The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown from a single reality into a vast multiverse teeming with possibilities, many of which viewers get continue briefly exploring with season two of What If…? The voice of The Watcher welcomes viewers back for the animated series' new season that sends them off to the stars to explore a different kind of heroic redemption for the ever-popular Nebula, once again portrayed by Karen Gillan.

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If…? Season 2, Episode 1*

Recap

The What If…? premiere doesn't waste time in establishing its core premise, with Nebula as a member of the Nova Corps on a Xandar that feels more akin to Blade Runner than the original Guardians of the Galaxy. It then jumps back in time to show how Nebula joined the Nova Corps after Thanos was betrayed and killed by Ronan the Accuser, her rescue and recruitment by Nova Prime, and the attempted invasion of Xandar by Ronan that left the planet encased in a protective shield that has led to things breaking down on the planet's surface from the isolation.

Nebula discovers the body of Yondu Udonta in a dark alley when she is effectively shoveled off by other members of the Nova Corps led by Garthan Saal. She is then contacted by Nova Prime directly to investigate Yondu's murder and uncover the mastermind of a plot potentially threatening Xandar. When Nebula returns to the crime scene, she locates Yondu's acoustic arrow that has mysterious blueprints on it.

The need for answers sends Nebula to an illegal casino run by none other than Howard the Duck where Korg works as the bartender, Miek as a cook, and Groot as a dealer, along with serving as Howard's muscle. Here she learns the blueprints are actually plans for an older mainframe core containing various data, the most important being source codes for the planet's shield.

Requiring the aid of a skilled infiltrator, Nebula visits a nearby prison to break out the Kree Starforce member Yon-Rogg to get into the mainframe.

After an eventful escape, the pair arrive at the mainframe core and manage to gain access to the codes. Nebula attempts to delete them when Yon-Rogg betrays Nebula and steals the codes, leaving her for dead as the core begins to flood. She manages to escape, only to learn Yon-Rogg was working for Nova Prime as part of a deal she struck that would give Ronan Xandar and keep her in power alongside her loyalists led by Saal.

Nebula pulls off yet another escape but is left much worse for wear as a result and shambles back to Howard's bar for help. After some quick repairs, Nebula convinces Howard and his muscle to join her in stopping Nova Prime's plans before the planet is handed over to Ronan.

Armed with plenty of heavy weapons and Yondu's arrow and mohawk, the team assault a Nova Corps' headquarters completely in the hands of Nova Prime's loyalists. Nebula manages to reach Nova Prime, but not before the latter can begin opening the planetary shield. However, it is revealed Nebula changed the security codes after Nova Prime told her to solve Yondu's case “by any means necessary,” effectively tipping her hand.

The changed codes causes the shield to close back up as Ronan's ship begins to approach the planet, destroying it and ending his threat once and for all. Nova Prime is swiftly defeated, as well, falling to her doom after a brief fight with Nebula.\

Marvel brings back a who's who of MCU veterans for season two of What If...?

Review

As far as season premiere's go, the episode choice was an inspired one as it may best encapsulate the charm and appeal a series like What If…? provides to an established franchise like the MCU. The show's very premise opens the door for plenty of genre-blending and bending within the MCU sandbox, which the first season showcased with its Marvel Zombies-inspired episode.

What If…Nebula Joined the Nova Corps? is another example of this genre-blending at work as it injects plenty of film noir into the typical Marvel action and humor viewers are familiar with. The episode is dripping in noir between the dark and rainy city, hard-boiled lead character, and shades-of-gray abound among the cast of characters. Viewers still get their fix of one-liners and action, though, especially in the episode's climax that sees Nebula's motley crew assault the Nova Corps headquarters.

Viewers can also hear how much fun the voice cast is having with this mini-noir story within the Marvel universe.

Speaking of which, the cast for the episode features a who's who of names from across the MCU's cinematic entries going back to the 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Karen Gillan leads the cast for this episode, with Peter Serafinowicz and Seth Green back from the 2014 film as Garthan Saal and Howard the Duck. Joining the Guardians of the Galaxy veterans are Taiki Waititi and Jude Law as Korg and Yon-Rogg, respectively, making it Law's second appearance in the MCU following his debut as the Starforce leader in 2019's Captain Marvel.

Ending Explained

A core tenant of Nebula's story within the MCU after her debut in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy was the character's redemption. Over the course of multiple films she transforms from a loyal, if fearful, daughter of Thanos to a full-fledged member of the Guardians by the time of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The episode effectively condenses this narrative to fit the roughly 30-minute running time, showing how she reached the start of the episode in a quick flashback so the audience can understand where this version of Nebula has been. The ending sees Nebula in a similar place to where she was by the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, becoming a true hero to, in this case, the people of Xandar in their greatest moment of need.

Should you stream What If…? season 2 episode 1?

The episode is definitely another worthwhile watch, especially for fans of the first season.

What If…?'s season premiere hits all the notes fans have come to expect of the show, and this is by no means a bad thing. Everything the series does well is on display for audiences to enjoy and kick off a second season that has already teased even more outlandish stories from across the MCU's multiverse than the first season.

What If…? season two is streaming on Disney+.