- “Isn't this nice? No better time of year. So, let me tell you about my favorite yuletide story.”
- ―The Watcher
"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" is the third episode of the second season of the Disney+ streaming television series What If...? and the twelfth episode of the series overall. It aired on December 24, 2023. It was written by A.C. Bradley and Matthew Chauncey, and directed by Bryan Andrews.
Premise[]
When Justin Hammer lays siege to Avengers Tower during the annual holiday party, there's only one person left on site to stop him—Happy Hogan. But in setting out to prove his hero chops, Iron Man's errand boy may end up transforming himself in more ways than one.
Synopsis[]
The episode begins on Christmas Eve (presumably 2014, post-Winter Soldier, but pre-Age of Ultron), with the Avengers battling a strange new creature. The Watcher comments how the audience is probably wondering who the creature is, and so takes them back several hours prior.
Happy Hogan, Darcy Lewis and Director Maria Hill are preparing a Christmas party at Avengers Tower. Happy sends Darcy out to get some maraschino cherries, but as she leaves, she fails to notice Justin Hammer entering the tower with two mercenaries. The Watcher explains that after his part in the Stark Expo incident, Justin Hammer was sent to jail, but seemingly received a longer prison sentence in this universe, leading to him reading up on Tony Stark and Bruce Banner becoming "science bros".
Hammer holds the Tower staff hostage, and is able to hack into the Iron Legion drones, in part due to J.A.R.V.I.S. being down, and programs them to capture any on-site staff. Hogan, in the elevator, catches Hammer and his mercs trying to break into the lab in order to obtain a sample of Hulk blood for Hammer to rebrand himself as the next Super. Happy climbs into the vent shaft and contacts Maria, who instructs him to get the Hulk blood while she deals with Hammer. Happy is able to reach the lab through the vents, but overhears Hammer using an Iron Legion drone to capture Maria. The vent Happy's in then collapses, and the mercs spot him in the lab, with Hammer sending the drones after him. Happy searches the lab and finds the Hulk blood (as well as a confetti arrow), but accidentally drops it onto his leg and injects the sample into his body, causing his leg to start hulking up.
Happy escapes the lab and hides in an office locker as he continues to transform. He tries to phone the other Avengers, but Natashia is dealing with a HYDRA assassin, Tony is doing a mall Santa event (needing to hang up because Steve, dressed as an elf, is getting mobbed by a crowd of soccer moms), and Clint & Bruce are Christmas shopping, with Clint trying to get an Iron Man action figure over the crowd of screaming children and Bruce's protests. Happy makes it to the costume department and is forced to contact Darcy to tell her what's going on, and comes up with a plan to ask Darcy to sneak into the Tower's mainframe in the basement and find one of the backup A.I. to take control of the tower back.
The mercs find Happy and he jumps out the window, using a roll of spandex to swing back into the building, but in turn completing his transformation. Darcy is able to get into the mainframe and picks out the W.E.R.N.E.R. program, but is captured by Hammer and his men. Hammer contacts Happy to tell him to surrender himself in order for Hammer to get a sample of the Hulk blood, or else he will kill Darcy. Happy tells Hammer he is coming up. In the penthouse, Hammer is opening the Avengers' Christmas gifts (Tony got Steve Iron Man socks), and the elevator arrives, with Hammer having the Iron Legion blast who is inside. It turns out to be just a mannequin decoy with the confetti arrow, with Happy bursting through the floor during the distraction and taking out the Iron Legion guarding Darcy and Maria. Hammer's mercs flee, seeing this above their pay grade, and Hammer runs to the armory.
Darcy & Maria upload W.E.R.N.E.R., but the A.I. refuses to help, so Happy, after battling through the Iron Legion, has to fight Hammer, who is wearing a Hulkbuster suit. During the battle, the Avengers arrive, with them initially attacking Happy, not realizing who it is. Darcy is able to get them to stop fighting and explain the situation, while Tony immediately deactivates the Hulkbuster suit. Happy roars at Hammer, causing him to fall out the window, but Happy proceeds to save him, since it's Christmas.
Happy apologizes for the mess caused, but Tony says how proud he is of Happy. Happy asks if Tony can fix what has happened to him, but Tony dodges the question. As the Avengers head off to get food, Thor arrives, disappointed to find he arrived late to the party.
Cast[]
- Jeffrey Wright as Uatu/The Watcher
- Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan/Freak
- Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
- Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
- Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson
- Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
- Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
- Mick Wingert as Tony Stark/Iron Man
- Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
- Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers/Captain America
- Isaac Robinson-Smith as Sergei
- Matthew Waterson as Rustam Vyacheslav
- Ross Marquand as W.E.R.N.E.R.
Trivia[]
- This marks an episode with no character deaths.
- Clint & Bruce frantically trying to buy an Iron Man figure may be a reference to the Christmas film Jingle All The Way.
- Tony referring to Steve's shield as a "patriotic Frisbee" may be a homage to how Ultron mockingly refers to how the Strategic Scientific Reserve took what limited Vibranium they had and made a frisbee out of it.
- The episode's premise is similar to Die Hard, with Happy in the John McClane position, which gets lampshaded.
- Justin Hammer's Christmas memory about wanting a BB gun is the premise of A Christmas Story, which an Avengers Tower staff member comments on.
- Hammer mentions how he should have hired the Sokovian Team for his raid. This may be the same team that Zemo was said to be part of.
- Happy's phone contact list includes Tony, Steve, Natasha, Clint and Bruce, as well as A. Bradley, M. Chauncey, C. Everhart, G. Fisher, N. Fury, M. Hill, H. Keener, C. Klein, D. Lewis, S. Lee, J. Lincoln, P. Potts, J. Rhodes, G. T. Ross, and S. Wilson.
- Darcy claims "Bernard From Accounting" is PUFFIN 1. Bernard From Accounting is someone who Black Widow attempts to hook Captain Carter with in What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?, with Captain Carter replying that nothing good ever followed "Bernard From Accounting".
- Among the A.I. selections are F.R.I.D.A.Y, W.A.D.S.W.O.R.T.H. & E.D.I.T.H. Wadsworth may be a homage to Tim Curry's Character in Clue, while Peter Parker would be given E.D.I.T.H. in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
- According to A.C. Bradley, the writing team considered paying tribute to some other Jon Favreau projects in the episode, like The Chef Show or Elf, but ended up making it into a Die Hard homage.
- When Happy is beating up Justin in the Hulkbuster, Iron Man snaps "Son of a nutcracker!", Which is a line from the 2003 movie Elf directed by Jon Favreau, Happy Hogan himself.
- Speaking of which, Justin Hammer using the Hulkbuster punching Happy is a reference to Avengers: Age of Ultron when Tony was using the Hulkbuster to punch Hulk out.
- Justin Hammer makes a pun out of Hulk, Happy Hogan, and Hulk Hogan, Chris Hemsworth who plays Thor was set to play Hulk Hogan in a biopic of the wrestler, before it got cancelled.
- This is the first Christmas episode of the series.
- There is a deleted scene where Hawkeye attempts to convince Children to buy action figures of him, but it was cut for time.[1]
- Justin Hammer returns since Iron Man 2.
- This is the first episode where Iron Man does not die as part of the major plot in a What If...? episode.
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