Steve Rogers Return To Marvel Spoiled
The continuation of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s What If…? series is perhaps one of the most anticipated releases Disney has scheduled for 2024, with fans wondering which alternate realities in the Marvel Universe the show will explore next. While that remains unknown, official Marvel merch has revealed that Steve Rogers is making a comeback in Season 2 of the show.
According to MovieWeb, Steve Rogers is set to make a tantalizing return to the MCU, though not in live-action releases. Hasbro—a known action figure manufacturer—has released a detailed figure of the Hydra Stomper, a suit of armor piloted by Steve Rogers, presenting a renewed design for Steve’s appearance in the upcoming season of What If…?
The revisited design of the Hydra Stomper sets out to provide the fandom with something even more remarkable, considering that the figure has interchangeable parts.
Hasbro has revised the design of the Hydra Stomper figurine, which indicates Steve Rogers’ look in the upcoming season.
For those who aren’t acquainted with the What If…? narrative, each episode in the series asks a hypothetical question that changes a major event or decision from the MCU mainline narrative, leading to an entirely different scenario. One such episode was “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?”, which sees Peggy Carter take the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, becoming Captain Carter.
In the episode, Steve Rogers remains a skinny young man but still plays a crucial role in the fight against the HYDRA, thanks to a large suit of armor made by Howard Stark, which is referred to by the fans as the “Hydra Stomper.” By the episode’s end, Peggy makes a significant sacrifice, similar to how Steve did in Captain America: The First Avenger,” but Steve’s fate in the ultimate universe remains open-ended, with fans debating as to what exactly happened to him and the suit.
The new design retains the recognizable What If…? DNA, the head sculpt bears a remarkable similarity to Chris Evans‘ version of Captain America from the mainline MCU.
In 2021, Hasbro also released a Hydra Stomper figure as part of their What If…? merch line and the fandom was thrilled. Now, the company has revised the design, which indicates Steve Rogers’ look in the upcoming season. What’s more impressive about the whole figure is that it’s not just a mere showpiece or a regular toy. It’s actually a Build-A-Figure product, which means that it comes with detachable parts, such as an arm, a torso, and perhaps even different weapons.
When fully assembled, these pieces form the complete Steve Rogers’ new Hydra Stomper figure. But Hasbro went a step further this time and gave this figure an interchangeable head sculpt of Steve Rogers without the suit’s helmet, and while the new design retains the recognizable What If…? DNA, the head sculpt bears a remarkable similarity to Chris Evans‘ version of Captain America from the mainline MCU.
What If…? Season 2
As for the second season of What If…? while Steve Rogers’ appearance might’ve been announced by mistake, not much detail is known about the upcoming narrative. The series was supposed to launch this year; however, Disney had its launch postponed from early 2023 to “Coming Soon,” but the “soon” never came. Disney is currently focused on its Disney+ × Hulu merger, with plenty of shows coming to or leaving the platforms as part of the company’s cost-cutting measures.
