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What If...? Episode 2.05: What If... Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?

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"What If... Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?" is the fifth episode of season two of What If...?.

Captain Carter's mission to save Steve Rogers sets her on a collision course with new enemies.

Plot[]

In 2012, Peggy Carter and Natasha Romanoff fought together during the Battle of New York, bonding while fighting the Chitauri, with the other Avengers being Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Wasp. Peggy ordered Thor and Wasp to be the team's eye in the sky and Tony and Thor to keep the fighting on the ground while Peggy and Natasha hijacked Chitauri vehicles to go after Loki on top of Stark Tower. Near the wormhole machine, Captain Carter and the Black Widow attacked and defeated the God of Mischief together and saved the Earth.

The Watcher mused that he didn't usually do sequels as there were infinite stories to be told, but not every universe is home to Captain Peggy Carter. The Watcher recalled how the one Peggy Carter that he could call his friend had saved all of existence alongside the Guardians of the Multiverse. Observing footage of the events, the Watcher stated that he had returned the heroes to their homeworlds at the exact moments that they had left, but Peggy while had thought that her story was over, it was really only just beginning.

In Washington, D.C., Peggy greeted Natasha who was out for a run, declining an offer to join her and revealing that Nick Fury had another mission for them. On the Lemurian Star, Natasha explained to Peggy that she had found what the pirates were after and, after ordering Peggy to brace herself, revealed that it was the HYDRA Stomper armor with someone inside of it. Peggy was excited at the idea that Steve might still be alive, but the armor, glowing red instead of the usual blue, suddenly activated and attacked the two women. Natasha corrected Peggy that it wasn't Steve, but more like RoboCop, a movie which Peggy had never seen. The two women fled through the ship, dodging the HYDRA Stomper's attacks. On deck, as the armor flew at them, Peggy through her shield at it, knocking HYDRA Stomper off course and opening up its faceplate. As the armor flew past Peggy and Natasha, the pilot was revealed to indeed be a slightly older Steve Rogers, devastating Peggy. Flying high into the air, Steve blasted the deck of the ship with rockets, forcing the two women to jump overboard and into the ocean.

Peggy angrily confronted Fury who had told her that Steve had died on a mission in Argentina in 1953. Fury insisted that he did, explaining that after World War II, Steve and Bucky Barnes had formed their own two-man army and had destroyed every HYDRA base on Earth until their last mission had claimed Steve's life. However, Fury admitted that there had been rumors about the HYDRA Stomper's survival since the 1960s, but if they were true, then the HYDRA Stomper was responsible for some of the world's worst acts of terror that had cost the lives of dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including friends of Fury. While Peggy refused to believe that Steve would do such a thing, Natasha and Fury admitted that there were rumors that the HYDRA Stomper had been found and housed by the Red Room who would've been able to brainwash Steve to be under their control. While Natasha knew, she hadn't wanted to break Peggy's heart twice by telling her. The HYDRA Stomper was on the Lemurian Star for a reason and TechOps was able to decode the ship's transmissions, giving SHIELD a lead on the HYDRA Stomper's next mission. Peggy decided to lead a strike team and she ordered Fury to have a full medical team on standby for Steve as they didn't know how long he'd been in the suit. Fury objected that it would be better for Peggy to sit this one out, stating that even if a tenth of the rumors were true, then the HYDRA Stomper was still the world's most dangerous killer with Natasha insisting that the Steve Rogers that Peggy loved had died in 1953 and the current HYDRA Stomper wasn't even human. Undeterred, Peggy asked what the HYDRA Stomper's next mission was.

An elderly Bucky Barnes, now the Secretary of State and walking with a cane, argued with the World Security Council, particularly Councilman Singh, about the Sokovian aid package, ordering them to fix the problems with it as Bucky didn't want a country torn apart by civil war because they didn't do the right thing. Brock Rumlow and the Strike team arrived to move Bucky to a secure location because of a potential attempt on his life. Bucky told them that while he may be an old man, Bucky could still handle himself, when the HYDRA Stomper armor. Bucky was shocked to see his old friend's armor again before it opened fire on the room, but Peggy blocked the shots with her shield and had the Strike team evacuate Bucky to safety.

In his command center, Fury ordered jets in the sky with orders to shoot the HYDRA Stomper down, confirming the use of lethal force to Natasha as the HYDRA Stomper was an international terrorist trying to assassinate a US official. Bucky was evacuated to the roof with Peggy revealing to him that it was Steve in the suit and still alive. Bucky suggested that the suit was now being powered by something that Howard Stark had cooked up after the war, a mix of plutonium and pomade, meaning that the HYDRA Stomper could be broken as the Tesseract was no longer powering it. As the HYDRA Stomper flew up the stairwell, Peggy tackled it back into the lobby where Steve escaped through the skylight. In the air, several Quinjets led by Natasha attacked Bucky, but he was able to destroy one, forcing Bucky, Rumlow and the others back inside. As Natasha got a lock on the HYDRA Stomper, Bucky stood in the way, unwilling to give up on his best friend. Bucky appealed to his best friend to remember, and Steve appeared to stand down for a moment, before resuming his attack. However, this gave Peggy enough time to catch up and attack again, ignoring Rumlow's orders to move. The fight took to the air with Peggy eventually landing a blow with her shield to the HYDRA Stomper's power source, disabling it and sending the HYDRA Stomper into free fall. Natasha came to Peggy and Steve's rescue, helping Peggy to get the HYDRA Stomper on board her jet and pulling up just in time to avoid a collision with the ground. Watching this, Bucky wished Peggy good luck.

Natasha transported the trio to a lighthouse St. Kilda, Scotland, a place that SHIELD had never heard of where they would be safe. Examining Steve, Peggy noted that he'd barely aged, but Natasha revealed that the biotech in the HYDRA Stomper was responsible for that, but it was also the only thing that was keeping Steve alive and removing him from it would kill Steve. Waiting for the suit to finish rebooting, the two women shared a drink and looked over the data from it which revealed that with each activation, the odds of Steve's survival plummeted, explaining why he was deployed so sparingly by the Red Room. Natasha suggested turning to Tony Stark or Bruce Banner for help, but Peggy refused as they didn't have time because every government in the world would now be hunting for Steve.

Knowing that the best-case scenario involved Steve imprisoned for his crimes while brainwashed, Peggy decided to go to the Red Room instead, much to Natasha's shock, believing that if there was a cure, they would have it. Natasha revealed that, before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she had spent five days in a Hungarian sewer tracking down and killing the head of the Red Room. Having stabbed the man in the carotid artery with a corkscrew, Natasha was sure that he was dead. However, at the end of the day it meant nothing: the Red Room survived because its location was a secret and no one could find it, not even S.H.I.E.L.D. Having awoken, Steve offered to take them there, happily greeting Peggy and recalling that he still owed her a date. However, Natasha remained suspicious of Steve.

Steve led the two women to a Sokovian military base that was a training camp for KGB spies until it was abandoned in the 1990s at which time the Red Room moved in. Natasha noted that it had been built by the KGB to look like an American town straight out of a John Mellencamp song which Peggy recognized, having been introduced to "dad rock" by Clint. The town and the animatronic residents weirded Peggy out and Steve revealed that he'd signaled the Red Room, claiming mechanical issues to get them to send a transport. Natasha left to give Peggy and Steve time alone together and Steve explained that he didn't remember much as the suit had been in control whenever he was awake, leaving Steve to watch the world as if through fogged glass, while Peggy recalled stepping through a door in the past and arriving in the future in the next breath. The two reminisced about how different the future was and while Steve was happy about Bucky settling down with a family, he had never seen much point in that kind of a life unless it was with Peggy. Steve had spent years going after HYDRA which had allowed him to pretend that Peggy wasn't gone as long as he was on a mission.

As Peggy and Steve were about to kiss, Peggy was shocked with a Widow Bite by one of the animatronic residents who were all revealed to be armed. Joined by Natasha, the two fought off an army of robots before the HYDRA Stomper suddenly powered down. Peggy rushed to help Steve and Natasha was stunned while Peggy was finally taken down just before she could reach Steve. The robot army stood down as the Red Room appeared in the sky and Melina Vostokoff arrived with several Widows, including Ingrid and Agnesa.

Melina reactivated the HYDRA Stomper and the brainwashing and Steve turned his guns on the two women, reporting that his mission was accomplished. Melina claimed that Steve was happier this way: no regret and no loss, just Melina and his mission. Steve's true mission was never to get Bucky, but rather to get Peggy. Melina had needed to lure Peggy away from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, and she expressed admiration for Peggy, calling her the epitome of womanhood and science and admitting that she didn't know whether to kiss, kill, or dissect her or possibly all three. Even in Russia, little girls grew up dreaming of becoming Captain Carter and all of the Widows had seen Peggy's movie, something that she didn't know existed.

Refusing to surrender, Peggy engaged in battle with Steve while Natasha fought against Melina and the Widows, much to Melina's delight. Battling through the town, Peggy attempted to remind Steve of who he was and to break his brainwashing while Melina shouted instructions to the Widows as they fought Natasha. However, Natasha eventually managed to subdue the Widows with a Widow Bite, enraging Melina who attacked her directly. Overpowering and strangling Natasha, Melina declared that she was proud of her and the very successful killing machine that Natasha had become, but Natasha had disappointed her by becoming an Avenger. Knocking Steve's faceplate open, Peggy dropped her shield and refused to continue fighting, declaring that she was tired of fighting, and she wanted to be with Steve, even if this was the end. Peggy's words get through to Steve who disengaged his attack and looked up at the Red Room. Realizing Steve's intention, Peggy pleaded with him not to do it as she couldn't lose him again, but with one last look at his love, Steve launched into the air. Seeing this, Natasha headbutted Melina and attached her via a grappling hook to the HYDRA Stomper armor, pulling Melina into the air by her foot. Flying into the Red Room as Peggy and Natasha fled, Steve opened fire sending the Red Room crashing onto the military base below, destroying them both in a massive explosion. Observing these events, the Watcher solemnly noted that it wasn't exactly a happy ending, but this wasn't the end of Captain Carter's story either.

At Avengers Tower, Peggy stole one of Tony Stark's cars, intending to take a night off and then to find Steve who was still out there somewhere. Although Peggy knew that Natasha believed that Steve was beyond saving, Peggy refused to give up on him. Natasha agreed to help Peggy, but even the Watcher was shocked when a portal opened below Peggy and sucked her in, leaving both the Watcher and Natasha wondering where she was.

Peggy awakened in another universe where a medieval-era Nick Fury and Wanda Maximoff greeted her. Wanda confirmed that Peggy was not only the one who could save their queen, but their entire world as well. Annoyed at not being able to take a night off as she had planned, Peggy called out for the Watcher.

Cast[]

Non-Speaking Roles[]

The Watcher's Narrations[]

  • "I don't do sequels. Normally. What's the point of revisiting the story when there are infinite stories to be told? But then, not every universe is home to a Captain Peggy Carter, the super soldier, the hero of World War II, a woman quite literally ahead of her time. But there is only one Peggy Carter that I would call my friend. She and the Guardians of the Multiverse saved all of existence. I returned the heroes to their own worlds, the exact moments they left. Peggy, though, she thought her story was over, but it was only just beginning."
  • "Not exactly a happy ending, but then again, this isn't the end of her story."
  • "I am the Watcher. I see all, I observe all, I know... What the hell is this?"

Continuity and References to the Marvel Cinematic Universe[]

Trivia[]

  • Natasha makes reference to RoboCop while Peggy references Star Wars.
  • In an interview, A.C. Bradley confirmed that the Wasp was in fact Hope van Dyne. Because Peggy wasn't around to found SHIELD, it was instead founded by Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, Bucky Barnes and Howard Stark, leading to Hope taking on the mantle earlier. Howard Stark also survived past 1991, becoming a better father with a closer relationship to his son, while Tony and Bruce are "forever the mad genius science bros."[1]

Gallery[]

To be added

Videos[]

References[]

  1. ↑ https://www.cbr.com/what-if-season-2-wasp-true-identity/
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