Marvel has been dropping hints confirming the Cold War history of the MCU. Marvel fans are close to understanding how the Marvel superheroes started before Iron Man because there is proof that there's already a secret history of superhuman activity in the 20th century.
Marvel Confirmed The Secret Cold War In What If...? And More Films
Ant-Man revealed that Hank Pym and his wife, Janet Van Dyne, had worked with SHIELD during the Cold War. Meanwhile, The Falcon & the Winter Soldier introduced Isaiah Bradley, the first Black Captain America who served as a super-soldier during the Korean War in the 1950s.
Black Widow went further by implying the superhuman arms race in Cold War. The film also introduced the Red Guardian, Russia's Captain America. Apparently, UUSR worked on its own super-soldier program during the Cold War.
Marvel's What If...? Episode 8 also showed more details about the Cold War. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Hydra scientist Arnim Zola passed away in 1972, but his mental engrams were uploaded to a computer system.
Marvel's What If...? Episode 8 revealed multiple copies of Zola's program and one was used to create Russia's super-soldier program. Zola's program must have been used in Winter Soldier and in the creation of Red Guardian. It's also possible that the Black Widows worked for him.
Other Highlights In What If…? Episode 8
The penultimate episode of What If...? gave Hawkeye new gadgets and abilities making him even more stronger. Hawkeye's powerful arrows can emit forcefields, he has a cloak that can keep him invisible and a new mechanical arm similar to that of Winter Soldier.
However, he still remains human and his humanity was highlighted when he sacrificed his life to save Black Widow. The scene was a direct reverse of Hawkeye and Black Widow's scene in Avengers: Endgame where Natasha sacrificed her life to save Clint for the soul stone.
The episode also revealed Hawkeye's full name Clinton Francis 'Clint' Barton.
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