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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for What If...? Season 3, episode 4
What If...? Season 3, episode 4 is the weirdest MCU Christmas episode there ever was and likely ever will be. After all, there really isn't a way to get stranger than Thor and WandaVision's Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) laying an egg after marrying Howard the Duck (Seth Green), which subsequently puts the entire universe in a frenzy. As a result, there's some very odd ground to cover, especially with the episode's absolutely bizarre ending.
Set in the same timeline as What If...? Season 1's episode featuring "Party Thor" in a reality where the God of Thunder was an only child, the original episode saw Darcy and Howard the Duck getting half-priced nachos after a Las Vegas bash. Now, it's been revealed that the duo got married in Vegas and Darcy laid their egg on an incredibly auspicious day in the MCU. With that in mind, here's a breakdown of What If...? Season 3, episode 4, its ending, and the biggest Easter eggs and references we found in this wild new episode.
What If...? Season 3 Episode 4 Spoilers & Key Story Takeaways
"What If... Howard the Duck Got Hitched?"
- In the aftermath of What If...? Season 1's "Party Thor" episode, it's revealed that Darcy Lewis and Howard the Duck got married and gave birth to an egg, all thanks to their date over half-priced nachos in Las Vegas (where they also got married by an Elvis impersonator).
- Living on Earth where humans and aliens have now found a way to coexist after Party Thor's antics, "The Ducks" are invited to stay aboard the Grandmaster's cruise ship, though it's quickly revealed to be a ruse so he can eat their unhatched child.
- Once the Ravagers steal the egg, Darcy and Howard learn from SHIELD that it's widely believed that their baby holds cosmic power and significance as they were born on the day of the Convergence (even Nick Fury and Phil Coulson fear what could happen to the universe if the egg falls into the wrong hands).
- Taking the egg from Yondu, Kaecilius and his zealots enact a ritual to turn the child into a host body for Dormammu, only for Darcy and Howard to interrupt the ceremony followed closely by SHIELD and a force of Skrulls.
- Escaping with the egg, Darcy and Howard hide out on Jontunheim, which Frost Giant Loki is trying to turn into a destination ski resort.
- Darcy and Howard end up running from SHIELD and multiple MCU foes who all want the egg for themselves, only for the egg to start hatching, unleashing powerful cosmic energy that destroys several of the MCU's biggest bads as the Ducks' hybrid baby emerges.
- SHIELD decides to trust that Darcy and Howard can take care of their powerful baby themselves.
What If...? Season 4 Ends With A Massive MCU Brawl
Marvel At Its Most Unhinged
The ending of What If...? Season 3, episode 4 will no doubt be very strange for most MCU fans. Featuring some of the most dangerous and powerful MCU characters of all time, seeing them all fight over a literal human/duck hybrid egg with all the seriousness of a Looney Tunes fight is actually pretty surreal. Even though it's an alternate reality than the main MCU, seeing SHIELD, The Ravagers, The Grandmaster, The Dark Elves, Zeus, The Black Order, and Thanos himself all in one place and trying to claim an egg is so unhinged and downright weird, a major mess you can't help but be entertained by as you are mystified.
Related
What If Season 3 Cast & Character Guide
What If…? returns for its final season with an enormous cast of characters plucked from every disparate corner of the constantly expanding MCU.
It only gets weirder when Darcy and Howard start singing their chosen lullaby for their baby, "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss. This motivates the child within to finally hatch with a release of massive cosmic energy, confirming that its birth on the Convergence did result in a very powerful baby, one who's more than a match for all these villains, as seen with the vaporization of hundreds of foes including Kaecilius, Malekith, and even Thanos. As such, Nick Fury decides to leave The Ducks alone, rather than taking their child into custody to keep the world safe, resulting in the strangest happy ending in this alt MCU.
What If...? Season 3 Episode 4's Biggest Easter Eggs and References
Referencing What If...? Season 1, Secret Invasion, Thor: The Dark World, and Multiple MCU Villains
There are some pretty crazy MCU references, Easter eggs, and appearances made in What If...? Season 3, episode 4. Here are all the biggest ones we found:
“DJ Foam” - Darcy and Howard know the Grandmaster as "DJ Foam", having served as Thor's DJ at several of his parties in the original What If...? Season 1 episode (which naturally included lots of foam).
Galaga - Attempting to chase the Ravagers through space, Darcy tries to reassure herself and her piloting skills, saying "It's just like Galaga", the classic arcade game Tony Stark first references in 2012's Avengers.
The Convergence - Darcy and Howard's baby is so important because they were born on the Convergence, the day when all the realms and planets align as was seen in Thor: The Dark World.
Kaecilius - First seen in 2016's Doctor Strange, Kaecilius and his zealots make an appearance, continuing to serve Dormmamu by sacrificing the egg as a new host body for the Lord of the Dark Dimension.
Olympic Gods - Yondu mentions he's had offers for the egg from Olympic gods, a tease that gets paid off when Thor: Love and Thunder's Zeus arrives at the episode's ending.
"Dormammu Doesn’t Bargain" - Refusing to negotiate a new price with Yondu, Kaecilius claims that his lord doesn't bargain, a reference to 2016's Doctor Strange when the titular sorcerer forces Dormammu to cut a deal with him using the Time Stone in the main MCU.
What If Season 1’s Frost Loki - Giving his friends safe harbor on Jotenheim, Frost Giant Loki is the same variant seen in What If...? Season 1, who was simply Thor's "brother from another mother", rather than his actual adopted brother as seen in Earth-616.
Fury, Coulson, and Skrulls - Nick Fury and Phil Coulson are backed in this new episode by a force of Skrulls, connecting to Nick Fury's decades of history with the shape-shifting aliens as established by Captain Marvel and Secret Invasion.
Malekith and The Dark Elves - The Dark Elf Malekith and his forces arrive on Jotunheim to claim the egg for themselves, further connecting the episode to Thor: The Dark World and The Convergence.
Thanos and the Black Order - Initially coming for a "company retreat", The Black Order calls in Thanos himself when they discover the cosmically powerful egg, though Thanos is less than enthused when he initially hears why he was summoned.
“Sparkles!” - The Grandmaster refers to Zeus' thunderbolts as sparkles during the brawl for the egg, just like he does with Thor's lightning in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok.
New episodes of What If...? Season 3 release daily at 3amET/12amPT on Disney+.
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What If… ? is an animated anthology series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which features fan-favorite characters, including Peggy Carter, T’Challa, Doctor Strange, Killmonger, Thor, and more. The new series, directed by Bryan Andrews with AC Bradley as head writer, features signature MCU action with a curious twist. The show sees Uatu the Watcher, an omnipotent being that observes the events of multiple universes from afar as they unfold, unable to interfere. However, things shift when an entity peers beyond the veil, jeopardizing the multiverse.
Release Date August 11, 2021
Finale Year November 30, 2023
Seasons 3
Writers Ashley Bradley , Matthew Chauncey
Directors Bryan Andrews
Showrunner Ashley Bradley
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