Was Marvel Too Scared To Make Steve Rogers Into Captain Carter's Winter Soldier?

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

Marvel's What If...? gave a unique adaptation to Captain America's Marvel Cinematic Universe story, but it strangely shies away from the Winter Soldier. Marvel's new animated show, What If...?, turns the story of Captain America: The First Avenger upside down. Instead of Steve Rogers (voiced by Josh Keaton) taking the Super Soldier Serum, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) steps up to do it. Carter then takes on the name of Captain Carter, leading the war effort against HYDRA. On the other hand, Rogers, who's been left without his superhuman abilities, takes a different approach to the fight. The character eventually becomes an early version of Iron Man, donning the HYDRA Stomper, a metal suit created by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) that the Tesseract powers. Captain Carter, Rogers, and the Howling Commandos, an elite MCU fighting unit, then team up to take on Red Skull (Ross Marquand) and HYDRA.

In addition to the stories of Rogers and Carter receiving an update, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) gets a new timeline as well. In The First Avenger, Barnes supposedly dies after falling off a train, only to later come back as HYDRA's Winter Soldier. Cap ultimately helps bring Bucky back from his dark path, but Bucky continues to deal with the fallout from his assassin days throughout his MCU journey. However, Bucky's Winter Soldier storyline doesn't happen in What If...?. Instead, Captain Carter saves Bucky from falling off the train, and Rogers is the one captured by HYDRA, seemingly setting him up to be the new Winter Soldier. But in an odd move, What If...? completely ignores the Winter Soldier, and the Howling Commandos and Captain Carter eventually save Rogers.

What If...? denying Cap the opportunity to become Winter Soldier is strange. At the very least, it creates an MCU plot hole. After all, there's no reason HYDRA would want to keep Rogers alive. The move also denies fans the opportunity to see Steve Rogers break bad. With Cap being such a beacon of hope over the years, turning him evil would be the ultimate twist. Considering Rogers and Captain Carter's romantic entanglements, Rogers' Winter Soldier could add interesting layers to the MCU. But, despite there already being a precedent for an evil Cap in the Marvel comics, the episode simply breezes past the possibility.

Why Hydra Didn't Kill Steve Rogers Is A What If...? Plot-Hole

In What If...?, Captain Carter, Rogers, and the Howling Commandos fall into a HYDRA trap, attacking a train they think holds Red Skull. However, HYDRA has the train rigged with explosives and blows it up, allowing the organization to capture Rogers and his HYDRA Stomper suit. But, of course, Rogers is eventually saved by Captain Carter and the Howling Commandos. Though he's a bit roughed up, he's healthy enough to put on the HYDRA Stomper and join the final battle against Red Skull and his Shuma-Gorath-like monster.

Marvel creates a massive plot hole by leaving Rogers alive. HYDRA captures Rogers to regain the Tesseract, but the man has no use to them. If HYDRA wasn't turning Rogers into the Winter Soldier, the organization has no reason to keep him around. Yet, when the Howling Commandos arrive, Rogers is oddly healthy enough to continue fighting. Since HYDRA regularly kills anyone in its path, including its own soldiers, leaving Rogers alive doesn't make much sense.

Making Steve Captain Carter's Winter Soldier Would Have Been Perfect

Peggy Carter in What If and Steve Rogers in Captain America The First Avenger

The Winter Soldier is a pivotal part of Bucky and Cap's relationship. Though Bucky becomes a murderous HYDRA soldier, Cap never gives up on him. The conflict over Bucky carries on through Captain America: Civil War and even into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Because of Cap's love for Bucky, he continually fights to bring him back to the light, and Marvel just passed up an opportunity to make that story even more intriguing.

Rogers would've been a perfect Winter Soldier for Captain Carter. Given the pair's history and feelings towards each other, Carter would undoubtedly take on the burden of saving Rogers from his dark fate. The romance element also adds a whole new layer to the story. Some Marvel fans have pined for a romantic relationship between the Winter Soldier and Cap. Though Marvel may not take that Cap and Winter Soldier relationship forward, there's already plenty of romantic history between Carter and Rogers.

What If...? Missed A Chance To Give MCU Fans What They Wanted

What If...? is supposed to show sides to the MCU fans have never seen before, so an evil Captain America would've been perfect. After all, Captain America is unwaveringly good throughout the MCU. In fact, he's so good that he's even deemed worthy of holding Mjolnir by the end of Avengers: Endgame. By turning him into the Winter Soldier, Marvel would've created a twist that would make headlines. The possibility of a character that's so pure becoming corrupted by HYDRA seems like it'd be a story that the What If...? premiere would've wanted to explore. It'd also help humanize Bucky, showing even the best of characters can be manipulated and corrupted. Deliberately avoiding an idea that would get fans talking is a bit strange.

The concept of good characters going bad is an age-old story that's often repeated in comics. Though it generally occurs through manipulation or body doubles, good characters taking dark turns leads to popular storylines and generally gets the fandom buzzing. Perhaps making Marvel's decision to stay away from an evil Captain America even more confusing, Cap already broke bad in the comics.

Steve Rogers Hydra Agent Comics Background Explained

Black widow Red room defeated Hydra before captain america

In a 2016 twist that turned the comic book world on its head, Captain America uttered the words, "Hail HYDRA." In the 2017 comic event Secret Empire, Cap continues his mean streak, carrying out atrocities as HYDRA Supreme and trapping Marvel superheroes outside the Earth's atmosphere. Eventually, Marvel reveals the Evil Cap is a double, and the real Cap ultimately defeats him. However, the storyline shows that creating a bad version of Cap in the MCU isn't much of a stretch.

Though there are reasons that Marvel may want to stay away from the story, ignoring the possibility of Cap becoming the Winter Soldier is bizarre. Yes, the What If...? premiere was a celebration of Captain Carter, and the addition of an evil Captain America could've perhaps unnecessarily stolen attention. Also, the Evil Cap story in the Marvel comics created an extreme backlash from some fans. However, What If...? is supposed to be about answering some of Marvel's biggest questions. Unfortunately, the prospect of Captain HYDRA may have been so sinister that it left Marvel a bit scared.

More: What If…? Episode 1 Addresses The MCU's Biggest Peggy Carter Crime

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