Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan is Marvel’s equivalent of a boom or bust player in baseball. He’s either hitting an absolute home run or he is striking out look at a fastball down the middle of the plate (if you’re wondering if the latter part of that sentence is this writer being bitter about Josh Donaldson’s time as a Yankee, then you’d be correct).
For every time he’s acted like a dummy in Iron Man 2 (or elsewhere), there’s the absolutely heartbreaking “cheeseburger” line in Avengers: Endgame. For every ridiculous thing that happened with him dating Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, you have that moment with he and Peter Parker in front of her grave in No Way Home.
So on paper, the Christmas Eve episode of What If…? Season 2 entitled ‘What if Happy Hogan Saved Christmas’ seemed like one of those classic Happy Hogan “looking at a fastball for strike three” moments. Happy Hogan, of all the characters in the MCU, saves Christmas? Yikes.
However, this episode, much like all of What if…? Season 2 (so far) is a huge, pleasant surprise.
The premise of the episode finds Happy Hogan (still voiced by Favreau) in charge of the first Christmas party at Avengers Tower, post-Battle of New York. He’s employed Darcy (Kat Dennings) as his interny to help him organize things, while Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders) is breathing down his neck to make sure things are a big success. The Avengers, meanwhile, are out and about in New York shopping (Clint and Banner), working a charity event (Tony and Cap) or performing in a ballet (Black Widow).
In true Die Hard fashion, the party is interrupted by a group of machine gun wielding thieves. In the role of Hans Gruber is Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer making his glorious return to the MCU. Hammer is there to steal a sample of Hulk blood, which he intends to use for himself to become a superhero. Through a series of mishaps — it’s up to Happy to save the day … and become an unexpected superhero in the process.
What makes this episode work so well is that it leans into the comedic chops of Favreau, Rockwell and Dennings. The episode embraces Happy’s haplessness as a “head of security” which only bolsters his “hero turn” (which we’ll keep silent to avoid spoilers). Dennings is delightfully in full Darcy mode throughout — hyperactive and sarcastic at the right moments. However, it’s Rockwell’s return to a role so many people want to see in real-life that steals the entire episode. He’s just an absolute genius with his Christmas puns and his unceasing to be Tony Stark at any cost is just as palpable as it was in Iron Man 2 (a film he stole from everyone).
It also doesn’t hurt that the episode pays large homage to Die Hard — the ultimate Christmas film — throughout. It adds to the comedy and the charm of the episode, in particular when Happy pulls a John McClane in an air shaft. It should clunk so hard, but Favreau’s charm pulls the scene from an eye roll to a large chuckle.
“What If…Happy Hogan Saved Christmas” is just so much fun. There’s plenty of action throughout the episode, but this is just a feel-good Christmas caper that’ll put a smile on your face. While this episode wouldn’t work in live-action form, it certainly plays wonderfully here and it makes for a nice little MCU-related holiday gem that pairs as perfectly with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special like hot chocolate and marshmallows.
