What if..?The finale debuted on Disney Plus today, and it brought more multiversal mayhem with it. But the fans may have already had the big reveal of the final for them all through August … thanks to a Hyundai Tucson ad?

Spoilers for “What if … The Watcher has broken his oath” and What if…?’s first season below:

Marvel projects are no strangers to commercials and product placement, of course, but Hynduai advertising (which is part of a series of announcements that the company did with Disney Plus) marks a particularly strange turning point – one that mixes storytelling with advertising.

The main idea behind most of What if…?The first episodes of the series were an anthology, providing standalone narratives in different corners of the Marvel Multiverse that offered alternate versions of existing films. Each episode was linked through the narration of Uatu the Watcher, a god-like being who existed to observe – but not intervene in – events of differing timelines.

Of course, with the MCU being the MCU, where interconnected storytelling reigns supreme, it soon became clear that What if…? was heading for a multiversal mashup, prompted by the rise of an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron / Vision hybrid introduced in the previous episode, dubbed “Infinity Ultron”. Infinity Ultron aimed to use its power to endure wastage, not only for its own universe, but, thanks to the comedic consciousness imparted by possession of the Six Stones, to all universes.

In response, Uatu (after fighting unsuccessfully in a cosmic brawl) decides to break his no-intervention policy and assembles a group of heroes from the previous one. What if…? episodes (and an alternate version of Gamora whose episode was pushed back to next season after COVID delays) to form “Guardians of the Multiverse” to defeat Infinity Ultron and save the MCU’s nascent multiverse from destruction. Superheroes follow.

The founding of the Guardians of the Multiverse is meant to be a major moment in the series. Uatu breaks his sacred oath and crosses the line from observer to participating in Marvel’s adventures. It unites distinct heroes from different installments of Marvel to unite against a bigger foe, almost like a Avengers miniature film.

But to all who have seen the Hyundai tucson commercial – which has been airing for months, in places as important as prime-time NFL games – the whole concept had already been messed up months in advance. The ad shows various heroes of What if…?, including Captain Carter, T’Challa, Star-Lord, Strange Supreme and partying Thor, are brought together by The Watcher to devastate an army of Ultron drones (albeit with the help of a Hyundai placed from incongruously).

Hyundai’s eerily spoiler ad is the perfect example of the current state of spoiler culture in 2021, especially as streaming has expanded to include major franchises like Star Wars and Marvel that build on the more on their great moments and their revelations. In an age of overly long trailers that reveal major plot points or villains, or the sprawling Twitter threads and trending topics that pop up minutes after the shows start in the middle of the night, what is another national ad campaign that reveals a big surprise from a show.

There is more to What if…? and its final that an automobile advertisement can show. And with more Disney Plus shows going on – and presumably more corporate ties to go along with them – it’s likely that this latest crack in Marvel’s wall of secrecy is just another thing fans and creators alike with. will have to learn to live. .