All 23 ‘What If…?’ Characters That Appeared So Far (Ranked by Importance)

One of the things that we know about the ‘What If…?’ storyline of Marvel Studios is that there are a lot of different characters who have appeared in it due to the very nature of the series as a literal “what if” storyline. So, in that regard, it goes without saying that different variants of different characters from different universes have appeared in ‘What If…?’ season 1 and even in the upcoming second season.

Of course, there are a lot of different variants of different characters who made appearances in this series. So, with that said, let’s look at all of the different ‘What If…?’ characters that have appeared in the series so far.

23. Party Loki

Party Loki is one of the most interesting characters in the storyline due to the fact that he is different from the usual Loki. In his storyline, Thor was born an only child and did not grow up with Loki. Instead, Loki became the king of the Frost Giants but forged a strong friendship with Thor due to their common love for partying. It is needless to say that Party Loki is very different from the usual Loki we are familiar with.

22. Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel comes in the form of the standard Carol Danvers in this storyline. However, she is a bit of a party pooper because she ends up ruining Thor’s partying throughout Earth. This led to an all-out fight between the two strongest Avengers, as it was clear that Danvers and Thor were just as strong as each other. But Captain Marvel might have been a tad stronger than the god of thunder.

21. Party Thor

In Party Thor’s storyline, he was born an only child, and that means that he was able to enjoy a pretty easy life with no responsibilities whatsoever. Thor ended up becoming a party animal whose only goal was to party nonstop. This led to some pretty destructive partying shenanigans on Earth, as he ended up getting on the bad side of Captain Marvel. Their fight was one of the best one-on-one fights in the entire storyline.

20. The Hulk

The Hulk only appeared in a few scenes in ‘What If…?’ but he had some pretty good roles. His first appearance was when he appeared in an episode wherein all of the Avengers were defeated. He also appeared in the zombies episode as he had to sacrifice himself to fight the incredibly powerful zombie version of Scarlet Witch so that he could save his friends. 

19. Wasp

Wasp is rarely seen without Ant-Man, but Hope played a big role during the events of the zombies episode. She was one of the survivors who worked together with the other survivors to try to find a cure for the zombie apocalypse. Of course, things didn’t end so well for Hope and many of the other characters featured in this episode.

18. Ant-Man

Ant-Man played a big role in the events of the zombies episode, but Scott Lang was just a head in that story due to the fact that his head had survived being cured of the zombie virus. He had to stay in a jar the entire time due to the fact that he no longer had the use of his body. Still, he played the role of a comic relief in that episode.

17. Nick Fury

Nick Fury played the usual Fury role in several stories of this series, as he had to do whatever was needed to save the planet. He was featured in different episodes, but it was in episode 3, wherein he was most important as he had to find a way to keep the planet safe after the Avengers had been mysteriously killed. Fury returned later but in smaller roles.

16. Vision

Vision is another one of the characters who play big roles in ‘What If…?’ especially in the zombies episode, as he was the one who was feeding a zombified Wanda for her survival. He revealed that he could reverse the effects of the virus, except for Scarlet Witch. Then, in the latter episodes, Vision returned as Ultron instead of the usual Vision we are familiar with. This time, Ultron takes over the Vision’s body that was supposed to be for him.

15. Thanos

There were a lot of instances wherein Thanos appeared in this series. He first appeared as a much nicer version of himself in the earlier episodes as T’Challa’s version of Star-Lord befriended him. This time, he was no longer a crazy, warmongering villain. Another version of Thanos returned in the latter episodes as Ultron Vision killed him and used the Infinity Stones to become more powerful than ever.

14. Howard the Duck

The most obscure character to appear in ‘What If…?’ was Howard the Duck due to the fact that he isn’t particularly popular. Of course, the role he had in the series was minimal as well due to the fact that he wasn’t a very important Marvel character. Still, he is higher on this list, as this was the first time that we were able to get more lines out of him. He appeared in the first episode as one of T’Challa Star-Lord’s friends.

13. Tony Stark

Tony Stark was always one of the most important characters in the MCU, but he wasn’t the most important character in the events of ‘What If…?’ as he already had his time to shine in the MCU. Nevertheless, he appeared in an episode wherein Killmonger saved him from the Ten Rings. He also appeared in minor roles in other episodes as well.

12. Captain Carter

Captain Peggy Carter is basically the Captain America version of Peggy Carter, as she appeared as one of the most important characters in this series. She was in the first episode, wherein her story was told. In this universe, she was the one who underwent the Super-Soldier procedure that Steve was supposed to undergo. Peggy returned in the latter episodes as one of the heroes Uatu summoned to try to defeat Ultron.

11. Armin Zola

While Armin Zola was never an important character in the MCU, he played an important role in the events of the latter episodes of ‘What If…?’ because it was his consciousness that allowed the Guardians of the Multiverse to defeat Ultron. Basically, his mind was used as a way to hack into Ultron. He and the next person on this list were eventually sealed in a pocket dimension by the Watcher.

10. Black Panther Killmonger

Killmonger was an important character during the events of the latter episodes because, in one episode, he was the one who rescued Tony Stark from the Ten Rings and went on to become Black Panther. Uatu went on to recruit Killmonger, who ultimately betrayed the Guardians of the Multiverse and tried to take the Infinity Stones. However, he and Zola Ultron were both sealed in a pocket dimension at the end of the first season.

9. Corrupted Doctor Strange

One of the episodes focused on Doctor Strange as he didn’t lose his hands but ended up losing his beloved Christine Palmer. Using the power of the Time Stone, he tried to save Dr. Palmer over and over again, only for him to realize that this was a nexus event that could never be undone. His efforts eventually destroyed his universe as it became a ruined dimension not unlike the one that we saw during the events of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’

8. Spider-Man

Peter Parker was one of the characters who played an important role in the events of the zombie episode as he was able to survive the entire apocalypse and was integral in the efforts to try to save the universe from the zombies. At first, the writers were unsure if they could use Spider-Man for the series, only for Sony to eventually give them the go signal to use Peter Parker.

7. T’Challa Star-Lord

One of the earliest episodes of ‘What If…?’ focused on T’Challa as an alternate version of Star-Lord if he had been the one whom Yondu kidnapped instead of Peter Quill. As Star-Lord, he was able to bring peace to different parts of the universe and even allowed Thanos to become a much better version of himself. T’Challa became one of the Guardians of the Multiverse after Uatu recruited him.

6. Black Widow

Black Widow’s most important role in this series involved her rebellion against Ultron, who had destroyed her universe. She and Hawkeye worked together to recover a copy of Zola’s consciousness in Siberia as they believed that this was the only way for them to defeat Ultron. She eventually joined the Guardians of the Multiverse and was essential in defeating Ultron in the final fight of the series.

5. Hawkeye

Hawkeye and Black Widow were important characters in the latter episodes of the series. He and Black Widow were integral in trying to find a way to defeat Ultron as they found Zola’s consciousness. However, Hawkeye sacrificed his life to save his best friend as he died a true hero in his ruined universe.

4. Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch was probably the most badass character in the entire series, as she was able to unlock the full potential of her powers when she became a zombie. This zombified version of Wanda was so powerful that she was the greatest threat to the universe in the zombie episode, killing everyone and everything in sight. She was also the big gun that Uatu tried to use against Ultron, only for her to get defeated. Nevertheless, she was clearly incredibly powerful in her unleashed form as a zombie.

3. Gamora

Gamora appears in the final episode of the series as one of the most important characters because she became a member of the Guardians of the Multiverse. This version of Gamora was far stronger than the standard one because she succeeded in killing the Thanos of her universe. She played an important role in the defeat of Ultron in the final episode of the series.

2. Ultron

Of course, the most important villain in the entire ‘What If…?’ series is none other than Ultron himself, as he played the role of the main antagonist after he defeated the Avengers and went on to wield the Infinity Stones to conquer the multiverse. He was so powerful that he was almost unstoppable until the Guardians of the Multiverse were able to use Zola’s consciousness to take over Ultron’s body. Zola Ultron was eventually trapped in a pocket dimension together with Killmonger.

1. The Watcher Uatu

The Watcher Uatu is undoubtedly the most important character in this series because he is basically the star of ‘What If…?’ due to his role as the narrator and observer of the multiverse. At first, no one could sense him due to his powers, only for Doctor Strange to eventually sense him after the destruction of his universe. Ultron also used the power of the Infinity Stones to sense Uatu as they dueled one another in a fight that allowed the Watcher to realize that not even he could stop Ultron. Uatu eventually assembled the Guardians of the Multiverse after he broke his oath never to interfere with the events of the multiverse.

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