Did What If...? Episode 7 Just Reference An Iconic Superman Moment?

Episode 7 of "What If...?" was a nice break from the world-ending plot points we've been suffering through for the last several weeks. Titled "What If... Thor Were an Only Child," the episode focused on just that — showing viewers a universe where the God of Thunder was raised without a brother. In this reality, Thor is the ultimate partier and travels from planet to planet with his friends, throwing some serious shindigs. While he thinks he's just there to have a good time, the god doesn't realize these massive parties can destroy the planets he's occupying.

To get Thor off Earth, SHIELD calls in Captain Marvel to remove him. This doesn't go according to plan, and the mighty heroes battle it out several times, leading to more destruction. The party finally ends when Frigga — Thor's mom — comes to Earth after Jane Foster lets her know things are getting out of hand on Midgard. Upon hearing that his mother is inbound, Thor travels all over the world cleaning up after his party, which includes a lot of heavy lifting. One particular scene was enjoyable for DC film fans, as there appeared to be a significant nod to Superman.

While Frigga is en route to Earth, Thor frantically travels from country to country, cleaning up the mess he made. He realigns the stones at Stonehenge, puts back The Gateway Arch, electrifies transformers to restore power grids, and removes the frozen horns and mustaches from Mount Rushmore. For one of his last fixes, he travels to Italy, where we see him pushing the bottom of a tilted building, forcing it upright. When the camera pans back, it's shown to be the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Thor lets out a little chuckle when he's finished.

Fans on Reddit quickly noticed the DC nod here, with one user noting that moment is a "Superman III" reference. In the 1983 film, Evil Superman (Christopher Reeve) flys into the famous landmark and sets it straight, which is seen as an act of vandalism. Superman is corrupted by Gus Gorman, who exposed the hero to Synthetic Kryptonite, causing him to act irrationally and on impulse. Redditors agreed this moment from "What If...?" Episode 7 was a "lowkey" reference to that famous Superman moment, and we're just excited to see Marvel Studios acknowledge the legendary hero in some way.