Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for What If…? season 2 episode 3.
Summary
- “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas” episode of Season 2 features a post-credits scene with Darcy Lewis, adding a festive touch to the series.
- While Season 2 follows an anthology approach, previous seasons have set up multiversal implications for the MCU’s future.
- The audio-based post-credits trend, seen in Avengers: Endgame and Loki, continues in What If…? focusing on thematic connections rather than future hints.
What If… season 2 episode “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas” evidently continues a post-Endgame MCU trend. The animated anthology follows through with the obligatory post-credits scene established by the MCU, but with a twist. The Christmas-themed episode concludes with a seasonally appropriate post-credits scene featuring Darcy Lewis, the sometimes beloved character from the Thor franchise and WandaVision.
Although the series generally follows an anthology structure, with each episode tackling an independent story taking place in a different alternate reality, season 1 of What If… sets up multiversal implications for the future of the MCU. The Watcher, who narrates the show, transforms from a being who only observed the different universes without interfering to the “Protector of the Multiverse” over the course of the show. While season 2 thus far has reverted to the anthology approach, there are sure to be more threats to the multiverse coming.
What If Season 2 Episode 3 Ending Explained: Die Hard With Avengers (& A New Hulk)
Yippee Ki-Yay, Happy Hogan! The MCU’s first outright movie parody is the perfect festive accompaniment. Here what happens and what it all means.
What If Season 2 Episode 3’s Post-Credits Explained
The post-credits scene for What If… season 2 episode 3 isn’t so much a visual “scene” — rather it features Darcy’s voice. Given the holiday-themed nature of the episode, the post-credits scene is a silly take on the classic Christmas song Good King Wencelas (or, as this rendition goes, “Good Queen Darcy”). The moment is a cute Marvel-ified parody, without any significant reveals or hints at future MCU projects.
The lyrics, as follows, reference Marvel heroes and don’t take themselves too seriously:
Good Queen Darcy last looked down
On the feast of Steve Rogers
When the snow lay on the ground
Something something something
Thor has a giant neck
It is full of muscles
He’s just a schmoopy noodle
Going through the cosmos
The whole goofy affair closes with a laugh and good wishes for the holidays from Darcy.
What If Continues A New MCU Post-Credits Trend
The post-credits scene is audio-based, with no accompanying visual; an approach that began with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. The latter opted out of the traditional post-credits scene, instead playing the meaningful sound of a hammer clinking against metal over the Marvel logo. This references Iron Man building his suit in the first movie, but, rather than indicate a future for the character, it was an homage to the first hero in the MCU.
The lack of an actual post-credits scene in the case of Endgame makes sense, given that the film closes out a decade-long arc. As the MCU continues to set up new stories, however, it seems this trend of more symbolic, audio-based post-credits Easter eggs continues with it. The trend was furthered in the Loki season 2, episode 5 post-credits where a video game voice, evidently referencing a Zaniac arcade game seen earlier in the episode, says “You died! Insert your coin, loser!” over the Marvel logo. These post-credits scenes seem more focused on thematic and tonal connections to their respective projects than hints to the MCU future, with What If… simply the latest MCU project to follow the trend.
What If… is available to stream on Disney+.
Key Release Dates
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
