The Peggy Carter Show Could Be Great

It was recently announced that Marvel and ABC will be working together on an upcoming Peggy Carter television series. Peggy, charmingly played by Hayley Atwell, first appeared in the Marvel cinematic universe in Captain America: The First Avenger, wherein she formed a close bond with Steve Rogers. She proved so popular with fans that she starred in her own short film, released on the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray, as well as returning for a brief yet heartbreaking scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The series will be overseen by Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, former show runners of the underrated Reaper. They will be working from a pilot script by the Captain America: The Winter Soldier writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

In the short film, which takes place directly after the events of the first Captain America, Peggy is one of the few (if not only) female SHIELD agents, and as such has to constantly struggle to earn the respect of her male colleagues, despite being the most capable agent they have. After being treated as little more than a secretary and forced to stay late to finish up her bosses paperwork, word comes down about a highly dangerous mission. No one else is around so Peggy takes it upon herself to ensure the mission is completed. After doing so, and in style, Peggy is informed by Howard Stark (Tony’s father) that he would like her to run SHIELD with him. Presumably the ABC series will follow on from the short, or at least adopt the same model, with Peggy, a constantly underestimated yet consummately professional agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, undertaking highly dangerous and highly secretive missions at the end of the Second World War. Sounds like fun.

Personally, I think this show has all it needs to be great. Here are the key ingredients:

.1. Peggy Carter Herself

After Captain America: The First Avenger ended with Cap in the present day, it was presumed that Peggy would be lost to time. But with the show we now get to see how she overcame the loss of Steve, how she pulled herself up and carried on with her life, formed S.H.I.E.L.D and shaped the world. In the film we really only see Peggy from Cap’s point of view, but in the show we we’ll get to experience the world the way she does, and really get an insight into her character.

The Marvel cinematic universe already has its fair share of kickass chicks: Black Widow, Maria Hill, and Agent Thirteen, as well as Gamora in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, and Scarlet Witch in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. All of those women have things in common. They’re all highly skilled, extremely capable, intelligent, and very, very badass. But Peggy is slightly different. For one, she’s got an awesome accent. And two, she’s highly skilled, extremely capable, intelligent, and very, very badass at a time when that just wasn’t accepted, let alone expected of a woman. This is 1946 we’re talking about here. Peggy is operating in a man’s world. She is a modern woman during a time that doesn’t understand or particularly want a modern woman. The time period will allow for some interesting angles on Peggy’s character, putting her in situations that will really allow her to show her strength and determination. There are many kickass chicks in the Marvel universe, but Peggy is the mother of them all.

.2. The Supporting Characters

Peggy is an interesting and layered character, but she’ll still need some characters to bounce off and butt heads with. There are a number of Marvel characters knocking around during this time period that may pop up in the show. Cap and Bucky obviously won’t be returning, but that doesn’t mean other members of the Howling Commandoes won’t make an appearance. The most likely is Dum Dum Dugan, the moustachioed strongman in the bowler hat. Dugan (or Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader Dugan to go by his full name) is a popular character in the comics who has strong ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. He was last seen in the Marvel cinematic universe at the end of the Peggy Carter short, marvelling at the invention of the bikini. Dugan is a headstrong man’s man whose personality could rub up well against Peggy’s, working well in both dramatic and comedic situations.

The character most likely to return from the films is Howard Stark, played by Dominic Cooper. His appearance in the Marvel short suggests that he is running S.H.I.E.L.D and will more than likely be the man who gives Peggy her missions throughout the show. His laidback attitude will also juxtapose well with Peggy and Dum Dum’s. But what has me most interested in Stark’s involvement are the wider possibilities his presence creates. Howard, much like his son in the present day Marvel universe, is a whizz with technology. He is in all probability going to be equipping Peggy with a strange array of retro-futuristic weaponry and gadgets. But, and this is just me spitballing here, what if he creates something more than just weaponry and gadgets. In the comics there were a group of Super Heroes that got together to fight the Nazis during World War Two. This group was called the Invaders and was comprised of Captain America, Bucky, Namor (an Atlantean!), and the original Human Torch. They got their name from Winston Churchill after saving his life, so yeah, they were pretty much awesome. The Invaders were around at the same time as the Peggy Carter show (likely to be called Agent Carter) is set. Cap and Bucky, as I’ve previously stated, aren’t going to show up in anything other than flashbacks to the films. Namor is half mutant and so there may be rights issues with him. But The Human Torch? Why not. And here’s the thing I forgot to mention: The original Human Torch was an android. If Marvel is looking for ways to bring in characters from the comics into the show, they could do a lot worse than have Howard Stark create the Human Torch.

.3. The Wider Marvel Universe

The biggest complaint many had with Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD was that it felt inessential. It claimed to exist in the same world as Iron Man and Cap but it always felt as though it was coyly dancing around the films and their title characters. Referencing the toys in the toy box but unable to actually pick up and play with them. So it felt weightless. The plots could never have any serious ramifications that would affect the wider universe. Agents of SHIELD is a slave to the status quo, which is frustrating for many fans.

Agent Carter doesn’t have this problem. It’s set in a different time, in its own little corner of the Marvel universe. It has a freedom to do what it wants. Currently the creators are expecting the show to be a thirteen episode mini-series that primarily deals with one case and one villain (Baron Zemo? What other comic book villains were up to no good around this time?). It’s more than likely that during that run there will be a mix between stand alone story of the week episodes and episodes that feed into a season long arc. It can tell its own story at its own pace and it won’t feel strange that there is a disconnect between what is happening in the show and what is happening in the films, because they are separated by over sixty years.

But, and this goes to show how much freedom the show does have, if Marvel does want to find ways to incorporate the show into the larger Marvel universe, there are ways. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier it was revealed that after the war ended SHIELD began rounding up and recruiting former Nazi scientists, including Arnim Zola. Zola, among others, slowly began twisting and tinkering with the insides of SHIELD, rewiring the organization until it became, for all intents and purposes, the new HYDRA. Peggy and her team may very well be the operatives that bring Zola in, and we could watch the beginnings of HYDRA’s rebirth in real time. I can see Tobey Jones agreeing to sign on for this, especially if it is a thirteen episode mini-series.

The show can be its own thing in its own little unique corner of the universe, or can tie in to the larger story that is being told across franchises, either way there is plenty of opportunity for compelling stories. Peggy Carter is an interesting character in a fascinating time, and for those reasons and more, I’m highly anticipating this show.