Wild West Introduces Multiverse Saga Villain And Brings Back A Defender

What If…? season 3’s sixth episode, “What If… 1872?” opens in the Wild West where John Walker’s posse rings a bell ten times (the “Ten Rings”) to summon local hero Shang-Chi to their location. 

The Master of the Martial Arts makes short work of the baddies thanks to a helping hand from his partner Hawkeye, a.k.a. Kate Bishop. They’re both looking for The Hood, a villain we know takes centre stage in the upcoming Ironheart TV series. 

The Watcher explains that things can get really weird in the furthest reaches of the Multiverse, hence a Wild West reality like this one (we even catch a glimpse of worlds where Ultron was programmed to sing show tunes and Throg battles Alligator Loki).

It’s revealed that Shang-Chi’s sister, Xu Xialing, fled to America for a better life only to become a victim of The Hood and his plans to victimise and vilify immigrants as a means to cement his power. 

Shang-Chi now searches for her while Kate’s on a mission of revenge for the death of her family at the villain’s hands. They find another decimated township and meet a young boy, Jun-Fan, who claims The Hood left on a ghost train (impressed by his martial arts knowledge, the heroes take him with them). 

They find the train which is seemingly being powered by repulsor tech; The Hood has stolen technology belonging to Tony Stark, Justin Hammer, Darren Cross and more, and those missing immigrants are all aboard and brainwashed. Sonny Burch appears and is revealed to be working for The Hood. Jun-Fan escapes but Shang-Chi and Hawkeye are taken to his boss. 

Pursued by Burch’s men, things look bleak for Jun-Fan until The Watcher interferes again. As for Shang-Chi, he confronts The Hood and, following a fight that sees the villain turn invisible, the hero unmasks him and sees his sister’s warped face staring back. She killed The Hood and stole his powers; the army she’s amassed will help her make America the country she was promised. 

Burch confesses to killing Kate’s parents and uses his pocket watch to control her like those kidnapped locals. Fortunately, Jun-Fan rings the bell and breaks its effects, allowing Hawkeye to knock the villain out and vow revenge. 

As for Shang-Chi, he refuses to join his sister and tries to bring her back to him. Xu Xialing, unfortunately, is too far gone but, just as she goes to kill her brother, Kate guns her down. The scars fade and the hood is blown away, leaving her to die in the cowboy’s arms. 

He doesn’t blame Kate and, later, she observes that the kid, Jun-Fan, has “iron fists.” Yes, he’s the same Jun-Fan from the comics who served as Iron Fist during the days of the Wild West!

As the episode ends, Shang-Chi and Hawkeye ride off into the sunset and The Watcher is captured by The Eminence and told he’ll pay for his interference, with a few shards of the Observational Plane sent spilling into the Multiverse…

In a universe where the heroes of the MCU live in the Old West, Shang-Chi and his pistol-packing partner, Kate Bishop, traverse the frontier, saving the innocent from the evils of The Hood.

The cast in episode 6 includes Jeffrey Wright, Simu Liu, Hailee Steinfeld, Wyatt Russell, Meng’er Zhang, and Walton Goggins. The episode is directed by Stephan Franck and Bryan Andrews, with a story by Bryan Andrews, Matthew Chauncey, and Ryan Little, and a teleplay by Matthew Chauncey and Ryan Little.