The MCU Just Brought Back An Underrated Villain In The Perfect Way
Never underestimate the power of Marvel’s deep bench.
What If poses an interesting dilemma for the MCU. Some premises are built around characters, showing alternate versions of the people we are used to seeing around them. However, others are built around the setting, meaning everyone and anyone could appear in an entirely new way — even an entirely new era — lending their face and character to a completely unrelated story.
In What If Season 3 Episode 6, “What If... 1872,” the last episode before the epic two-part finale, a hodge-podge of characters appear in the Wild West. While most of these appearances make sense because of their MCU characters, one addition is an especially meta-reference to one of the MCU’s most underutilized character actors.
Spoilers for What If Season 3 Episode 6, “What If... 1872,” follow!
“What If... 1872” follows Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop as a vigilante duo traversing the Old West and answering the call of whoever needs them — via the ten rings (of the town bell). They’re on the lookout for The Hood, a mysterious figure behind the loss of Kate’s family and Shang-Chi’s sister. They track down a missing crew of immigrants on a train, where they find a familiar face: Sonny Burch, the two-timing entrepreneur and criminal from Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Burch is a strange addition — he wasn’t even the main villain of Ant-Man and the Wasp, and he hasn’t been referenced since. However, he has one big thing going for him: he’s played by Walton Goggins.
Goggins’ appearance in the MCU was actually going against type for him. Over his prolific career, he’s found a niche as a go-to actor for cowboys and westerns. He’s appeared in Cowboys & Aliens, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and had a breakout role in neo-western Justified. In recent years, he’s gone against type with roles in The Righteous Gemstones and the upcoming season of The White Lotus, but his ultra-cool performance as The Ghoul in Prime Video’s Fallout series cemented his identity as a character actor.
Walton Goggins garnered acclaim for his role as The Ghoul in Fallout.
To Goggins, this pattern isn’t a testament to his typecasting, but on the eternal mystique of the cowboy. “I don’t think I’m typecast at all,” he told Inverse. “It’s a genre that I love, that I’m a fan of.” The Ghoul was the perfect role for him: in the post-apocalyptic future, he’s a nihilist and irradiated wanderer, but in flashbacks he’s an actor known for his roles in westerns.
This episode of What If just doubles down on the self-aware nature of Goggins’ Fallout role. At this point, hundreds of famous actors have appeared in Marvel projects, meaning any dip into another genre is likely to connect to some Marvel alumnus’ reputation. Unfortunately, because the series is ending after this season, this is the last “fun” episode of What If...? ever, but the series managed to use one last secret weapon under the wire.
