Phase 4 of the MCU was plagued with confusion around multiverses, timelines, and season 2 of What If...? will have to tread carefully to make sure it doesn't fall into the same routine. What If...? took place right after the events of Loki, which allowed the multiverse of the MCU to open up. In the MCU, timelines and universes mean the same thing, so every timeline is its own universe. Following the death of He Who Remains, the universes that appeared in What If...? and the rest of Phase 4 were created, along with a lot of confusion among audiences.
What If...? also introduced several new variant characters to the MCU, including Captain Carter and Strange Supreme. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reintroduced a version of Captain Carter in the MCU, as well as another evil Dr. Strange variant. Oddly, neither of the live-action characters was the same as their extremely similar animated counterparts. Marvel has also featured the multiverse breaking in all of these projects, as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home. Since the multiverse has broken several times, and with the MCU switching between using the "timeline" and "universe" without a clear definition, the issue has to be avoided in a second season of What If...?.
What If...? Season 2 Must Avoid Phase 4's Multiverse Problem
One of Phase 4's biggest issues was a sense of confusion surrounding the multiverse. Universes were given different designations from the ones given in the comics, a constantly shifting release schedule caused several multiversal breaks, and a lack of clarity became glaring issues. Loki started the MCU multiverse as now known, but What If...? and the post-credits scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hinted that The Watchers could have existed far longer. No Way Home had the mainline MCU universe pull in variant Peters along with his villains, and Multiverse of Madness introduced incursions.
What If...? season 2 has a unique opportunity to correct these issues since The Watcher is able to speak directly to the audience. The rules of the multiverse could be explained in better detail, finally giving a clear explanation. Alternatively, season 2 could also continue to be a series of interesting short stories, but without being a sort of testing ground for introducing similar characters into live action.
What If...? Highlights A Wider MCU Multiverse Issue
After Thanos attempted to wipe out half the universe, the MCU had to go even bigger to raise the stakes, and the Multiverse Saga was created. The big issue is that a multiverse can be hard to explain, especially across different casts and crews making the films. What If...? season 1 introduced The Watcher, when other Watchers had already been shown. Several other dimensions have been shown in the MCU previously, and without a clear explanation for if those are true universes as well. What If...? season 2 could give the clarity the MCU needs moving into Phase 5.
