What If Episode 8 Ending Explained: How The Watcher Will Beat Ultron

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's What If...? episode 8, "What If...Ultron Won?"

In Marvel's What If...? episode 8's ending, Uatu the Watcher has been discovered and attacked by Ultron, leaving him no choice but to get involved to defeat the Infinity Stone-wielding AI bent on destroying the entire multiverse. What If...? episode 8 reveals an alternate timeline is revealed where Ultron defeated Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron (save for Black Widow and Hawkeye). This lead to his success in achieving "peace" on Earth by eradicating nearly the entire population with nuclear warheads and his armies of drones. However, he soon learned about the greater multiverse after killing Thanos and taking the Infinity Stones as his own.

After destroying countless worlds, Ultron soon became aware of the Watcher himself and the multiverse he observed. Unfortunately, the Watcher could do little to prevent the murderous AI conqueror from breaking through to his realm between realities. The two immensely powerful beings then began an epic battle of cosmic proportions, punching each other through various timelines as the Watcher defended himself. However, Ultron proved to be too powerful for even the Watcher, leading to his temporary retreat.

By the end of the episode, it seems as though the Watcher has no other option than to break his oath to never interfere, seeking the help of the evil Doctor Strange to beat Ultron in future episodes. Furthermore, it's been teased that additional heroes from prior episodes of What If...? will be recruited as well, forming the Guardians of the Multiverse to take the fight to this new Ultron who certainly seems to be the most powerful being in the multiverse.

Why The Watcher Breaks His Oath In What If Episode 8

In What If...? episode 8's ending, the Watcher was forced to fight when Ultron attacked. Unfortunately for Uatu, their battle largely took place in physical planes for several mortals to see, witnessing the cosmic observer who ironically should never be witnessed himself. However, with Ultron's power being so great and threatening to kill Uatu, the Watcher dons a set of armor, determined to keep the multiverse safe from Ultron's seemingly inevitable and destructive power.

However. while fighting Ultron was technically a breach of his oath, the Watcher's surprise battle resulted in his inadvertent interference that was largely against his will, coming from a necessity for survival. Furthermore, it was only when they were alone that he decided to fight back in earnest, making sure that his actions could not be seen by those living on the timelines they were on. However, it soon became clear that Ultron could not be defeated by the Watcher alone, resulting in him leaving to plan and make alliances. As a result, the Watcher has officially decided to break his oath, resigning himself to the fact that there's no other way to save the multiverse.

Uatu may be an observer, but he is altruistic in nature, something that has been increasingly apparent across What If...?'s episodes, as he's become a more solid presence and been close to interfering more directly before. That's on display again in episode 8 even before the Watcher's fight with Ultron; Uatu clearly cares about humanity and ultimately wants to protect it, which he's forced to do when there's no one else left. Similarly, the erasure of the multiverse would mean the end of his own purpose, leaving him nothing to watch over.

Why The Watcher Turns To The Evil Doctor Strange

In the aftermath of his battle with Ultron, the Watcher returned to the decimated universe belonging to the dark Doctor Strange known as the Strange Supreme. Having destroyed his reality in his attempts to alter an absolute point in time, Strange has been trapped in a prison on the last piece of what remained due to the Watcher's refusal to intervene. However, the tables have now turned, and the ending of Marvel's What If...? episode 8 sees the Watcher asking Strange for his help, having no other option but to break his oath to stop Ultron.

The Watcher most likely went to Strange for two reasons. Firstly, Strange had gained enough power and dark magic to break an absolute point in time. While it did destroy his universe, it looks as though the Strange Supreme still has access to that power which would certainly be helpful against an Ultron who possesses all the Infinity Stones. Secondly, Strange is the only person who is aware of the Watcher's existence other than Ultron himself, making him the logical choice for Uatu to approach for help first. The Watcher already broke his rules with Doctor Strange once, speaking to him - if not truly interfering - in What If...? episode 4, so there is an established relationship there and, with few heroes left, it makes perfect send that he'd turn to Strange Supreme now.

What What If Episode 8 Is Setting Up

Ultron's God complex is evident in Avengers: Age of Ultron (and is at least partially a twisted extension of Tony Stark's own) and it's because of that that he wishes to destroy humanity. Due to the final scene from What If...? episode 7, it looks as though Ultron will begin conquering alternate universes beyond his own now that he's discovered their existence and how to traverse realities; after all, why destroy one universe when you can unleash your wrath upon them all? Unless he can be stopped, it's likely Ultron will just continue destroying timelines and universes for eternity, never stopping and killing billions along the way.

However, it seems as though the Watcher in What If...? has the beginnings of a plan, seeing how he desperately wanted Black Widow and Hawkeye to find the AI consciousness of Arnim Zola to hack into Ultron's network so he could take him down from within. Whether that works remains to be seen, with Black Widow and Zola unable to locate where Ultron is after he enters the Watcher's own plane of existence. What If...? episode 8's ending reveals Uatu has a greater scheme in the works though, with the dark Doctor Strange that will definitely see him breaking his oath of non-interference much more than he already has, getting ready to once again fight back against Ultron, this time with the power not only of Doctor Strange Supreme, but an entire team of superheroes.

The MCU's Guardians Of The Multiverse Team Explained

Marvel-What-If-Guardian-Multiverse-Featured

As it stands, it's been teased from promos and the series' trailers that the Strange Supreme is only the first of several heroes the Watcher will recruit from across the timelines that have been featured previously, forming the new team known Guardians of the Multiverse. By working together as the Multiverse's Mightiest Heroes, the Watcher just might stand a chance against Ultron when they inevitably meet again following on from What If...? episode 8's ending. The exact lineup of heroes is to be confirmed, but the teasers have suggested it'll include Captain Carter, T'Challa's Star-Lord, Party Thor, Black Widow, Killmonger, and Gamora alongside the Watcher and Doctor Strange, which is certainly an all-star team to help take the fight to Ultron.

Having Ultron becoming the ultimate big bad as a threat to the entire multiverse with the Infinity Stones makes for quite the dynamic foe, as well as being powerful enough that the Watcher has no choice but to get involved in the narrative of the multiverse to make sure it continues to exist safely. As a result, here's hoping the upcoming Guardians of the Multiverse will be enough to help the Watcher save all the realities from the incredibly evolved and dangerous AI villain that is Ultron.

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Marvel's What If...? streams new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.