The MCU Just Proved Nick Fury’s Captain Marvel Plan Was Always Stupid

Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If...? episode 7.

Episode 7 of Marvel's What If...? has proved beyond any doubt that SHIELD Director Nick Fury's plan for contacting Captain Marvel was always stupid, whatever reality he happened to be operating in. Although the show features the same iconic pager device first seen during a crucial post-credits scene at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, What If...? also makes it clear that Fury's rudimentary method of contacting one of Marvel's most powerful characters had some serious flaws. In fact, it takes another key SHIELD agent to highlight just how bizarre the Director's plan actually was.

During What If...? acting director Maria Hill uses the pager to contact Captain Marvel in order to deal with a rampaging Thor, intent on using the Earth as a party pad. Although Carol Danvers loses to Thor in their first encounter, being unceremoniously labeled a "party pooper" in the aftermath, she ultimately proves too strong for the self-styled "Party Prince". Despite her introduction, however, it is ultimately Thor's mother Frigga who really scares him into cleaning up his act and treating Earth with respect.

While the episode certainly showcases some of Captain Marvel's most impressive powers, it also highlights just how ill-conceived SHIELD's primary method of communication actually is. As acting director, Hill uses the pager almost instantly as soon as Thor's behavior gets out of hand. Fury, meanwhile, attempts to handle things himself, before being incapacitated by a boisterous Korg. The fact that Danvers (played here by Alexandra Daniels) is contacted at all highlights a major flaw with SHIELD's plan across the entire MCU – namely, that Fury is inexplicably reluctant to reach out for help.

Throughout the live-action MCU, Earth faces multiple terrifying threats, yet it is only as Fury is literally vanishing from existence that he finally decides to ask Captain Marvel for aid. However, in What If...?, Hill clearly has no such scruples, summoning her almost as soon as Fury is out of the picture and it is apparent that an alien intrusion is underway. Considering that Thor's partying habits are arguably far less threatening than Ultron's plan to destroy humanity and Loki's Chitauri army, it's reasonable to suggest that Fury's hesitance seems even sillier thanks to the events of What If...?

Beyond Fury's baffling Captain Marvel strategy, however, What If...? also raises questions about the process by which planet earth can actually contact Carol Danvers. As Darcy Lewis points out, the pager is an almost laughably quaint way of summoning one of the most powerful beings in all of existence – likening it to something a podiatrist would use. Although the pager originally made use of 90s technology, given SHIELD's not inconsiderable resources, it's slightly surprising that they haven't dedicated more time towards upgrading their final bulwark in the interim. The fact that there is only one fallback also seems extremely foolhardy, given the potentially dire consequences if Fury is somehow unable to reach the pager.

Exactly why Nick Fury doesn't contact Captain Marvel sooner has long been a mystery. However, episode 7 of What If...? suggests that the problem isn't with Carol Danvers, but with the Director himself. Had someone else been in charge of SHIELD, the show suggests that she would have arrived on the scene much earlier, potentially having a huge impact on events. Considering the number of times that Earth narrowly avoids destruction, Fury's plan seems not only silly but downright irresponsible.

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