Notice! This post contains SPOILERS for What If…? Season 3, Episode 1And if…? Season 3 Episode 1 is here, revealing a reality where the Hulks get bigger and badder and the Avengers' Hulkbusters get more impressive to match. Starring several popular MCU heroes who have banded together as a team of “Mech Avengers” piloting impressive gear, this first story ends with a massive showdown, while also introducing some fun Easter eggs and references along the way.
In MCU animation And if…? series, Jeffery Wright's Uatu the Watcher, takes viewers on a journey through time and space, presenting alternate timelines where different choices are made, resulting in dramatic changes. This includes a reality show that sees the rise of the Mech Avengers in the face of a massive Apex Hulk and his army of monstrous minions. To that end, here's our recap, final analysis, and list of the biggest Easter eggs we found in And if…? Season 3, episode 1.
And if…? Season 3, Episode 1 Spoilers and Key Story Takeaways
“What if… the Hulk fought the Mech Avengers?”
-
And if…? Season 3 begins with an 80s-style cartoon featuring the “Go-Avengers, Heroes of the Gamma War,” in which Tony Stark designs Hulkbuster mechs for each of the original MCU Avengers to combat the massive kaiju monsters unleashed by the Hulk .
-
The Watcher reveals the true story of this world, where the Gamma War begins with Sam Wilson seeking to help Bruce Banner with his anger and trauma, only for Bruce to desperately try to drive the Hulk out using more gamma radiation.
-
This creates a separate monster known as the Apex Hulk, which grows to enormous size and spawns an army of smaller kaiju Hulk minions.
-
While the other original Avengers piloted mechs to stop the Hulks, they all crashed and were replaced by a new team: Sam Wilson's Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Monica Rambeau, Moon Knight, Nakia, Shang-Chi, Red Guardian, and Melina Vostokoff .
-
This new team defeats Apex Hulk, only for the best to return years later with an even larger invasion force of minions.
-
Sam Wilson seeks help from Bruce, who has lived isolated on an island for years. Bruce gives Sam a new protocol for “The Mighty Avenger”, a means of combining all of the Avengers' mechs into one great hero (Voltron style).
-
When “The Mighty Avenger” falls in battle, Bruce Banner arrives to bomb himself as a living gamma core, transforming into the Godzilla-like Mega Hulk.
-
With Sam's help, Mega Hulk defeats Apex and becomes the new alpha, leading the other Hulks to the ocean and back to his island to live in peace.
How Mech Avengers Defeated Apex Hulk
The Mighty Avenger and Mega Hulk
Combining all seven Avenger mechs using Banner's new protocol, The Mighty Avenger is born during the episode's final battle as a super-Hulkbuster. Despite defeating several of Apex's minions, the real challenge is Apex himself, who ends up being the victor against the Mighty Avenger, dealing critical damage to the mega-mech. However, the final Hail Mary is the surprise arrival of Bruce Banner at the end of And if…? The season 3 premiere, is no longer afraid of his greener half and wants to make things right. Dropping into Apex like a gamma bomb, Banner becomes the Godzilla-like Mega Hulk, complete with tail and powerful gamma breath.
With the help of a well-placed rocket fist from the Mighty Avenger mech fired by Sam Wilson, Mega Hulk defeats Apex and becomes the new Alpha. However, Sam also manages to get to his friend in the sequence, reaching Banner while still inside Mega Hulk (which appears to be a permanent transformation). Thanks to the new authority replacing Apex, Mega Hulk leads the minions back to the ocean and back to Banner's island, presumably to live in peace.
And if…? The Biggest Easter Eggs and References from Season 3, Episode 1
Power Rangers, Voltron, Pacific Rim, Godzilla and more inspirations
It's so fun to see all the connections and inspirations from Power Rangers, Voltron, Pacific Rim, Godzillaand much more in And if…? Season 3, Episode 1. Here are all the biggest MCU Easter eggs, references, and nods we found:
- Avengers cartoon Inspired by classic cartoons from the 80s and programs like Power Rangers, Voltron, or Transformers
- Tony Stark's long hair A tribute to the 1994 original Iron Man cartoon where Tony Stark rocked the same hairstyle.
-
“To your left” – Sam Wilson going by Bruce Banner in DC mirrors his scene with Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- fishing boat Bruce and Sam are shown on the same fishing boat as Sam's sister seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- “Go to the head” – Red Guardian recommends going for the head instead of the knees, a potential nod to Thor and Avengers: Infinity War.
- Astra Islands – In the original Marvel Comics, the Astra Islands were where Bruce Banner built his nuclear Absorbatron.
- Mighty Avenger Combining all of Avenger's mechs into one mega-bot is clearly inspired by Voltron and/or the Power Rangers Megazord.
- General Dreikov – Red Guardian mentions General Drekkov, the former head of the Red Room.
- Mega Hulk is the MCU's Godzilla – Mega Hulk intentionally looks a lot like Godzilla. Likewise, he also releases a powerful blast of green gamma breath at Apex, not unlike Godzilla's blue atomic breath. He also enters the ocean once the fight is over, just like the classic kaiju.
New episodes of And if…? Season 3 launches daily at 3am ET/12pm PT on Disney+.
-
- Release date
-
February 14, 2025
-
-
- Release date
-
July 25, 2025
-
-
- Release date
-
July 24, 2026
-