Meet Party Thor In These What If...? Episode 7 Promos
Marvel Studios' "What If...?" is a fascinating experiment in meddling with the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jeffrey Wright leads the series as the Watcher, an intergalactic entity who only observes specific events unfolding and never intervenes with the fate of specific characters. He's the audience's guide through the show, although he occasionally becomes part of the narrative too — like in Episode 4, "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" Doctor Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch) notices the Watcher when his universe collapses in on itself, and begs the cosmic being for help — although the Watcher refuses.
Critics and audiences alike are enjoying the series as it (currently) boasts a 93% critic rating and a 94% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Some episodes simply remix chapters of the MCU, like giving Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, while others take the franchise in a completely new direction — hello, Marvel Zombies. It shows that there's room to expand certain characters and storylines in new, unexpected ways. Maybe if certain episodes are more popular than others then Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige will find a way of putting them on the big screen. Comics writer Mark Millar recently suggested that the MCU is planning a live-action Marvel Zombies project in the near future.
The Watcher's next story is going to get much weirder if the latest promo for "What If...?" Episode 7 is any indication.
What If... Thor was an Only Child?
The new teasers for Episode 7, "What If... Thor was an Only Child?" look at what the Asgardian would be like if Odin didn't bring baby Loki back from Jotunheim. The result is Party Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who clearly prefers drinking mead and having fun rather than saving the universe. The teaser released by Marvel Studios on Twitter shows the hero traveling to Earth simply for a party rather than to save the world.
Another short clip from the episode arrived on YouTube thanks to Binge Watch This, and sees Thor partying on Earth with a group of Skrulls. He asks them to mimic his face, and he's quickly surrounded by four different versions of himself. Because Skrulls stereotypically work through infiltration and sabotage, it seems risky of Thor to ask them to imitate him — then again, he's clearly had too much to drink.
The clip then sees Jane Foster introduce herself to Thor, and she's clearly excited to meet the legendary hero, although he mishears her saying "Norse" for "horse" which causes some confusion, and the clip ends with Thor promising he can "bring the thunder." Although Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is typically a villain in the MCU, his presence clearly has a positive impact on Thor. Thor will clearly go off the rails at the first chance he gets if the God of Mischief isn't there to keep him in line.