What If…? Episode 5 recap: Tasty brains are on the menu

In What If…? Episode 5, The Avengers, or what’s left of them, go up against a formidable enemy. Themselves. Everyone loses here.

When the Disney Plus show goes dark, it really goes dark! We’ve seen Avengers die and heroes become villains. Now, in What If… Zombies?!, everyone’s favorite Avengers become, you guessed it, zombies!

Based on the popular Marvel Zombies comics, this unexpected predilection for brains and human flesh was signposted in the first trailer for the show way back in December 2020. But seeing the full episode is something else.

How did this world become zombie-fied? Why couldn’t the Avengers stop it from happening? One unfortunate soul finds out the hard way.

What If…? Episode 5 – Where did it all go wrong?

In the MCU, when Thanos attacked the Asgardian refugee ship, Heimdall sent Bruce Banner/ Hulk to Earth to warn them. Banner landed in the New York Sanctum Sanctorum and teamed up with Doctor Strange, Wong and Iron Man.

In What If…? Episode 5, things go a little differently. Banner gets to New York, but neither Strange nor Wong are around. In fact, all of New York looks painfully empty.

When Thanos’ ‘children’ arrive, they are dutifully attacked by the three heroes. Banner is thrilled and relieved until he sees Tony, Strange and Wong tear their enemies limb from limb… and eat them.

Banner is next on the menu before Hope Van Dyne/ Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) saves him. Strange’s cape whisks Banner away to safety but what he really needs is answers.

In this universe, while Hulk, Thor, Loki, and Heimdall were on Asgard, things went horribly wrong for Earth. As in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank Pym successfully breached the quantum realm to find his long-lost wife, Janet.

But unlike in the MCU, where Janet was safe, in this world, Janet had been infected with a quantum virus that turned her into a zombie. She infected Hank, who, on his return, infected Scott Lang/ Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). Hope managed to shrink in time to escape.

The Zombie virus spread throughout America. The Avengers came in to rescue the population. They inadvertently made it worse.

Captain America, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Iron Man sought to save their people. Instead, they were infected and spread the virus across the world.

A handful of Avengers have survived, and they keep fighting. They take Banner in, and together they search for a cure.

What If…? Episode 5 – Beacon of hope

Along with Wasp, the surviving Avengers include Spider-Man (Hudson Thames), Bucky Barnes, Agent Sharon Carter (Emily Van Camp), Tony Stark’s friend and security chief, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), and somehow, Scott’s criminal buddy, Kurt (David Dastmalchian). Good on you, Kurt.

Once Banner joins them in What If…? Episode 5, the Avengers get a boost in medical and scientific knowledge, and they’re about to get another huge asset.

Okoye (Danai Gurira) travels from Wakanda in search of her king, T’Challa. Wakanda’s shields have kept the zombies at bay, but it is now the last human bastion. Okoye hopes to help in the search for a cure.

Okoye’s timing couldn’t be better. The Avengers have received a beacon pointing them to Camp Lehigh, where Steve Rogers trained to become Captain America. There could be more survivors and perhaps even a way to find a cure. The only problem is, how do they get there without transport?

The Avengers have to make a stop at Grand Central station. They can use one of the trains to get to Camp Lehigh. It’s a hotbed of zombie activity, but it’s a risk they have to take.

Of course, nothing on this planet goes right. The train doesn’t work, and it’s up to Spider-Man to give the train a boost. While he’s doing that, Happy and Sharon run into an old friend—Hawkeye, the zombie.

Happy doesn’t make it, and Sharon almost gets taken out, but she manages to escape the zombies. Meanwhile, Okoye and Bucky meet another friend—Falcon. Okoye takes him out, apologetic for Bucky’s loss. He’s getting used to it.

Spider-Man almost falls into a horde of zombies, but Strange’s cape saves him—cape is a great ally here, you guys!

The train finally becomes functional, and despite the losses, Banner, Wasp, Spider-Man, Sharon, Bucky, and Kurt head to Camp Lehigh.

Even on the train tracks, the Avengers aren’t safe. Sharon hears a sound at the back of the train and ends up being attacked by a zombie, moments after she’d avoided becoming one.

Bucky goes to rescue her, but he knows he’s too late when he sees which zombie is attacking her—Captain America. Bucky manages to take down his oldest friend, but there’s no saving Steve.

Wasp shrinks and goes into Sharon. Hope explodes out of Sharon, a really gross way to end a friend. But this is a hollow victory—Hope was cut in the process, and the virus slowly starts infecting her.

Hope wants a quick end, but Spider-Man refuses. He’s lost everyone before and during this apocalypse. He’s not ready to lose Hope or hope.

But there’s a new problem. The train runs out of fuel. Camp Lehigh is close, but there are zombies in their way. Hope may not survive, but she will save her friends.

Hope enlarges herself, carries her friends through the zombie hordes to Camp Lehigh and then sacrifices herself.

What If…? Episode 5 – Baba Yaga

Interestingly, the zombies refuse to climb over the fences of Camp Lehigh in What If…? Episode 5. Something is keeping them at bay. But what is it?

Kurt is afraid it’s Baba Yaga, but actually, it’s Vision (Paul Bettany). What a relief!

The Mind Stone in his forehead emits a frequency distasteful to the zombies. He’s been using that to keep them at bay and help survivors into the camp.

But there’s more. Vision has also created a cure. He’s successfully used it to cure Scott Lang, or at least, his head. Scott is back to his normal self, sans body, and he revels in making jokes. It’s hilarious.

What the Avengers now need is a delivery system, a satellite of some kind. Wakanda is the only place with a satellite strong enough.

While they make plans, Bucky goes to investigate the facility. Vision warns against it—Bucky is not going to like what he finds. Vision is right.

Hidden behind the curtain is T’Challa. Cured but missing a leg. T’Challa tells Bucky to run that they’re all in danger. But from what?

It looks like Kurt was right about Baba Yaga.

Wanda/ Scarlet Witch fell to the zombies, and her power makes her immune to Vision’s cure. Vision has been using his beacon to keep the other zombies at bay, but he’s also called survivors to him. Not to save them but to feed his wife.

Wanda is an unstoppable force, but Banner appeals to Vision’s humanity. Vision relents and sends the Avengers to a jet nearby and an escape to Wakanda. He also gives them his Mind Stone, dying in the process.

T’Challa, Spider-Man and Scott, with Strange’s cape, get to the jet. Wanda takes Okoye, and Bucky and Banner stay back to distract the zombies. Bucky falls, but Banner manages to get the Hulk out. It’s enough to keep the zombies at bay.

The Avengers, what’s left of them, escape Camp Lehigh, but just barely. As they approach Wakanda, they finally feel some sense of hope.

But that might change when they see what awaits at the Wakandan shields. Thanos arrived at Wakanda, just as he had in Avengers: Infinity War. But in this universe, he and his army have been zombified. And Thanos already has five stones. Enough for him to snap his fingers.

Final Thoughts – What If…? Episode 5 is an engrossing and heartfelt triumph

I hate zombies, but What If…? Episode 5 may be my favorite zombie story ever. The stakes have never been higher. Seeing your beloved heroes turned into mindless creatures is heartbreaking and thrilling.

I loved the collection of heroes in this episode, many of whom haven’t interacted in the films. It was a motley crew that worked excellently off each other.

Spider-Man’s pop culture knowledge was a delight. Okoye saying Wakanda watched American reality TV for their dose of horror made me giggle. Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa talking about death hit me in the feels so hard.

I liked that there was plenty of humor thrown in. We needed it to lighten the mood, considering the heavy losses suffered this episode.

I honestly think we need a second part to this episode. I could have watched so much more! This show is my favorite Marvel thing. I’m saying it now. What are we going to see next week? I’ll be waiting with bated breath.

What did you think of What If…? Episode 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

What If…? is streaming on Disney Plus.