Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If...? episode 5.
In Marvel's What If...? episode 5, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows exactly why Spider-Man's Star Wars gag doesn't work. What If...? episode 5 showed how a zombie apocalypse could break out in the MCU. The episode reveals a timeline where a zombie virus escapes from the Quantum Realm, and Earth's Mightiest Heroes only make things worse. After the Avengers get bitten by zombies, no one stands a chance. Several characters lose their lives, including Steve Rogers (voiced by Josh Keaton), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp). The episode ends with the few remaining heroes, including Spider-Man (voiced by Hudson Thames) and T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), heading to Wakanda to search for a cure.
Marvel has had an obsession with Star Wars references throughout the MCU. For example, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has a notebook with items he needs to learn about to get acquainted with the new world. One of those items is Star Wars. Additionally, every movie in Phase 2 of the MCU included a tribute to The Empire Strikes Back, showcasing characters losing their hands or arms in honor of Luke Skywalker. Loki even continued Marvel's Phase 2 Star Wars tradition. Time and time again, Marvel makes the galaxy far, far away come up in one way or another.
However, not all Star Wars references necessarily work. In Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) makes his debut and has an odd Empire Strikes Back reference. In the film, he asks his fellow heroes if they've seen a "really old" movie called Empire Strikes Back. The moment is played for laughs, as Spider-Man doesn't seem exceptionally knowledgeable about the film, calling Hoth a "snow planet" and referring to the AT-ATs as "walking thingies." It's a stark difference from the Spider-Man who shows up in What If...? episode 5. In the episode, Spider-Man reveals he's seen several movies because of his AV club and even uses his movie knowledge to help the surviving Avengers navigate the zombie apocalypse.
Because Spider-Man has a vast amount of film knowledge, his Star Wars gag doesn't make much sense. Spider-Man is clearly a film buff in the MCU, regularly using pop culture references and even coming up with plans thanks to the movies he's seen. Unfortunately, Marvel makes Spider-Man's debut somewhat odd by playing his supposed lack of Star Wars knowledge as a joke in Civil War. If he were a film buff like the MCU intends, he should know a bit more about the movies he's watching.
Still, Spider-Man does have an excuse. With Civil War being Spidey's MCU debut, it's understandable that Marvel was still fleshing out Holland's Peter Parker, perhaps not quite knowing how much of a film buff he would be. Plus, despite not being a Star Wars aficionado in Civil War, he does use the knowledge he has from the movie to help wrangle Paul Rudd's super-sized Ant-Man, so the gag really causes no harm. After all, it makes sense that Spider-Man wouldn't want to show off an extreme knowledge of Star Wars right after meeting the Avengers in Civil War. At that point, they just think he's the Spider-Man from YouTube, not a dorky, high-school-aged Star Wars fan.
Marvel's What If...? releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
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