What If…? has been a fun series, with some great stories and interesting takes on what could have been, just like the original comic book series decades ago. Some have been tragic, some dramatic, and a few have been more on the humorous side. “What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?” is definitely one of those. There’s all kinds of action and a few nods to assorted Christmas stories as we see an Avengers Christmas party like no other.

After a look ahead and the usual intro, we settle into the story. The Avengers are having a Christmas party, and while the team is out attending to assorted Holiday errands, Happy Hogan is trying to get the party set up, “helped” by Darcy the perpetual intern and overseen by Maria Hill, who really needs to relax. Preparing a holiday party is stressful, doing it for work is worse, and trying to ensure Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have a good time is even more daunting. Then, things get even worse as, in the first of many Die Hard references, a man in a suit flanked by thugs shows up to put a damper on the festivities. Following in the footsteps of Alan Rickman’s Hans from Die Hard would be impossible, so instead the writers and returning actor Sam Rockwell play Justin Hammer as a somewhat comedic buffoon, roughly how he’s been shown in most of the movies.

Hammer has a target in mind, and, while overall an idiot, does have enough skills to get into Avengers’ Tower and disable the Iron Legion (placing this sometime before the Age of Ultron, for those who care about such things). What follows is a sort of Die Hard-style tale of Happy avoiding Hammer’s thugs, Maria being put out of action early, and Darcy cluelessly doing various errands, occasionally seeing flashes of light back at the Tower. Happy goes through some changes as the story goes on, which actually link back to some very obscure comic issues (Tales of Suspense 75 and Iron Man 84-85). Eventually, there’s a huge fight based on a misunderstanding, cameos from the Avengers (most played by the original actors), and a brief appearance by the Hulkbuster armor, once again not worn by Tony. Eventually, all’s well that ends well, although one Avenger is literally late to the party. There’s even a sort of credit scene, although it’s more of a vocal than a visual.

What I Liked: This was fun. There were several nods to Die Hard, a few to A Christmas Story, and a good mix of characters. Poor Happy never gets enough credit for trying so hard to do the right thing. Justin Hammer is an idiot, but he was a great choice for this story. Even the Watcher

wasn’t quite his usual reserved self during all the silliness.

What I Didn’t: Really, not much. I think more Maria Hill/Darcy interaction could have been fun (if Maria didn’t just shoot or arrest her). There are a few characters that were notably absent (especially a certain one that is generally Friendly and in the Neighborhood), but you can only get so much in a half hour episode.

This was fun, and I could see rewatching it around Christmas for pure amusement value, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5. I wonder what alternate world we’ll end up in next?