Draft:What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?

"What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?" is the fifth episode of the second season and fourteenth episode overall of the American animated television series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. Set in the timeline of Season 1's first episode "What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?", Peggy Carter / Captain Carter learns that her former love, Steve Rogers / Hydra Stomper, has survived, and has become an international terrorist for the Red Room. The episode was written by head writer A. C. Bradley and directed by Bryan Andrews.

Jeffrey Wright narrates the series as the Watcher, with this episode also starring the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell (Carter), Lake Bell, Frank Grillo, Josh Keaton (Rogers), Sebastian Stan, Rachel Weisz, and Elizabeth Olsen. Work on a second season of What If...? had begun by December 2019, with Andrews and Bradley returning from the first season. Animation was provided by Flying Bark Productions, with Stephan Franck serving as head of animation.

"What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?" was released on Disney+ on December 26, 2023.

Plot
Following a mission to retake the Lemurian Star, Captain Peggy Carter and Natasha Romanoff find a still-alive Steve Rogers inside the Hydra Stomper armor. Rogers suddenly attacks them both before destroying the vessel. A briefing with Nick Fury leads Romanoff to deduce that Rogers, who went missing in 1953, was brainwashed by agents of the Red Room. Carter and Romanoff help Brock Rumlow protect Bucky Barnes, who is Rogers's next target, before incapacitating Rogers and traveling to a secret hideout in Scotland. Attempts to reboot the suit fail as it is keeping Rogers alive, though each activation reduces chances of survival. Rogers (seemingly back to his senses) then offers to help Carter take down the Red Room in hopes of finding a cure before escorting her and Romanoff to a former KGB test site. The three survive an ambush by various automated drones before Rogers' brainwashing is reactivated by Melina Vostokoff, who admits to staging the earlier events. Carter battles Rogers while Romanoff fends off Vostokoff's Black Widows. After Carter pleads with him to stop fighting, Rogers flies towards the Red Room and destroys it in spite of her protests. Noticing Rogers, Romanoff fires her grappling hook to latch onto him and ties it to Vostokoff, who dies in the explosion. Sometime later, Carter, convinced Rogers is still alive, decides to go and find him. As she bids Romanoff farewell, a portal opens beneath Carter's feet and transports her to another universe, where she encounters medieval-era variants of Fury and Wanda Maximoff.

Development
In December 2019, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that work had already begun on a second season of the animated anthology series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It explores how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films would be altered if certain events occurred differently. A. C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews returned from the first season as head writer and lead director, and they executive produce alongside Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso. Bradley wrote the fifth episode, titled "What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?", which continues the alternate storyline from the series' first episode. It tells an alternate version of the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) mixed with elements from Black Widow (2021). "What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?" was released on December 26, 2023, on Disney+.

Writing
While development of the second season was beginning, Captain Carter became the character that the writers wanted to continue to revisit every season to continue her story after she had "bubbled up" in the first season as a prominent character. The opening of the episode depicts Carter leading the Avengers during the Battle of New York, with a team consisting of Tony Stark / Iron Man, Thor, Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, and Hope van Dyne / Wasp. Bradley explained Wasp's inclusion on the team at this point in the timeline, stating that because of Carter's prominence during World War II, the feminist movement started earlier in this universe, leading to more women in positions of authority, including van Dyne taking on the Wasp mantle earlier. Additionally, other changes in the universe include Bucky Barnes surviving the war to become a "Jimmy Carter-esque elder statesman" and a musical biopic was created about Carter. Bradley was eager to continue exploring the relationship between Carter and Romanoff, saying, "Their relationship isn't fraught with anxiety or worry or anything. It's actually just based on fun and enjoying each other's company." Bradley and series' story editor Matthew Chauncey had the idea to incorporate the Red Room into the episode after both worked in a small writers room Marvel Studios had created for Black Widow before that film started filming.

Casting
Jeffrey Wright narrates the episode as the Watcher, with Marvel planning to have other characters in the series voiced by the actors who portrayed them in the MCU films. The episode stars the voices of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter / Captain Carter, Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow, Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers / Hydra Stomper, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda-Merlin. Bernard White also appears as Councilman Singh.

Animation
Animation for the episode was provided by Flying Bark Productions, with Stephan Franck serving as head of animation. Andrews developed the series' cel-shaded animation style with Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios. Though the series has a consistent art style, elements such as the camera and color palette differ between episodes.

Marketing
The episode was first shown during Marvel Studios' animation panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con.