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Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, TV | Tagged: disney, jon favreau, kat dennings, Marvel Studios, Marvel's What If, mcu, sam rockwell
What If…? Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Yippee Ki-Yay, Happy Hogan!
In Marvel Studios' What If...?, Jon Favreau does his best impression of Bruce Willis in Die Hard, and Sam Rockwell returns as Justin Hammer.
Article Summary
- Jon Favreau channels Bruce Willis in a Die Hard-themed What If...? Season 2 episode.
- Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer returns with a vengeance at Avengers Tower.
- Darcy Lewis and Maria Hill aid Happy Hogan in festive, action-packed chaos.
- Stream new episodes of What If...? on Disney+ through the end of the month.
Given how long the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around, it's hard to believe it only took them 15 years to finally pull on a trigger and do a Die Hard (1988) episode on Marvel's What If…? episode "What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" that has Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan front and center. The cast reunites the bulk of the Phase I/II cast, mostly in cameo roles. Joining Favreau are Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), and Iron Man 2 (2010) star Sam Rockwell, reprising his role as Justin Hammer. Mick Wingert takes over for Robert Downey Jr as the voice of Tony Stark/Iron Man, Lake Bell for Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, and Josh Keaton for Chris Evans' Steve Rogers/Captain America.
Marvel's What If…? Goes 'Die Hard'
The bulk of the What If…? episode focuses on Happy as he, Darcy, and Maria are at Avengers Tower, Happy tries to organize the holiday party with JARVIS going offline for maintenance, and I guess they couldn't "fit" Pepper Potts in the budget for the episode. Playing the part of Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber is Hammer as he tries to enact his revenge on Tony for putting him away, making him one of the few MCU villains actually to be incarcerated, in the Favreau-directed film with his thugs and hacking skills taking over Stark's automated security sentries. While there are obvious callbacks from Happy being stuck in a ventilation shaft to his phone exchange with Darcy that include reference to Reginald VelJohnson.
Not that I expect Favreau's Happy to be as witty as Bruce Willis John McClane or even as much as his boss Tony, but he gets as much as he gets in as the star with Dennings doing her duty as the MCU's most invaluable plucky sidekick. While Rockwell doesn't have any future MCU projects lined up, he's certainly one of the most charismatic villains, and it's a shame he can't get a more dedicated return arc like Daniel Brühl (Baron Zemo) did in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier or Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky/Abomination) in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Come on Disney! Rockwell's too talented to have Hammer only come back in a one-off! "What If Happy Hogan Saves Christmas" is a fun throwback episode to remind us how far along the MCU has come since its original inception when it's not too busy underwhelmingly overbuilding its Phase V. New episodes of What If…? stream every day through December 30th on Disney+.
Marvel's What If...? Season Two Episode 3: "What If...Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?"
7/10
Jon Favreau, Kat Dennings, and Sam Rockwell shine in the Marvel's What If...? episode "What If...Happy Hogan Saves Christmas" in Die Hard-like fashion with an emphasis on goofiness than the violence and gore, leaving us wanting far more from the Iron Man 2 villain in future canon.
Credits
Director
Bryan Andrews
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