Peggy Carter hugged the limelight in the new season of Marvel’s What If…? after she transformed from being Steve Rogers’ love interest into a super soldier now known as Captain Carter. She has also appeared in a couple of episodes to demonstrate her character’s influence had she been the first ever Avenger.
While some fans loved the idea of having Carter take on the iconic role, some viewers were annoyed at the amount of attention that Marvel Studios put on Hayley Atwell’s character.
ALSO READ: Peggy Carter: Unknown Facts You Didn’t Know About The Super Spy
MCU Writer Explains Peggy Carter’s Role In What If…?
Executive producer A.C. Bradley took to Twitter to explain the importance of Peggy Carter becoming Captain Carter, as well as how the episodes reframed the events in The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier via Peggy’s point of view. She wrote:
“Since Captain Carter — a woman — ended WW2, the feminist movement occurred immediately after the war. This had a ripple effect across society leading to more female SHIELD agents, heroes, & women in positions of authority.”
Peggy’s role as Captain Carter not only helped in the birth of a feminist movement but also altered a lot of tragic events in the MCU. Bucky Barnes never became the Winter Soldier, hence why he was free to channel “a Jimmy Carter-esque elder statesman.”
Consequently, Howard Stark did not meet his tragic death at the hands of the Winter Soldier, and as per Bradley, “Howard didn’t die in 1991. In my mind, Howard was a better father and had a closer relationship with his son.” Imagine Tony Stark finally having the father he has always wanted.
Many fans appreciated the ramifications of Peggy’s universe, not only because it gave a lot of characters the happy ending they deserved, but it also explored other options of what could have happened had things occurred otherwise in the MCU.
ALSO READ: Hayley Atwell Wants Chris Evans To Return as Pro-Feminist Captain America in Agent Carter
Marvel Fans Aren’t Thrilled With Captain Carter’s Insane Exposure
As with many things, the decision to bring the spotlight to Peggy Carter was met with a lot of criticism from fans. Some accused the plot of being woke for putting women in the lead, while others are just not vibing with the idea of Peggy as the central figure. Check out some of their reactions below:
Marvel needs to understand nobody cares about Peggy Carter 😭😭😭
— Mr.RekT (@ar_rekt) December 30, 2023
I don’t hate the character but it’s just so weird like why are they centering her so much? There are characters that are way more interesting and compelling with much more capabilities
— Prince Zuko (@firelrd_zuko) December 30, 2023
“What If…” should really be called “Captain Carter in the Multiverse of Madness.”
— Disney Scoop Matt 🎄 (@DisneyScoopGuy) December 30, 2023
No like srsly 😭😭😭 this is like smth out of fan fiction “my names y/n i took all the infinity stones and did the snap myself but the universe let me keep them and then when Steve died he gave me his shield and Thor gave me his dead friends sword because we’re so close”
— kate (@mytholgys) December 30, 2023
Not to hate on women, but… They buffed every man in here damn, getting tired of women lead only
Make What If a unique episode type of show not a story based on one character only
— Javier Ayala (@JvrAyl) December 30, 2023
Writer: “Okay, hear me out. What if Captain Carter…
Marvel: “Yes.”
— HOLY SET !!! (@setwoulemski) December 30, 2023
Despite the fans’ outrage at this concept, the writers are clearly loving it and may as well bring to life another iteration of a live-action Peggy Carter story. Hayley Atwell is pretty much willing to reprise her role anyway.
