What If...? Season 3 has been a mixed bag so far. While the episode starring Bucky Barnes and The Red Guardian was a very fun time, others have shined the spotlight on pretty strange premises.
However, things might have taken a turn for the better, and that's all thanks to episode five. Its story begins with an event audiences had already witnessed before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it truly ponders the question: What would've happened if the heroes we all know and love failed to save Earth against cosmic threats?
The Emergence was never stopped
This tale begins when the Eternals failed to join together in time to stop the Emergence — an apocalyptic event that sees the birth of a Celestial inside the Earth's core at the expense of all human beings. Our planet was destroyed and shattered into countless different fragments floating in space in the process. A few were "lucky" enough to survive — or so it seemed, as another terrible fate awaited them after all the dust was settled.
A megalomaniac ex-employee of Stark Industries took over the company now that Tony Stark was out of the picture. Some know him as Quentin Beck, and others fear his deranged alter-ego: Mysterio. With unlimited technology in the palm of his hands, the Master of Illusion created an Iron Federation composed of Ultron-like robots who would battle any resistance fighters along the way. Furthermore, he also used Vibranium to bring to life The White Vision — a soulless monster who did his master's every bidding.
Fortunately, there were still some heroes willing to fight for what little remained of Earth, such as Riri Williams. At the beginning of the episode, we see her meet with Sharon Carter in a safe location to do a deal: Exchange money for an analog Kiddy Cake Cooker. The two parties fulfill their part but, unfortunately for Riri, the encounter is merely a setup, and robots from the Iron Federation quickly arrive on the scene. The brilliant teenager is barely able to escape from the building, but she gets no breaks as White Vision makes his big entrance. Riri is trapped, against the ropes, and just when everything seems lost she's rescued by members of the Resistance.
A new Resistance is born
Admiral Ying Nan, Wong, Valkyrie, and Okoye all help Riri escape from the dreadful encounter, and then they explain they've been spying on her. The Resistance knows Riri wanted the Kiddy Cake Cooker for parts to make a weapon — one that could damage the vibranium the White Vision is made of. While Riri is a bit reluctant to trust her saviors at first, she then joins them and goes to their last operational base: The Titanic. The ship was brought to the surface after the events of The Emergence, and in it, Riri finds a fully equipped lab that can be used to create the weapon to destroy the White Vision. All she needs is 12 hours and some snacks, and after that hope will finally be within their grasp.
Unfortunately, Mysterio is well aware of the Resistance's last base of operations and sends his puppet, The White Vision, to end them. Those 12 hours that Riri had? They turn into merely seven minutes as the Resistance fights with all their strength to buy Riri sometime after the arrival of the killing robot. But while it seemed like an impossible task, Ironheart completes her latest weapon and finally takes down the Vision with it. Finally, glimmers of hope. But the downside? The rest of the crew (aside from the five big heroes) died.
Knowing their base has been compromised, Ying Nan, Wong, Valkyrie, Okoye, and Riri all decide to face the root of the problem and take the battle to Mysterio himself. Ironheart creates a new armor using Vision's spare parts and turns herself into a human synthezoid capable of looking through Quentin Beck's deceptions, giving the Resistance the upper hand in battle. Once in the supervillain's base of operations, Riri and Ying Nan infiltrate the base while the rest fight to buy them time. The pair of heroes eventually manage to make their way into the chamber housing the nanotech network that powers all of Mysterio's illusions. But just when Riri is about to destroy it, a horrible truth is revealed: This mission to save the world? It was all staged by Beck.
The end is here
The version of Ying Nan that was in the room with Riri? It was just an illusion, and the real Ying Nan was dead outside of the supervillain's lair alongside Wong, Valkyrie, and Okoye. The Resistance was no more, as Riri was the sole survivor. Mysterio explains he turned himself into the network powering his illusions by uploading nanites directly into his body. However, that upgrade came at a price since he's now slowly dying as his health deteriorates even further. But watching Riri gave him an idea: Use the White Vision's spare parts to turn himself into a synthezoid and survive all the enhancements.
Devoid of any hope, Riri gave in. She knows her friends are dead, and that there's no one else worth fighting for. Mysterio begins to pull Vision's armor out of her body — an act that will ultimately kill her. For a moment, it looks like this is how the story will end, as even The Watcher himself states that Ironheart dies in every parallel universe akin to this one. But incapable of witnessing yet another variant of Riri die in the hands of Beck, the cosmic being does the one thing he swore never to do: Intervene. He tells Riri not to give up the fight, and those words are enough to give her the strength to defeat Mysterio once and for all.
Riri recuperates her armor and takes the nanites out of Quentin's body. She then uses the supervillain's illusions to create a big symbol of hope in the sky: The Avengers logo. Survivors from all the different remains of Earth see this and become inspired to take down Mysterio's monuments and statues. At long last, peace is restored as Quentin takes one last breath. It's a nice ending to a grim tale, but one that might have come at a big cost. Other Watchers know one of their peers has been breaking his oath multiple times, and now they'll keep a closer eye on him.