The Real Meaning Behind The Ravager Jet In What If...? Episode 2
Episode 2 of Marvel Studios' "What If...?" was all about T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), and what would have happened if the Ravagers kidnaped him instead of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). We get to see how drastically different the MCU as we know it would be if T'Challa took on the mantle of Star-Lord. The episode kicked off with the Wakandan on Morag stealing the Orb — just as Quill did in "Guardians of the Galaxy," but things went a little differently this time. T'Challa was immediately recognized as Star-Lord by Korath (Djimon Hounsou), which was quite funny given that no one knew who he was in the first "Guardians" flick.
When Yondu (Michael Rooker) and T'Challa walk toward their Ravager ship after securing the Orb, the duo takes off into space and heads for an intergalactic nightclub. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, the name of the spaceship can be seen on its right wing before it blasts off, and there's an interesting significance behind it
T'Challa's ship has a different name than Peter Quill's
Fans of "Guardians of the Galaxy" will remember that Peter Quill's blue and yellow ship was named the Milano, and not for a yummy Pepperidge Farm cookie. Director James Gunn confirmed on Twitter after the movie came out in 2014 that Quill's aircraft was named after actress Alyssa Milano, noting that the Guardian had a crush on the "Who's the Boss?" star when he was a kid. In "What If...?" Episode 2, the name of this Star-Lord's ship is the Mandela.
We're are willing to bet this is T'Challa's way of honoring Nelson Mandela — one of Earth's most heroic and beloved leaders. Despite being taken from Wakanda when he was a child, T'Challa still would have known about the history of the continent he hailed from. This Star-Lord was taken in 1988 just as Quill was, that would mean Mandela was still in prison, and T'Challa might not have ever found out that South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk freed him just two years later.
Since T'Challa's version of Star-Lord is on the straight-and-narrow and more philanthropic than Quill, the naming of the Ravager ship is much more appropriate for the character than naming it after a childhood crush. It was a fun detail that the "What If...?" team threw in the episode to show us just how different these two Star-Lords are.