers and hunt treasure on his own, T’Challa made the decision to stay and reform the Ravagers.
Today, each of them has cleaned up, metaphorically and physically speaking, and now use their talents to be the Robin Hoods of the galaxy, stealing from the rich and powerful and giving to the poor and needy. Though they are professional criminals, T’Challa and the Ravagers only ever use their talents for good.
1 Without Peter Quill, There Is No One To Stop Ego
Kurt Russel reprises his role as Ego the Living Planet for a short cameo at the end of the episode to show how even though T’Challa solved most of the galaxy’s problems, Peter’s absence still has a serious impact. Since he never became Star-Lord, Peter never left Earth, meaning that it was much easier for Ego to find him.
Without the Guardians to stop him, it is likely that Ego’s plan will play out completely unnoticed by the likes of Star-Lord since Ego’s homeworld doesn’t show up on any maps. With no one to stop him, the universe is most certainly doomed, destined to be forever a part of Ego’s hivemind.
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