Clever MCU Theory Explains Why 3 Heroes Don’t Exist In One Branch Of The Marvel Multiverse

Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If…? season 2.

A major MCU theory may explain the huge changes made in one alternate reality featured in Marvel Studios’ What If…? season 2. What If…? season 2 premiered on December 22, 2023, and introduced several new universes and exciting variant characters to the MCU, but also marked the return of Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter, a.k.a. the super soldier Captain Carter, who debuted in What If…? season 1. Captain Carter has become the cornerstone of Marvel Studios’ What If…?, building a strong relationship with Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher, while also crossing timelines and realities to embark on multiple adventures outside of her home universe.

Hayley Atwell has portrayed Peggy Carter in the MCU since 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, but What If…? season 1’s premiere episode, “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?,” saw her replace Steve Rogers as the world’s first super soldier. Carter later became a member of the Guardians of the Multiverse, the leader of her universe’s Avengers, battled the HYDRA Stomper and the Red Room and fought alongside Kahhori against Strange Supreme and a slew of iconic Marvel villains. Her life has been very different to Steve Rogers’ journey as Captain America, and her What If…? timeline has made many changes to the known continuity of the MCU.

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Captain Carter’s Avengers Team Includes Hope Van Dyne’s Wasp Instead Of Hulk

What If…? season 2, episode 5, “What If… Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?,” acted as the direct sequel to Captain Carter’s storyline throughout What If…? season 1. After Carter was returned to her original timeline in What If…? season 1’s finale, she seemingly went back to her superhero life, with nobody around her being any the wiser as to her adventure as a Guardian of the Multiverse. Shortly before Captain Carter’s multiversal escapades, she led her timeline’s Avengers into battle against Loki, the God of Mischief, emulating the events of 2012’s The Avengers. However, Captain Carter’s Avengers team had one significant change from the MCU’s main continuity.

In a recent X reveal, What If…? creator A.C. Bradley confirmed that, instead of Bruce Banner’s Hulk, Hope Van Dyne’s Wasp was featured in the original Avengers team in Captain Carter’s timeline. Bradley revealed that, since Captain Carter – a woman – ended World War II, the feminist movement happened much sooner, allowing more female superheroes and SHIELD agents to emerge. Without Carter to found SHIELD, Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, Howard Stark and Bucky Barnes led the organization, leading to Hope Van Dyne becoming the Wasp much earlier than in the MCU’s live-action timeline. While this was a great addition, it leaves the Hulk’s fate in this timeline unclear.

Why The Hulk Was Never Created In Captain Carter’s What If…? Timeline

While Bruce Banner’s whereabouts in What If…? season 2, episode 5, haven’t been officially revealed, it’s possible that the very same thing that allowed Hope Van Dyne to become a superhero earlier could have stopped Banner from becoming the Hulk altogether. Captain Carter winning WWII may have prompted the feminist movement to accelerate, but this surely wouldn’t have played out too well within the United States government of the 1940s. What If…? season 1’s premiere episode proved that the government and military weren’t best pleased with a woman becoming the world’s first super soldier, which suggests they probably wouldn’t have been happy about her succeeding in her mission.

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It’s possible that, in Captain Carter’s original What If…? timeline, the United States government never tried to recreate the super-soldier serum, perhaps out of fear that more powerful women would emerge. In the live-action MCU continuity, General Ross and Bruce Banner’s experiments in The Incredible Hulk were a direct attempt to recreate this serum. This means that, if plans to recreate the super-soldier serum had been postponed or canceled altogether, Banner’s original experiment would have never gone ahead. This would perfectly explain why the Hulk was missing from Captain Carter’s Avengers team, and why he was replaced by the Wasp.

Why Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver Also Don’t Exist In This Timeline

Several other heroes from the MCU’s main continuity are also missing from Captain Carter’s reality, including Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch, Pietro Maximoff’s Quicksilver and Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier. Barnes became SHIELD’s founder in this timeline, and later the Secretary of State, having never become the Winter Soldier. Wanda and Pietro’s fates, however, are more dire, as it’s possible their powers never would have been awoken. The twins’ abilities were enhanced by HYDRA experiments with the Mind Stone, but in this What If…? timeline, HYDRA was eliminated in the 1950s, suggesting they would have simply lived their lives as regular humans, leading to even greater divergences from the MCU’s main timeline.