Marvel and Disney+ ‘What If…?’ sees Killmonger deceiving his way to become the Black Panther' Did he succeed?
The latest episode of Marvel and Disney Plus's 'What If…?' explores what could happen if Killmonger rescues Tony Stark.
This alternate version eventually veers to the Black Panther story, with Killmonger reimagined as the new Black Panther. The sixth episode of the animated anthology series ends up with a cliffhanger.
If you are up for some spoilers, then hop on as we break down the events of everything that happened in ‘What If…?’ episode 6.
‘What If…?’ episode 6 is titled ‘What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?’ and it begins with Tony Stark visiting Afghanistan. While on the road, the Ten Rings terrorist organization ambushed Stark's convoy. Luckily, Lieutenant Erik “Killmonger” Stevens was there, and he managed to save Stark.
They held a press conference announcing the safe return of Stark. During the event, Killmonger revealed that Obadiah Stane planned the assassination attempt.
Tony and Killmonger became friends, and they started working on building humanoid drones.
These drones are extremely powerful and can revolutionize existing warfare. However, it requires Vibranium to produce them in a large quantity. As we all know, Vibranium is only available in Wakanda.
Tony orders James Rhodes to buy Vibranium from a black market supplier named Ulysses Klaue.
Unfortunately, T’Challa/Black Panther shows up and reclaims the Vibranium.
Killmonger ends up killing Rhodes and T’Challa. When Tony learns about what Killmonger has done through the JARVIS, he confronts him with the drone prototype.
Killmonger kills Tony, too. He makes the murder look like the Wakandan did it, which further fueled the conflict between Wakanda and the USA.
To forward his selfish interest, he pretends to be loyal to Wakanda by killing Klaue.
The deception led to imminent war. The US army sent drones to attack Wakanda. Following T’Challa's death, Killmonger steps out to rule the Wakanda army. He uses his knowledge to destroy the drones and makes himself look like a hero.
The episode ended with Killmonger becoming the new Black Panther while Shuri reaches out to Pepper Potts and tells her about the crimes of Killmonger.
Shuri has always been skeptical of Killmonger's motives. Shuri is the only one who is wise enough to notice that something in Killmonger's actions does not add up.
The episode did not reveal how Shuri discovered Killmonger's crimes. All we see is that Shuri shared the information with Pepper at the end of the episode.
When Pepper asks Shuri how she found out what Killmonger has done, Shuri only says Stark was not the only genius.
One possible explanation is that Shuri investigated the AI from the droids sent to Wakanda during the US attack. She must have activated the JARVIS and found out the truth from there.
Tony Stark found out about Killmonger's crime through JARVIS. So Shuri might have discovered it similarly, too. Shuri is gifted when it comes to technology. Hence, this sounds like a plausible explanation.
By the end of the episode, Shuri and Pepper team up to unveil Killmonger's crimes and take him down.
That ending scene is powerful because while T'Challa and Tony are gone in this timeline, the powerful women in their lives step up to do what is better for the common good.
Killmonger killed T'Challa after he tried to recover the stolen Vibranium. He then goes to Wakanda and pretends to be an ally after pitting the country against the US.
In the final moments of the episode, Wakanda wholeheartedly accepts Killmonger as the new Black Panther.
As part of the ritual to take over the role, Killmonger receives the herbs that grant him the power to become the Black Panther.
After taking the herb, Killmonger gets transported into the ancestral plane. There he sees T'Challa, who he murdered earlier.
It is in this dimension where T'Challa faces Killmonger. Seeing T'Challa in the ancestral plane was intensely emotional. Chadwick Boseman recorded T'Challa's voice in the series before he succumbed to cancer last year. T'Challa's lines hit close to home with Boseman's real-life death.
T’Challa confronts Killmonger for killing innocent people to get to the throne. In his defense, Killmonger explains that he just wanted to undo the injustice that their people experienced across the globe. He needs the power to achieve this mission.
Hence, he gets forced to kill the others to get to the throne.
Marvel has always been very effective in presenting conflicting morals of its characters that we often sympathize with the villains, too. Killmonger had a heart-breaking back story. His father suffered from oppression, and Killmonger wants his revenge.
Although Killmonger is a victim of circumstances, the misguided sense of justice made him a villain. The sixth episode also uncovers the imminent danger lying around when the power goes to the wrong hands.
Killmonger might have succeeded, but his success is temporary. With Shuri and Pepper working together, it is just a matter of time before his crimes get exposed to the public.
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