Marvel 'What If' Episode 2: T'Challa Becomes Star Lord, Easter Eggs and MORE

Episode 2 of "What If...?" crosses two Marvel Cinematic stories instead of just the one of Steve Rogers and Agent Peggy Carter. This time around, T'Challa and Peter Quill's stories are given the "What If...?" treatment and it got quite a lot of Easter eggs, too.

'What If...?' Episode 2 Recap

Before continuing on, this is a warning that there are spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

For episode two of the MCU's multiverse, the nexus event in question is Yondu sending his henchmen to abduct Peter Quill instead of doing the job himself as the "original" timeline did, Screenrant explained.

The Ravagers identified Wakanda as the most advanced place on Earth and they thought that was the most likely place for a half-Celestial child to live in. They abducted T'Challa instead. Yondu liked the young boy's adventurous personality and abandoned his initial mission of kidnapping Peter.

Together, Yondu and the young human T'Challa reformed the Ravagers into a force for good.

With the Ravagers' motives now more intended towards good, the team was able to wrangle in Thanos and his daughter Nebula to join the group. The funny twist of Thanos' change of character was all thanks to a convincing conversation with T'Challa.

Instead of being the genocidal Titan who was out to wipe out half of the universe, he and T'Challa discussed less violent ways to reallocate galactic resources. And as Nebula revealed, he's still quite the gardener.

Thanos' daughter Nebula had a far kinder story as well, only sporting a mechanical eye instead of what her form was in the original timeline.

The Collector is back as well and he is a more formidable threat than he was in the original timeline, having collected a lot of "toys" and some serious weapons. T'Challa found a Wakandan spacecraft and found King T'Chaka's message. It's revealed the Wakandans have been searching for him, reaching the cosmos to bring back the Wakandan prince.

By the end of the episode, T'Challa was reunited with his family.

For those wondering where Peter Quill was in all of this, it is shown that he works at a Dairy Queen back on Earth. Still attached to his Walkman, he is approached by his father, Ego the Celestial. In the original timeline, Ego tries to have Peter join his side and wipe out all of life. The Celestial was defeated, of course. In this timeline, Peter never met Yondu or any of the other Guardians of the Galaxy, so it is unknown how he will react to Ego's persuasions.

'What If...?' Episode 2 Easter Eggs

It would not be a Marvel production without same good old Easter eggs for the fans to enjoy.

1. Purple eyes

T'Challa's Star Lord mask had glowing purple lights instad of Peter Quill's red lights, Collider pointed out. The purple is a nod to the Black Panther's black and purple motif.

2. "Who?!"

In the original timeline, Korath did not recognize Star Lord at all, but in this reality, he acknowledges Star Lord instead of dissing him with a "Who?!"

3. The Mandella

T'Challa's ship is named Mandela after the Earthbound hero Nelson Mandela. In the main MCU timeline, the ship was called The Milano.

4. Drax's Family

Since Thanos isn't a genocide-driven Mad Titan, Drax's wife and daughter are alive, and he even took a picture with Star Lord to send to his wife and kid.

5. The Collector's Toys

The Collector was shown to have Captain America's shield, Thor's Mjolnir, one of Loki's daggers, and even Hela's horned helmet. A tragedy fans have also deduced was the rocky severed arm The collector wielded, stating he got it from a "terribly chatty Kronan."

The only chatty Kronan MCU fans know is the ever lovable Korg. At least he isn't being bullied by NoobMaster69 anymore.

"What If...?" can be streamed on Disney Plus, with new episodes launching every week on Wednesdays.