Let’s Talk about What If…? Episode 2-1

I found season one of What If…? wildly uneven, but the first half of season two is sublime, starting with a Blade Runner homage.

So, let’s talk about What If…? season two, episode one, which proves you should never trust a Nova Corps leader.

What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?

Do you remember the Nova Corps from Guardians of the Galaxy?

They’re the space cops who briefly incarcerated a ragtag bunch of space felons who later became Avengers.

You’ll know them best from this scene:

You may recall Glenn Close for her role as Nova Prime in that film…or may not.

Due to some egregious editing, the character kinda came and went, haphazardly appearing at random intervals.

The only thing that matters about her role is that she’s in charge of Nova Corps, which sets the stage for this episode.

In this story, we explore the idea of how Nebula would have differed if Nova Prime had mentored the daughter of Thanos.

As we’ll learn, the answer isn’t quite as different as you might expect.

Xandar = 2019 Los Angeles

The setting for Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, Blade Runner, is 2019 Los Angeles.

I mention this because the first episode of What If…? season two works best as a loving tribute to that film.

We start with Nebula providing narration as we see the dead body of Yondu lying in the street.

Nebula starts to investigate, but other, obviously more corrupt members of Nova Corps arrive and relieve her of the assignment.

Garthan, who appeared in the YT video I linked, takes charge and dismisses the “Black Order” member.

Nebula points out that she’s a former member, but that’s not the point. She’s clearly not popular with her new coworkers.

We also learn that in this universe, Ronan the Accuser betrayed Thanos and took over, leaving Nebula on her own.

Nova Prime gave her purpose and a job, one in which she excels.

Sadly, swearing the Nova Corps oath didn’t improve her circumstances much.

Ronan attacked Xandar and forced Nova Prime to employ a 50-year shield.

Ronan cannot attack, but nobody can leave for half a century, either.

With the planet totally isolated, crime has risen, allowing people like Yondu to ascend.

Nebula also knew Yondu. She uses this knowledge and some of her hardware to discover Yondu’s weapon.

Remember that deadly boomerang-style arrow that kills everything? Yeah, Nebula owns that now.

Nebula’s Assignment

Nova Prime speaks with Nebula on a secure channel. The leader confides that Xandar is on the brink of rebellion.

While Nebula accepts a quest to solve the mystery of Yondu’s murder, noir fans instantly recognize Nova Prime has set her up.

Nebula’s investigation takes her to the owner of a local pub. It’s Howard the Duck.

Importantly, the bartender is Korg, who knows all kinds of things, if he does say so himself.

Korg unintentionally uncovers the plan, which involves taking down the data core and, thereby, the planetary shield.

Yep, Nebula’s murder mystery could lead to the destruction of Xandar if she plays it wrong.

So, Nebula goes straight to the source for information.

She interviews Yon-Rogg, whom you may remember as the villain from Captain Marvel.

That’s what I adore about What If…? episodes. They’re basically Marvel’s greatest hits…and that goes double for episode five!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, Nebula is visiting Yon-Rogg in prison and then breaking him out moments later.

Nebula, a living weapon, has no problem liberating her charge. They head to the data core’s location.

It’s a Trap!

This episode makes no attempt to surprise anyone. Instead, it’s simply a good story told extremely well.

Once we reach the data core, we learn that it’s 2,200 stories below Yon-Rogg and Nebula.

They go wire-sliding and then swimming. Every shot of this pursuit is sumptuous.

The Annie Awards has nominated the series for multiple awards, and the honor is well-deserved.

This show is drop-dead gorgeous. It’s a work of art.

As for the story, Nebula downloads the source code straight to her brain.

As the file nears completion, Yon-Rogg betrays her. You’re shocked, I know.

You’ll never guess who his partners are! Yes, Yon-Rogg is working with Ronan…and Nova Prime.

Nebula escapes from what has become an underwater prison just in time to escape the building’s self-destruction.

She awakens on a desolate street, much like Yondu. Who should be looking over her but Yon-Rogg and Nova Prime.

Nebula finally deduces that Nova Prime has set her up, as there was “no way to access the data core without a cyborg.”

Nova Prime isn’t very kind about her treachery, either. “You’re a machine. What did you expect?”

A wave of Nova Corps people show up to torture Nebula and finish her.

Nebula jumps off a waterfall to avoid her captors. Garthan declares her dead and states that she has ended her Nova Corps watch.

What If… Nebula Killed Everybody?

Alas, Nebula is harder to kill than that. So, we cut to Howard the Duck’s establishment, where a battered Nebula arrives.

To his credit, Howard the Duck expresses immediate, sincere concern.

Korg and the duck work to rebuild Nebula’s broken parts. Then, they plot their revenge. Oh, and Groot is there, too.

There’s also some sort of fishman wearing a 1950s fast food restaurant paper hat. And a bow tie.

The bow tie weirds me out more than the hat.

Anyway, we’ve got five aliens of various species vs. the entirety of the super-duper-mega corrupt Nova Corps.

Who do you think will win this fight?

I mean, the answer is obvious, but I don’t care because they drill the visuals here.

First, we see Howard the Duck’s weapons stash, which is an amazing Borderlands video game reference.

Then, Nebula wears the head thing that allows her to control Yondu’s flying death arrow.

Also, Howard the Duck sports a bandana, making him look a lot like Rambo. Spectacular!

Also, after careful review, I realized that the fish thing is Miek from Thor: Ragnarok.

Anyway, Nebula uses the death arrow to kill everyone not wearing plot armor.

She enters the room where Yon-Rogg and Nova Prime are. For no apparent reason, Nova Prime offers for Nebula to join her.

At this point, Nebula refuses. We learn that she triple-crossed Yon-Rogg whose betrayal was so obvious even she noticed.

Nova Prime flees in one direction, while Yon-Rogg heads the other way.

The Captain Marvel villain runs into Korg, who proceeds to do the “Puny God!” smash. This is visually resplendent!

Meanwhile, Nebula chases and catches Nova Prime, who pulls the whole Hans Gruber “fall from a building/still try to shoot hero” bit.

None of this is surprising, but it’s extraordinarily satisfying.

Final Thoughts

In space, Ronan enters the atmosphere while all this happens.

When Nebula closes the shield, she wipes out Ronan in the process.

So, once all the villains have died, Xandar can take down the shield, ending their planetary confinement.

As with any good noir story, the climactic moments involve the first ray of sunshine after what seems like eternal darkness.

Meanwhile, Howard the Duck and Nebula make nice before she moves along to her next Nova Corps adventure.

To a larger point, I’ve mentioned several pop culture references in this episode, yet I’ve barely scratched the surface.

Since the producers of What If…? season two had an unexpected 18 months to work on the product, and it shows.

The first episode of season two is oozing style.

If you’re gonna make a Blade Runner homage, you need to get it right. And they did!

I was hooked from the beginning, and I say that as someone who was fairly ambivalent about What If…? season one.

We’re off to a terrific start and, as I previously hinted, the show will only get better from here…except next week!

 

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