History Recap / WhatIfS1E1WhatIfCaptainCarterWereTheFirstAvenger

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Right as Captain Carter and the Howling Commandos are closing in on HYDRA's location, the Red Skull, in a last-ditch effort to win the war, decides to summon a tentacled horror as HYDRA's "champion" with [[EvilIsNotAToy no means to direct or control it]]. He's among the first things it kills, in the middle of him boasting about it.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Carter single-handedly pushes the HYDRA monster back through the portal.

* NonActionGuy: Howard Stark, in a departure from the original plot, ends up not only building the HYDRA Stomper for Steve, but also ends up in the field with Captain Carter in the attack on the Castle, and becomes instrumental in defeating the Kraken.

* AmazonianBeauty: Peggy Carter, after she becomes a last-minute substitute for Steve in Erskine's super-soldier process. When the chamber opens, she still looks beautiful and ''[[https://i.imgur.com/4opFr1r.jpg buff]]''. Howard snarks that she won't be needing heels anymore. Despite the difference in psyhique and height Steve is still very attracted to her.

* AmazonianBeauty: Peggy Carter, after she becomes a last-minute substitute for Steve in Erskine's super-soldier process. When the chamber opens, she still looks beautiful and ''[[https://i.imgur.com/4opFr1r.jpg buff]]''. Howard snarks that she won't be needing heels anymore. She goes on to perform feats like pushing a truck above her head with the shield.

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Peggy is as fighting-capable as she is in the Sacred Timeline when the episode starts, then she takes the SuperSerum, which sends those stats [[UpToEleven skyrocketing]].

** Despite two of [[Characters/{{MCUSHIELD}} S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'s three founders being out of the picture by war's end, S.H.I.E.L.D. is still founded and is led in the present day by [[Characters/MCUSHIELDLeadership Nick Fury]], who still starts the Avengers Initiative.

* NoSwastikas: No actual Nazi German symbols are used, with them being substituted for either generic markings, or in the case of HYDRA, their skull and tentacles logo.

** This isn't the first time Zola's Swedish nationality was confused for German.

** The Red Skull in the Sacred Timeline was banished to Vormir to serve as the Soul Stone's guardian for all eternity. In this timeline, the Red Skull ends up being crushed and presumably eaten by a huge space monster he tried to summon, [[TheUnfought not even getting to fight Captain Carter.]]

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: After undergoing the transformation, Peggy is much more openly emotional, has less of a StiffUpperLip, and becomes a bit of a giddy BloodKnight at times, all much different than her ConsummateProfessional main universe counterpart. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation This could be]] the result of the SuperSoldier serum subtly altering her personality, her gaining confidence after becoming a [[OneManArmy one woman army]], or because Peggy had previously been surrounded by sexist men who don't take her seriously, so she has to compensate by being on her best behavior at all times, while Captain Carter has nothing to prove.

* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: Colonel Flynn replaces Colonel Phillips ([[DeathByAdaptation who is killed by Kruger]]), and proves to be a much poorer commanding officer. Philips, while gruff and surly, was a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who recognized when he was wrong about Steve, was respected by his underlings, didn't dismiss Peggy and was proactive in fighting HYDRA to the point of fighting on the frontlines. Flynn, meanwhile, is a misogynist, contributes nothing, and is respected by no one.

* AdaptationalRelationshipOverhaul: Roeder is sent by Hitler to call Schmidt back to Berlin for questioning and punishment, rather than to inspect the results of HYDRA's weapons research.

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Peggy is as fighting-capable as she is in the Sacred Timeline when the episode starts, then she takes the SuperSerum.

* AdaptationalWeaponSwap:
** Heinz Kruger, the HYDRA agent responsible for Dr. Erskine's death and botched theft of the latter's SuperSerum, uses a Luger [=P08=], rather than the Walther [=P38=] his Sacred Timeline counterpart used in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''.
** Johann Schmidt, aka the Red Skull, wields a Mauser [=C96=], rather than a Luger and later a HYDRA pistol. Justified, as he procures the tesseract at a much later date than his Sacred-Timeline counterpart, and thus without Arnim Zola to design his weapons, the purpose for the tesseract also changed.
** HYDRA as a whole are subject to this. Thanks to discovering the Tesseract much later in the war and it getting stolen not long after acquiring it (with Arnim Zola getting captured as well), none of Zola's Tesseract-powered weapons and vehicles are developed. As a result, HYDRA is still armed and equipped with the same uniforms, weapons, and vehicles as the rest of the German Army and SS, from [=MP40=] submachine guns to Tiger I Heavy tanks.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** The Red Skull summons a tentacled horror as Hydra's "champion" with [[EvilIsNotAToy no means to direct or control it]]. He's among the first things it kills, in the middle of him boasting about it.
** Howard Stark attempts to help Captain Carter stop the [[EldritchAbomination Kraken]] by [[ReverseThePolarity Reversing The Polarity]] to send the Kraken back into the portal, but he has trouble due to the control panel [[LanguageBarrier being labelled in German]].

* AdaptationalJerkass: Roeder isn't bothered with Schmidt's Norway incursion in this timeline and apparently turns a blind eye to it, instead being far more concerned with HYDRA's repeated failures against Captain Carter and the Allies.

* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: When attacking the HYDRA convoy, Peggy throws a motorbike at another causing both to explode. She remarks to herself in a surprised way that she's usually a bit more covert.

* SeriesContinuityError: Events in the episode are possible for wildly different events that can't be chalked up to the point of divergence mentioned by Uatu. In the Sacred Timeline, HYDRA found the Tesseract long before the super-soldier experiment took place, while in this episode it happens 15 months afterwards.[[note]]Although it is possible that HYDRA's failure to find the Tessaract may have influenced said point of divergence.[[/note]] John Flynn is also shown to be present while the experiment is being conducted here, whereas he isn't seen or mentioned until the war's end in the Sacred Timeline.

* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: When attacking the HYDRA convoy, Peggy throws a motorbike at anothe causing both to explode. She remarks to herself in a surprised way that she's usually a bit more covert.

->''"Her one choice gave birth to a whole new history, and gave the multiverse a new hero. As for me, these are my stories. I observe all that transpires here, but [[AlienNonInterferenceClause I do not, cannot, will not interfere]]. For I am... '''TheWatcher.'''"''

->''"Her one choice gave birth to a whole new history, and gave the multiverse a new hero. As for me, these are my stories. I observe all that transpires here, but I do not, cannot, will not interfere. For I am... '''The Watcher.'''"''

->"Her one choice gave birth to a whole new history, and gave the multiverse a new hero. As for me, these are my stories. I observe all that transpires here, but I do not, cannot, will not interfere. For I am... '''The Watcher.'''"

* AlmostKiss: Peggy and Steve are about to kiss when Howard suddenly appears in front of the window they're sitting at and interrupts them.