‘What If…?’ Recap: ‘What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?’

Written by Shae Rufe

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘What If…?’
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Last weeks’ episode of What If…? asked the question, what if Yondu took T’Challa instead of Peter Quill? Well, the results have fans across the internet in a great debate over who the better Star-Lord is. It’s hard to say, because they’re both so different. The story takes a completely different turn than the last one. Small changes have the ability to be massive changes, and none are bigger than the ones we see here. T’Challa is more of a Robin Hood figure in this alternate universe. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor. In this case, he’s so well known that his name is revered and not scoffed at. He still takes the Power Stone, but this time he leaves with Korath as well. The once henchman of Ronin the Destroyer is more than just a fan of T’Challa’s work and is all too happy to join the Ravagers. It seems in this universe; T’Challa’s good will, and kind heart is enough to sway even the likes of Yondu into helping restructure the power imbalances throughout the galaxy.
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Apparently T’Challa is even able to talk the Mad Titan into adopting other ways to help the people of the universe, ones that don’t involve genocide. The show actually makes an ongoing joke about Thanos’ original plan to wipe out half the entire galaxy. So, without Thanos or Ronin as our antagonists, who is there to fight against? Well, oddly enough Ronin isn’t out of the counting, he just remains off screen and not a part of the plot for the remainder of the episode. The Collector, however, steps up and somehow becomes the ruling force they need to fight against. In this case, Nebula involves T’Challa, Korath, and Yondu’s crew to steal from The Collector. It is a little strange seeing Nebula as not a cyborg, but this whole episode is an alternate reality. Of course, there’s a giant hitch in the plan and T’Challa needs to escape.

T’Challa then finds a Wakandan ship in the Collector’s things… and then he learns about the message his father sent out. See, the episode itself started with T’Challa wanting to open Wakanda to the world and T’Chaka saying no. Later Yondu’s men are sent to Earth to bring Peter back, only they took T’Challa instead, because all Earthlings look the same to them, and really, T’Challa seemed to be much calmer of a kid than Peter, so I accept this completely.

T’Chaka knew that T’Challa was taken by a spaceship, so he sent a ship of his own into space with a plea. Yondu, on the other hand, had lied saying T’Challa’s homeland was destroyed, and he could never go back. Oddly, T’Challa gets over that betrayal a lot quicker than most. They pull off the mission, defeat the Collector, and then they go back to Earth as one big happy family. The reunion is even a grand affair. One that finally connects Earth and Wakanda to the communities of the universe, and where T’Chaka learns that everything he taught his son is being used to make the galaxy a better place.

In the end, this episode was a wonderful glimpse into how life in the universe could have been different through a case of mistaken identity. Sadly, without Gamora, Rocket, and especially Groot, the Guardians just aren’t the same. But Drax had his family, and Gamora got to grow up with hers, so maybe it all worked out for the better. Also, Howard the Duck is probably the second-best addition to the MCU, and it was great to see him here. But the first will always be Alligator Loki, and we all know it, and now we are all left wondering… what will happen this week?

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