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I know everyone’s been a bit iffy when it comes to this, mainly due to the inconsistency’s in the timelines besides the base nexus point that we know of. Which tbh doesn’t really matter, especially in relation to power lvls. The what if series at its core is putting the same characters we know,love and hate in brand new situations based off of the alternate choices they make (or the multivrese I guess).
“What If…?” flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles. Directed by Bryan Andrews”
https://www.marvel.com/tv-shows/animation/what-if/1
This is further reinstated with the very intro of the show
There power and abilities stay the same unless the episode is specifically on said powers like dark dr strange or infinity ultron. This is further shown when the screenwriters explain how thanos lost to ultron
"And I'm sure there are probably hundreds of universes where Thanos steps out of that gate to see the Infinity Ultron and he just destroys that droid. That was one particular story that played out that one specific way to allow this certain thing to be achieved. And for that to happen, I think that particular Thanos just maybe was a little bit full of hubris. He didn't check where he was going in advance and he was a little ill-prepared, but I don't think that means that's the only way that particular situation ever played out by a longshot."
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-thanos-death-mcu-what-if
Thanos wasn’t magical weaker, he was simply overconfident. They even state in other timelines he basically folded ultron with the right mindset. This is also further empathized with the statement below
“Well, I think Thanos is pretty badass on his own. And I think it's important for everyone to remember that it's infinite possibilities. So yes, there are universes where Thanos maybe didn't get his act together and isn't quite as badass as we thought. Or he was on the verge and was defeated in a different way. I'm sure there's a universe where Thor aimed for the head."
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-thanos-death-mcu-what-if
It’s even been straight up stated that they intended the variants to be equal to there mainline counter parts
So as you can see, it’s clear that the writers intend these variants to be equal to there mainline counter parts unless the story is made to change that.
Now as to why there are other continuity errors in the show besides the nexus event? It’s probably due to the fact we are seeing other variants of the original nexus point. First they deviate from the main timeline creating a nexus timeline then it starts to create infinte variations of said nexus timeline. We even visual see a bit of this when the multiverse is freed in Loki
While the main nexus event might have been say tony slept on the wrong side of the bed, there can be other nexus timelines branching off of that with there own variations and still have the same main nexus event. Like for example, tony could have slept on the wrong side of the bed in timeline 1 but in timeline 2 that still happens plus his late for work. This is even kind of stated when going back to a previous statement further
"And I'm sure there are probably hundreds of universes where Thanos steps out of that gate to see the Infinity Ultron and he just destroys that droid. That was one particular story that played out that one specific way to allow this certain thing to be achieved. And for that to happen, I think that particular Thanos just maybe was a little bit full of hubris. He didn't check where he was going in advance and he was a little ill-prepared, but I don't think that means that's the only way that particular situation ever played out by a longshot."
So as you can see there should be no reason not to be able to scale mainline characters to there variants
edit 1: WoG deletion
“What If…?” flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles. Directed by Bryan Andrews”
https://www.marvel.com/tv-shows/animation/what-if/1
This is further reinstated with the very intro of the show
There power and abilities stay the same unless the episode is specifically on said powers like dark dr strange or infinity ultron. This is further shown when the screenwriters explain how thanos lost to ultron
"And I'm sure there are probably hundreds of universes where Thanos steps out of that gate to see the Infinity Ultron and he just destroys that droid. That was one particular story that played out that one specific way to allow this certain thing to be achieved. And for that to happen, I think that particular Thanos just maybe was a little bit full of hubris. He didn't check where he was going in advance and he was a little ill-prepared, but I don't think that means that's the only way that particular situation ever played out by a longshot."
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-thanos-death-mcu-what-if
Thanos wasn’t magical weaker, he was simply overconfident. They even state in other timelines he basically folded ultron with the right mindset. This is also further empathized with the statement below
“Well, I think Thanos is pretty badass on his own. And I think it's important for everyone to remember that it's infinite possibilities. So yes, there are universes where Thanos maybe didn't get his act together and isn't quite as badass as we thought. Or he was on the verge and was defeated in a different way. I'm sure there's a universe where Thor aimed for the head."
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-thanos-death-mcu-what-if
So as you can see, it’s clear that the writers intend these variants to be equal to there mainline counter parts unless the story is made to change that.
Now as to why there are other continuity errors in the show besides the nexus event? It’s probably due to the fact we are seeing other variants of the original nexus point. First they deviate from the main timeline creating a nexus timeline then it starts to create infinte variations of said nexus timeline. We even visual see a bit of this when the multiverse is freed in Loki
While the main nexus event might have been say tony slept on the wrong side of the bed, there can be other nexus timelines branching off of that with there own variations and still have the same main nexus event. Like for example, tony could have slept on the wrong side of the bed in timeline 1 but in timeline 2 that still happens plus his late for work. This is even kind of stated when going back to a previous statement further
"And I'm sure there are probably hundreds of universes where Thanos steps out of that gate to see the Infinity Ultron and he just destroys that droid. That was one particular story that played out that one specific way to allow this certain thing to be achieved. And for that to happen, I think that particular Thanos just maybe was a little bit full of hubris. He didn't check where he was going in advance and he was a little ill-prepared, but I don't think that means that's the only way that particular situation ever played out by a longshot."
So as you can see there should be no reason not to be able to scale mainline characters to there variants
edit 1: WoG deletion
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