Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If...? season 3, episode 5, "What if... the emergency destroyed the Earth?"
Even if Marvel Studios still refuses to do Agents of SHIELD canon for the MCU, And if...? season three just reinvented one of the most revolutionary stories from the popular ABC series, which began in December 2017. And if...? season three wrapped up the animated Multiverse saga, exploring some of the MCU's strangest and most bizarre new universes. One of these new worlds was an Earth devastated by the emergence of the Celestial Tiamut, ruled by Spider-Man villain Mysterio, which resembled an old world. Agents of SHIELD plot.
And if...? season 3 explored variations of the 2021 plot divisive Eternals film twice, first by introducing a Celestial Agatha Harkness, and again by showing what could have happened if Tiamut had successfully emerged from within Earth. The narrative of And if...? season 3, episode 5, "What if... the emergency destroyed the Earth?" was original, but Marvel Studios may have been inspired by an earlier Marvel Television storyline. It seems Agents of SHIELD could have done the emergence story first, starting its fifth season seven years ago.
And if…? Season 3 Copied Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5's Plot
Agents of SHIELD imagined a destroyed Earth in 2017
In May 2017, Agents of SHIELD The season 4 finale ended with Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson being shown on a mysterious space station, and the season 5 premiere in December revealed that this facility was orbiting a destroyed Earth. This formed the location for much Agents of SHIELD season 5 narrative, with the fractured Earth being the location of Kree activity, and The planet's destruction, initially believed to be Daisy Johnson's fault, was later revealed to be because of Glenn Talbot's absorption and abuse of Gravitonium.
Both Agents of SHIELD and And if...? used the idea that the destruction of Earth would not make the remaining fragments of the planet inhospitable. In Agents of SHIELDthe Kree and True Believers inhabited Earth's arid desert, while, in And if...?Many of Earth's heroes, including Riri Williams and the Alliance, as well as the planet's new ruler, Mysterio, survived on the surface. Although there are many similarities between these two stories, however, And if...? the representation of this wild setting was much more impactful and fun.
Why what if…? Agents Of SHIELD's Emergency Plot Is Better Than The Agents Of SHIELD Version
And if...? Handled a destroyed Earth story better
While Agents of SHIELD The plot of season 5 was centered on the destroyed Earth, very little of the series' action was actually set on the fragments of the planet. Instead, most of the adventure took place on the Earth-orbiting space station or Kree facility, but And if...? avoided this big mistake. "What if... the emergency destroyed the Earth?" it was actually set entirely in the fragments of the destroyed Earthwhich gave it a more grounded, intimate, and realistic feel that made Riri Williams' mission all the more poignant.
And if...? it also managed to present a worthy villain. Agents of SHIELD failed in this regard, as Kree leader Kasius was underwhelming, but And if...? Evil Vision and nanite-enhanced Mysterio, voiced by Alejandro Saab, were much more effective. Jake Gyllenhaal has already played Quentin Beck in live-action in Spider-Man: Far From Homebut Saab's older and more worn-out Mysterio was a much more significant threat. Mysterio was a true opponent of Riri Williams in And if...? Season 3, with the setting of a destroyed Earth forming the backdrop to their battle, but rarely being the focus of the story.
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February 14, 2025
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July 25, 2025
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July 24, 2026