The Watcher looks out to the stars this time and checks on Morag, it is the planet where we first see Starlord in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and returned to the planet in Avengers: Endgame (2019). The Watcher poses the question of destiny. A very familiar helmet and outfit of Starlord walks towards the Orb, the purple Power Stone. He takes out the triangular device to bring the Orb from its field. We also see Korath (Djimon Housou) asking for the stone. We hear a different voice and he removes the face shield from his helmet, it’s T’Challa!, best known the prime reality as Black Panther! He is Star-Lord! Korath is awe-struck and fan boys out. His guards raise their rifles, but Korath thinks this is despectful. He tells the guards that Star-Lord is famous from robbin from the rich and giving to the poor. Housou turns in a comedic performance that I wish was in the movies. T’Challa says he is not actually a lord, which Korath calls, “Classic Star Lord.” Still, he is forced to take the Orb on Ronan’s orders.
Korath considers it an honor to spar with Star Lord. T’Challa tells him to use his rifle, dodges it, they fight and Korath gives him a punch to the nose. T’Challa retreats as Korath tries to take a swing at him. Korath ends up striking the field that contained the Orb which shocks him unconscious. The guards open fire, Star Lord takes cover by the Orb column. He tosses the device which knocks out the two guards. Star Lord changes his mind and takes along Korath. There are dozens of guards who have their rifles trained on him. Star-Lord says,”A Ravager never flies solo.” No answer. He repeats it and the guard is confused. There is some whistling as the Yaka arrow takes down the soldiers. Then, it flies into the coat of Yondu (Michael Rooker). They talk about the old days and Star Lord says he wants to use the Orb to save the sun of the Krylorians. This is an alien people introduced in Incredible Hulk #269 (1982). T’Challa has changed Yondu’s ways as a pirate. The Ravager ship lands in a cloud of dust and flies them away seen by the Watcher.
This flashes back to Wakanda in 1998. The young T’Challa (Maddix Robinson) is restless staying in Wakanda. Robinson provided voices in Frozen II (2019). His father, T’Chaka (John Kani) warns him about the wars and hate in the outside world. At night, T’Challa throws his spear and runs through the force field dome protecting Wakanda. He is suddenly spotlighted by the Ravager ship’s lights. The Watcher explains that they were sent to find the son of the Celestial, Ego. This is the character played by Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). T’Challa happily is taken into the ship by Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Taserface (Chris Sullivan), the latter was introduced in Vol. 2. The captain, Yondu, is not happy that they had mistaken T’Challa for Peter Quill. Kraglin tries to explain that they tracked high energy readings where they found him. T’Challa says that his home was built over a Vibranium meterorite. I always wondered, especially now that there is a space centered story, where did the Vibranium come from, and was it an accident that it struck Wakanda? Yondu is surprised that the boy is not stunned by being captured by aliens, he kinda takes a liking to him. He offers T’Challa the chance to explore other worlds. The boy smiles.
This shifts to “20 Years Later”, the Ravagers land on the planet to get some drinks. Korath wants to know if Star Lord has a favorite Ravager, he is so desperate for approval, an ongoing, very funny character point. He goes over their adventures including when Star Lord stopped Thanos. Then, the massive arm of Thanos (Josh Brolin) goes around Korath’s shoulder. Star Lord had convinced him to be a Ravager! Still, he thinks about his plan to take out half of the universe. A funny Thanos! It looks like this Star Lord is spreading hope across the universe more effective than Quill’s Guardians, but still a fun loving group. Star Lord tries to pay for the drinks from the bartender, Drax (Fred Tatsciore), one of the few changes from the movies to the voice cast, but Tatsciore is a veteran voice artist. He is currently voicing Lt. Shaxs in Star Trek: Lower Decks. Then, Drax recognizes Star Lord, the one who saved his world and family! He has a globe take their picture. They are interrupted by Nebula (Karen Gillan), not bald and covered by cyborg parts like a Borg. This is a Nebula with blond hair, she has locks covering her cyborg eye, and a gold dress, a stunning improvement over her movie counterpart. Nebula's peek-a-boo hair style reminds me of classic beauty, Veronica Lake, who is in the Preston Sturges movie, Sullivan's Travels (1941).
She calls him Cha Cha. Star Lord shows Nebula the Orb and she asks what the “big guy”, her father, Thanos thinks of it. T’Challa says he is now gardening. Nebula looks at his Wakandan necklace, but Star Lord explains that Yondu found Wakanda destroyed. She says since he lost his home, he saving others, and then brings up a new job. Nebula shows him a hologram of the Embers of Genesis, cosmic dust that can transform dying worlds kinda like the Genesis Project in Star Trek. T’Challa is excited that the Embers could eliminate hunger across the galaxy! Korath is surprised that Nebula is Thanos’ daughter, they both say, “Adopted”, funny! She then shows a hologram of Taneleer Tivan, The Collector who has taken Thanos’ place as the threat to the galaxy building a massive collection. Yondu thinks The Collector the job is too dangerous. Speaking privately, T’Challa says it is worth the risk, and convinces Yondu to steal from The Collector. Nebula points out to Star Lord that the Embers are kept in The Collector’s museum at his base, Knowhere, which is the head of the Celestial seen in the first Guardians. It first appeared in the comics in Nova #8 (2008).
As the ship reaches Knowhere, Thanos debriefs the team that the Black Orders is acting as The Collector’s security. Two teams are set for the job laid out by Nebula. Her team has herself and Yondu and they are met by Carina (Ophelia Lovibond). They have brought a crate to carry the Orb, but really to sneak in Star Lord. The Collector’s head of security is Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon). She is about to scan the crate when Korath volunteers for the distraction, getting into a fight with Thanos! The security detail led by Corvus Glaive (Tatasciore) brings in all units to stop the riot. Ebony Maw is voiced by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor form the films. Carina introduces Nebula and Yondu to The Collector (Benicio Del Toro). Star Lord is walking the museum and encounters Howard the Duck (Seth Green)! He had voiced the duck in Vol. 2. Somehow, Howard has to help Starlord find the Embers, take on the Black Order and The Collector, and we get what happened to Peter Quill plus some more cameos. This episode is fitting tribute to Chadwick Boseman extending the Wakandan vision to the galaxy! There is a dedication to him at the end of the episode. What If…? seemlessly brings together Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy, not as repeats of the two movies, but a new world with T’Challa changing the universe!
Five Orbs out of Five!
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