Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Marvel's What If...? Season 2.
Summary
- What If...? season 2 suggests that the MCU has Canon Events similar to the Spider-Verse.
- Absolute Points in What If...? season 2 parallel Spider-Verse's Canon Events and reveal fixed events in different universes.
- The concept of Canon Events in the MCU can explain recurring tragic events and provide a sense of consistency in the multiverse.
What If...? season 2's character lineup includes the return of players like the Watcher and Captain Carter from season 1, as well as mysterious new heroes such as the original character Kahhori.
Marvel is currently in the middle of its Multiverse Saga, which will culminate with the release of 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. The MCU has revealed a few rules regarding its multiverse, but Marvel has yet to reach the incredible heights the concept allows for, which the animated Spider-Verse franchise has shown to be possible. Recently, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sent Miles Morales even deeper into the multiverse, and the result was the reveal of Canon Events. Now, What If...? season 2 heavily hints that the rule also applies to the MCU's multiverse.
What If...? Season 2 Review: Superior Multiverse Chaos Ends Marvel's Difficult Year Strongly
The return of Marvel's flagship animation, What If...?, delivers a zany multiverse of fun, looks beautiful, and adds a stand-out festive episode.
What If...? Confirms Several MCU Multiverse Canon Events
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's Canon Events are explained by Miguel O'Hara, the leader of the multiversal Spider Society, to Miles Morales. They are events that will happen to every Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse, with only small variations for each version of the character. Marvel's What If...? season 1 introduced the concept of Absolute Points, with Strange Supreme failing to save Christine Palmer over and over due to it being an event that was destined to happen. Now, Marvel's What If...? season 2 suggests that the Absolute Points can happen in different ways.
While not all Christine Palmers across the multiverse die like Strange Supreme's, there appear to be fixed events in time that are destined to be repeated across different universes. What If...? season 2's stories have featured Valkyrie still becoming a king even if she never left Sakaar, Nebula losing her arm while serving in the Nova Corps instead of ing the Guardians of the Galaxy, and a Captain Carter musical such as Rogers: The Musical existing. These new forms of Absolute Points match how Spider-Verse's Canon Events are described, hinting the MCU multiverse works in a similar way to the animated franchise.
Why Canon Events In The MCU Are So Important
With What If...?'s Absolute Points starting to behave more like Spider-Verse's Canon Events, they can mean interesting things for the MCU. The concept could be used to explain tragic MCU recurring events, such as Tom Hiddleston's Loki always ending up alone, and allow the MCU to set some things in stone despite the franchise now having infinite potential to get creative through the multiverse. Perhaps Doctor Strange could always cause incursions like was shown in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, or other similar tragic Canon Events could appear. It remains to be seen what other possible Canon Events will reveal themselves during What If...? season 2.
Marvel's What If...? season 2 releases episodes daily on Disney+ until December 30.
