Following the release of those social media reactions, Marvel Studios has shared a new batch of stills from What If...? season 2.
In those, we see Earth's Mightiest Heroes preparing for the holidays, a new team of Avengers, and an unexpected team-up featuring Hela and Wenwu, a.k.a. The Mandarin. Most interesting, however, is a shot showing the return of season 1's twisted "Supreme" Doctor Strange Variant.
In What If...?'s fourth episode, we visited a reality where Doctor Strange lost Christine Palmer in the crash that destroyed his hands. While the hero's story initially played out the same way as his Earth-616 counterpart, the timeline branched when the hero decided to use the Time Stone to bring back the woman he loved.
Unfortunately, Christine's death is an "Absolute Point" in time that cannot be changed in this universe. Doing so would risk the very fabric of reality itself, but that didn't stop the grieving Strange.
After absorbing dark forces beyond his control, the corrupted Master of the Mystic Arts repeatedly tries to bring Christine back, ultimately dooming his reality. Imprisoned with nothing but his failings to keep him company, "Strange Supreme" is later freed by The Watcher to join his Guardians of the Multiverse.
After being returned to the remains of dimension to watch over Erik Killmonger and Arnim Zola after Infinity Ultron was defeated, the door was left open to him returning...and we now know it will happen in What If...? season 2's ninth and final episode.
On Disney+'s press site, each of the stills below is accompanied by a number identifying which episode they're taken from. There are no other major surprises, but Strange being in the ninth instalment confirms past reports that the finale will be titled "What If... Strange Supreme Intervened?"
Take a closer look at these new stills from the Disney+ series below.
Season two of What If...? continues the journey as The Watcher guides viewers through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces throughout the MCU. The series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles.
The series features fan-favourite characters this season like Nebula, Hela and Happy Hogan, with episodes directed by Bryan Andrews (episodes 2-9) and Stephan Franck (episode 1) and written by AC Bradley (episodes 3, 4, 5, 8), Matthew Chauncey (episodes 1-3, 7, 9) and Ryan Little (episodes 6, 8). The animated series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Bryan Andrews and AC Bradley.
What If...? season 2 returns with a new episode debuting nightly beginning December 22.