Caution: spoilers ahead for What If...? episode 6
Here are all the Black Panther.
Drawing from across MCU canon, Iron Man and Black Panther, incorporating plenty of voices fans will recognize. Returnees include Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Jon Favreau, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Don Cheadle, and Andy Serkis. Tony Stark is once again voiced by Mike Wingert, while Pepper Potts, General Ross and Shuri also have new actors.
What If...? episode 6's Easter egg haul is perhaps the most eclectic yet, delivering jokes at the MCU's expense, real-world meta allusions, and deliberate parallels to past movies. These are all of the Marvel references made during Erik Killmonger's remixed rise to power.
Iron Man 2008 Scenes Repeated
What If...? episode 6 opens in near-identical fashion to 2008's Iron Man, with Tony Stark riding a military transport through Afghanistan. The soldiers taking a backseat photo copies the live-action movie scene virtually word-for-word, gang signs included, and the Ten Rings attack closely follows Jon Favreau's original direction. Strangely, What If...? changes a few minor details along the way. Some dialogue is removed (no doubt for pacing purposes), and the song played inside the truck is no longer AC/DC's "Back In Black."
Why Killmonger Is In Afghanistan
The MCU's Erik Killmonger is a highly decorated Navy SEAL, but his presence wasn't felt until a decade after Iron Man's big screen debut. Killmonger serving in Afghanistan pulls straight from Black Panther's dialogue, in which the villain mentioned touring the Middle-Eastern state. What If...? reinterprets Killmonger's vague MCU backstory to bring he and Stark together in the same place at the same time.
Tony Stark's MCU Highlights
Past What If...? episodes included brief animated recaps of what should have transpired in MCU continuity, before delving into the alternate scenario proper. Killmonger's story is no different, and we witness a Avengers: Endgame.
Killmonger Steals Happy's Promotion
Striking up an immediate BFF relationship with Erik Killmonger, Tony Stark appoints the soldier his new chief security officer. Happy Hogan quips to Pepper, "that was supposed to be my promotion." This line is a nod toward Iron Man 3, where Happy actually did get promoted to Stark Industries' head of security. Apparently, he had his eye on the gig a while beforehand.
Christine Everhart (& Leslie Bibb) Return
What If...? seems to like Leslie Bibb's MCU character, Christine Everhart. The journalist made her live-action debut in 2008's Iron Man, interviewing Tony Stark before getting up close and personal later that evening. Everhart returns in What If...? under slightly different circumstances, asking a question at Stark's press conference, but not making that same one-on-one connection. The reporter is again voiced by Bibb, who was also heard in Doctor Strange's What If...? episode.
Killmonger Prevents Iron Monger
The plot of 2008's Iron Man sees Obadiah Stane attempt to usurp Tony Stark as Stark Industries' CEO by arranging the Ten Rings assassination hit. When Stark survives, he makes the transformation into Iron Monger and takes a DIY approach instead. Thanks to Killmonger, however, the Obadiah problem is solved inside a few short minutes. Erik has already deduced Stane was responsible for the Afghanistan attack, and exposes him in full view of the world's press. As a result, Stane never makes the leap to becoming Iron Monger, and one MCU problem is successfully averted.
The Ten Rings Logo
Killmonger whips out his receipts to prove Obadiah Stane's guilt, and the faint outline of a Ten Rings logo can be seen among the files - right next to an image of the aspiring Stark Industries CEO. It's the same logo used throughout the MCU, but now holds a deeper significance following Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings.
Happy Hogan's Boxing Career
After Stane's plot is revealed, Happy Hogan activates bodyguard mode and drops the double-crossing villain with a mean right hook. The scene is a nod to Happy's pre-MCU boxing career, which is his backstory in the Marvel comic books too. What If...?'s zombie episode also referenced Happy's skills in the ring.
Killmonger Takes Pepper's Job Too
Not content with stealing Happy Hogan's promotion, Killmonger accepts Tony Stark's offer to become his new chief operating officer following the abrupt firing of Obadiah Stane. Pepper Potts overhears the exchange and, just like Happy, isn't especially pleased. This scene is a homage to Iron Man 2, where Pepper herself landed the coveted COO gig, but that was before Killmonger started collecting Stark Industries jobs on his Infinity Gauntlet of employment.
Tony Stark Predicts His Death (Again)
In Avengers: Endgame, several Robert Downey Jr. lines foreshadowed his final act sacrifice. Tony Stark almost certainly realized defeating Thanos would cost his life, warning Steve Rogers how "time messes back" and, with his trademark dark humor, claiming that reversing the snap would result in the Avengers' "collective demise." Although events play out differently in What If...?, Stark once again predicts his own death, comparing himself and Killmonger to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
