"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" was released on Disney+ on December 24, 2023.
Plot
The Watcher narrates his favorite Christmas story in the Multiverse. On Christmas Eve, Happy Hogan is assigned to oversee security in the Avengers Tower for an annual holiday party, until Justin Hammer, and his hired henchmen Sergei and Rusty, break out of prison and lay siege on the Tower for Tony Stark's technology.[a] With Maria Hill injured attempting to apprehend him, Hammer and his henchmen plan to obtain Stark's armor and Bruce Banner's Hulk blood sample.
Attempting to save the Hulk blood sample, Hogan is accidentally injected with it, causing him to slowly transform into a purple Hulk-like monster, though Hogan manages to retain his intelligence in this form, which Hammer calls "Freak". With the Avengers busy with the Christmas-related activities and J.A.R.V.I.S. inactive, Hogan contacts his intern Darcy Lewis, who is tasked to find an A.I. to reboot the Tower's system. They find an A.I. named W.E.R.N.E.R. who is of no help to them.
As Hammer, Sergei, and Rusty take Lewis and Hill hostage, a fully-transformed Hogan confronts him, forcing Sergei and Rusty to flee, and destroys the hijacked Iron Legion probes. Hammer takes control of Stark's Hulkbuster armor, but Hogan defeats him before the Avengers arrive. The Avengers think that Hogan (in his Freak form) is the threat and attack him, until Lewis clears it up and points to a defeated Hammer. After Hammer is accidentally knocked out of Avengers Tower, he is saved by Hogan.
With Hammer in his clutches, Hogan apologizes to Stark about what happened to the party, hoping that most of Stark's insurance will cover it. Stark responds that Hogan is the only insurance policy he needs. Hogan is then praised for his efforts as Stark does not hold him accountable for what happened. Hogan and the Avengers resume their Christmas party as Hammer is taken into custody, buoyed by the late arrival of Thor.
The episode is a holiday-themed episode centered on Happy Hogan proving himself when the Avengers Tower is attacked by Justin Hammer during a holiday party,[4][6] and was inspired by Die Hard (1988). Bradley said they initially wanted to look to Favreau's films such as Elf (2003) for inspiration, before selecting Die Hard given it was her favorite film when she was younger. The episode references some of Favreau's prior work, such as The Chef Show (2019–20).[6] The creatives were reluctant to tell the cast that the episode was meant to be a Die Hard homage, but Justin Hammer actor Sam Rockwell was enthused after realizing Hammer was meant to be the Hans Gruber of the episode.[7] Hogan's characterization in the episode is not much of a departure from his film appearances, with Bradley saying they did not want it to be "Happy Hogan goes John Wick", and in wanting to keep the tone "light and fun", the Freak is not to the full extent of the character as it is in the comics.[8]:12:13–12:36
Bradley and Chauncey had created a Christmas-themed episode for the first season exploring what if the Avengers had showed up during Iron Man 3 (2013), told in the style of Love Actually (2003) vignettes, that was passed on by Marvel Studios in favor of "What If... Zombies?!"; this made them want to try to find a way to fit a Christmas episode into the second season.[8]:11:22–12:13 The duo were writing the episode in March 2020 when lockdowns started because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued doing so together during the pandemic as "an escapism exercise".[7] They enjoyed the challenge of figuring out who the "would-be heroes" would be to save the Tower, "creating this sweet, meta-narrative where these characters who usually play the sidekick role in the movies finally get to step into the limelight and be the heroes of the story"; this also played into the holiday theme they were looking to emulate by allowing "fan-favorite characters their moment to shine".[9]:4 The episode features a joke of holiday shoppers trying to get the last Iron Man action figure in a store, with plenty of Hawkeye figures still available and discounted. Andrews called it "an appropriate joke" because the people take "potshots" at the character that "it just made sense", and likened the joke to the film Jingle All the Way (1996).[8]:15:15–15:40,16:25–16:40
Animation for the episode was provided by SDFX Studios,[15]:26:06 with Scott Wright serving as head of animation.[15]:24:59 Andrews developed the series' cel-shaded animation style with Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios.[17][18] Though the series has a consistent art style, elements such as the camera and color palette differ between episodes.[19]:4
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Arezou Amin at Collider felt the episode took "full advantage" of releasing on Christmas Eve, saying it "beautifully blends the high stakes that usually come with an Avengers team-up together with the low stakes of having to prepare for a Christmas party to create the perfect little gift of an episode".[13]
Notes
↑ Hammer's imprisonment was depicted in Iron Man 2 (2010). His attack is when the story diverges from the Sacred Timeline of the MCU.
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