Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's What If…? episode 8.

Marvel's What If...? episode 8 features a brief encounter between Ultron (Ross Marquand) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) and it has an Avengers: Infinity War timeline plot hole. In its penultimate outing, the Marvel Studios animated series used Avengers: Age of Ultron as the jumping point for its narrative. Picking up after Party Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) arc, it revealed the origins of Ultron who has all six Infinity Stones. 

Aptly titled "What If... Ultron Won?," Marvel Studios imagined what the MCU would look like if the titular villain wasn't defeated by Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The state of the world was desolate, with almost all Avengers ended up being dead, except for Black Widow (Lake Bell). But, as she tried finding a way to stop Ultron, little did she know that the evil robot had already ventured out into the cosmos, wiping out all life that he encountered in other planets. He doesn't plan on stopping there, however. After learning about the existence of the multiverse, he now aims to conquer other realities, as well. This explains his sudden appearance in What If...? episode 7's ending. 

Related: Every MCU Easter Egg In What If? Episode 8

While the latest episode of the Disney+ series started in the midst of the events of Age of Ultron, its story has already gone beyond that, as proven by Thanos' arrival on Earth in the middle of the outing. Cross-referencing this to what went down in the Sacred Timeline, this means that the villains' short but impactful encounter took place around the end of Infinity War. The problem with this is after Ultron quickly killed the Mad Titan and stol the remaining five Infinity Stones, What If...? episode 8 proceeded to show Gamora fighting with her fellow Guardians of the Galaxy, still very much alive. In the main MCU, she would've been dead at this point since her adoptive father already had the Soul Stone, which means she ought to have been sacrificed in order for him to get it. 

Zoe Saldana as Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War

Since What If...? is merely imagining how the MCU would've panned out if one element in it changed, it's safe to assume that the established rules are also the same in this alternate reality. So, aside from the timeline inconsistency, it also poses questions about how Thanos acquired the Soul Stone. Based on the rules laid out by Red Skull in Vormir, getting it requires a sacrifice. Since Gamora was presumably the only person that the Mad Titan truly loved, it's curious who else he might have given up for the elemental crystal. Otherwise, this suggests that there's a different way to collect the Soul Stone without mandating anyone to heartbreakingly kill someone precious to them. Assuming that this is the case, both Gamora's death in Infinity War and Black Widow's in Avengers: Endgame could've been prevented.

As the multi-episode story wraps up with What If...? episode 9, there's slim to no chance that the aforementioned queries will be addressed by the series — at least this season. The narrative's focus will be on the introduction of the Guardians of the Multiverse, which appears to include a Gamora variant based on the trailers. Fortunately, the animated show's sophomore year has already been confirmed, giving Marvel Studios the opportunity to clarify these inconsistencies. 

More: Marvel Hints There’s Another Way To Acquire The Soul Stone

Marvel's What If...? airs on Wednesdays on Disney+.

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