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What If…? Episode 9 continued events of an alternate reality in the multiverse where Ultron won against the Avengers and annihilated the universe. The final episode begins with Uatu The Watcher enlisting some heroes' help from different galaxies to prevent Ultron from destroying all multiverses.
The last episode had callbacks to previous MCU films and previous episodes of the series. The episode also had hints about "What If…?" realities to be explored in Season 2. The finale came with an Infinity-War style showdown between the 'Guardians of the Multiverse' and Ultron.
Furthermore, the last episode of What If…? Season 1 was also emotional. This will be the final MCU project where the late Chadwick Boseman portrayed T'Challa.
Warning! This article contains spoilers for What If..? Episode 9.
Easter eggs and theories spawned from What If..? Season Finale (Episode 9)
The episode had a plethora of Easter eggs and callbacks. It also spawned several theories about the What If…? finale events affecting Season 2 and other future MCU properties.
1) "Why is Gamora?"
In the nine episodes, every character variant that showed up in the finale was established in previous episodes. However, the Gamora and Tony Stark variants in Episode 9 were introduced without any setup.
This abrupt introduction is likely because the pandemic imposed a delay that caused the creators to sway from their original plan of having ten episodes in Season 1. The episode that was scrapped or postponed was the one explaining the origin of Sakaar Gamora and Iron Man (Tony Stark).
2) Tony Stark in Sakaar?
As shown in What If..? Episode 9, Tony and Gamora somehow eliminated Thanos and melted down the Infinity gauntlet. Earlier, a leaked episode plot mentioned that this variant of Tony goes through the wormhole like in 2012's The Avengers but hits the missile on Thanos' ship as the portal closes on him, trapping him in space.
Tony is somehow transported to Sakaar, where he modifies his suit. Meanwhile, Gamora takes help from the attack on their ship to kill Thanos.
3) Strange's protection spell
The sorcerer supreme was shown to be one of the most powerful in the What if…? Series. In Episode 4, he was shown to be absorbing the powers of several creatures, which made him one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
Strange casts a protection spell on the other characters, enabling them to handle the soul stone without being hurt. The supreme Doctor Strange appeared to be the most powerful as he swallowed Ultron's energy blast, which would have annihilated the entire universe.
4) "Age of Ultron" comic reference
The previous episode and this one were inspired by the 2013 "Age of Ultron" comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Bryan Hitch. In the comics, Wolverine goes back in time twice, and the second time he asks Hank Pym to prepare a virus to defeat Ultron.
This is similar to Natasha and Clint taking the help of the artificial consciousness of Arnim Zola to prepare a virus. The malicious code that Zola writes uploaded himself onto Ultron's body to shut him down. Episode 9 showcased that the plan had succeeded and that Zola deleted Ultron to take over the vibranium body.
5) Arnim Zola
The episode also referred to one of Zola's comic-book forms. He appeared with a robotic body and had a screen near the body's chest, which portrayed his facial expressions.
6) Shuma-Gorath's potential entry into MCU
Since Episode 1, the tentacle-based monster from another dimension was teased. Furthermore, in Episode 4, Strange absorbs the powers of what seems to be Shuma-Gorath.
Multiple visual references to the tentacles-wielding alien throughout the season make his plausible entry in live-action projects very likely. There are also some rumors that Shuma-Gorath might be one of the antagonists in the upcoming MCU film, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
7) Supreme Doctor Strange's ulterior motives
After Strange entrapped Zola and Killmonger in a pocket dimension with looped time, the sorcerer returns to his version of a pocket dimension. He agrees with the Watcher that he will guard his prison for Killmonger and Zola, including the six-infinity stones.
However, like in What If...? Episode 4, Strange could absorb the power of the infinity stones and Zola's Ultron body as well as Killmonger. This would make him even more powerful than he already is.
8) Return of the deceased Avengers
Iron Man (Tony Stark) and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) are dead in the primary MCU timeline. At the same time, their live-action reappearances would depend upon their respective actors. In What If…? episode 9, Marvel left themselves with an easy way out to explain their potential return.
Near the end of the episode, Natasha Romanoff is taken by Uatu into a universe where Black Widow had died. This is likely to be the universe from episode 3, where most of the Avengers were killed by Hank Pym, and Loki tried to take over Earth.
9) What If…? Finale episode - Mid Credit scene explained
The episode featured a mid-credit scene, which continued from Captain Carter's current timeline where The Watcher enlisted her from. There, onboard the Lemurian Star ship, Natasha Romanoff told her what Batroc was after on the vessel. The episode ended with a glimpse of Steve Rogers' Hydra Stomper suit. Black Widow even reveals to Peggy that,
"Yeah, and there's someone inside."
This could be insinuating that Steve Rogers is still alive and in that suit. Steve's presence would be plausible if Hydra got hold of him and kept him in cryostasis.
10) Season 2
With several episodes from this season ending in cliffhangers, along with the Gamora X Tony episode being left, What If...? Season 2 is likely to address these.
The What If...? series is directed by four-time Prime-Time Emmy winner Bryan Andrews, who served as the art director for several MCU projects. Furthermore, the anthology is written by Emmy-winner Ashley "AC" Bradley (of Trollhunters (2016) fame).
