Warning: SPOILERS for What If…? episode 2.
Peggy Carter's (Hayley Atwell) alternate fate as Captain Carter, the latest outing imagines how things would've panned out if T'Challa became Star-Lord and not Peter Quill.
Chadwick Boseman leads the star-studded voice cast for What If...? episode 2 titled "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?," which also features Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, and Benicio del Toro reprising their roles as Yondu, Nebula, and the Collector, among others. Josh Brolin also returns to play Thanos. While the show's premiere was more of a retelling of Guardians of the Galaxy. In this version, the Mad Titan is actually a member of Yondu's Ravager clan. However, like in the main MCU, he also had aspirations about balancing the universe through the snap.
Thankfully, T'Challa's version of Star-Lord was able to change Thanos' mind with his plan, realizing that there's more than one way to reallocate the universe's resources. Apparently, the Wakandan Prince offered a different solution to the villain's worry about sustainability. They didn't get into specifics about T'Challa's proposal, but he backed up Thanos' comments by saying "the best weapon in your arsenal is just a good argument." That purple alien was reasonable enough to be righted. Still, he remained convinced that his "plan was not without its merits," arguing that it was not genocide because it was random and that it was efficient enough. In fact, even as What if...? episode 2 ended, he was still selling the idea to the Wakandans. This proves the popular theory that Thanos never properly thought about how to resolve his fears. Instead, he just used the potential famine as a justification for wanting to kill.
While the What If…? episode 2, the Mad Titan was keen on the snap because he was inclined to kill people and show off his power.
It was uncertain, however, if Thanos was conscious about this. In Avengers: Infinity War, he presented himself as a noble hero who supposedly didn't have any choice but to execute the snap for the greater good. This is the reason why he never got out of his way to personally murder anyone, just those who stood in his way or were deemed collateral for achieving his greater goal. In the villain's return in What If...? at least, it seems like his plans for the snap were purely from a good place since T'Challa was able to reason with him.
Marvel's What If…? releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
