Captain Carter

• Core Identity: In a pivotal branching timeline, British SSR agent Peggy Carter receives the Super-Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rogers, becoming the patriotic supersoldier and Sentinel of Liberty known as Captain Carter.
• Key Takeaways:
• A Keystone of the MCU Multiverse: Captain Carter is not merely a “what if” scenario; she is a foundational character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's exploration of the multiverse. She serves as a nexus being, a recurring figure whose presence signifies critical multiversal events and who stands as a peer to established heroes like Doctor Strange and The Watcher.
• MCU Original, Comic Adaptation: Uniquely, Captain Carter originated in the MCU's animated series What If…? and was so popular that Marvel Comics subsequently created a comic book counterpart. This is a rare reversal of the typical adaptation process and highlights the character's immediate cultural impact.
• A Different Kind of Captain: While possessing the same powers as Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter's background as a seasoned intelligence agent and a woman in the male-dominated 1940s shapes her into a distinct leader. She is often more pragmatic, direct, and carries a different emotional weight, defined by her relationship with a non-powered Steve Rogers and the unique sacrifices she must make.

Captain Carter is a distinctly modern Marvel creation with a unique media-to-comics trajectory. Her genesis is rooted entirely in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a testament to the franchise's influence on the broader Marvel brand. Her first-ever appearance was in the premiere episode of the Disney+ animated series, What If...?, Season 1, Episode 1, titled “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?”, which aired on August 11, 2021. The character, voiced by Hayley Atwell who portrays Peggy Carter in live-action, was conceived by head writer A.C. Bradley and the show's creative team as a powerful and logical starting point for their exploration of alternate timelines. The idea was to pivot on a single, crucial moment—the assassination attempt during Project Rebirth—to create a vastly different but recognizable World War II narrative. The design of her uniform, blending Captain America's iconography with the British Union Jack, was a key visual element that immediately defined her identity. The character's overwhelming popularity led to her swift transition into live-action, appearing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (released May 6, 2022), again played by Hayley Atwell. This appearance solidified her as a major multiversal player beyond the animated series. Capitalizing on this success, Marvel Comics introduced their own version of the character. Captain Carter made her comic book debut in Exiles (Vol. 3) #3 in May 2018 as a background character, but her first full-fledged, named comic series was Captain Carter #1, which launched in March 2022. This five-issue miniseries was written by Jamie McKelvie with art by Marika Cresta, tasked with translating the MCU concept into the established Earth-616 adjacent comic book multiverse and giving her a unique backstory and modern-day context. This makes her one of the most prominent examples of a character created for the screen being retroactively integrated into the primary source material.

The core premise of Captain Carter's origin is consistent across mediums: Peggy Carter, not Steve Rogers, receives the Super-Soldier Serum. However, the specifics of this event and its aftermath diverge significantly between the MCU and the comics.

In the timeline designated Earth-82111, the events of Captain America: The First Avenger proceed as normal until the moment of the Super-Soldier experiment. As Steve Rogers prepares to enter the vita-ray chamber, a hydra agent, Kruger, reveals himself and detonates a bomb. While he successfully kills Dr. Abraham Erskine, he also shoots and severely wounds Steve Rogers before being dispatched by Peggy. With Colonel Chester Phillips ready to scrap the entire project and the invaluable serum on the verge of being wasted, Peggy Carter makes a snap decision. Defying the chauvinistic orders of her superior, John Flynn, she enters the chamber herself. Howard Stark, recognizing the necessity, initiates the procedure. Peggy emerges taller, more muscular, and imbued with the peak of human potential. Initially, Flynn and the military brass refuse to accept a woman as their super-soldier, derisively calling her a “chorus girl” and relegating her to the sidelines. However, when the Tesseract-powered HYDRA, led by the Red Skull, becomes an overwhelming threat, Peggy takes matters into her own hands. Armed with a vibranium shield from Howard Stark emblazoned with the Union Jack, she single-handedly liberates a captured Allied unit, which includes Bucky Barnes and Dum Dum Dugan. This decisive action earns her the respect of the military and the official title of Captain Carter. Her war effort is defined by her partnership with a non-powered Steve Rogers, who, instead of being sidelined, is given a massive, Tesseract-powered suit of armor by Howard Stark, becoming the HYDRA Stomper. The two form an inseparable bond, both on and off the battlefield, falling deeply in love. Captain Carter's World War II journey culminates in a final confrontation aboard the Red Skull's aircraft. The Red Skull unleashes an interdimensional creature, the “Champion of HYDRA,” through a Tesseract-powered portal. As Steve's HYDRA Stomper runs out of power, Carter fights the beast, heroically pushing it back through the portal. She says a tearful goodbye to Steve before disappearing into the wormhole herself. Just like the prime MCU's Steve Rogers, she becomes a woman out of time, emerging from the portal nearly 70 years later in a modern S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, greeted by Nick Fury and Clint Barton. This sacrifice mirrors Steve's, but her story continues as she is recruited by The Watcher to become a key member of the guardians_of_the_multiverse to fight against an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron.

The comic book origin of Captain Carter, while hitting similar beats, is tailored to fit within the established Marvel Comics lore. This version of Peggy Carter exists in a separate reality within the Marvel multiverse, designated Earth-TRN1008. In this timeline's World War II, both Steve Rogers and his best friend Bucky Barnes are selected as candidates for Project Rebirth. However, the HYDRA attack on the facility is far more devastating. The saboteurs not only kill Dr. Erskine but also succeed in killing both Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes before they can receive the serum. Faced with the complete failure of the project's primary candidates and with Allied forces desperate for a symbol, Peggy Carter, already a highly respected and capable agent of the British S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive), volunteers to take the serum. The British government, in conjunction with the remnants of the American program, agrees. The procedure is a success, and Peggy Carter becomes Britain's premier super-soldier. As Captain Carter, she becomes a legendary figure in the war, fighting alongside allies like the original Union Jack and leading missions for the newly formed S.T.R.I.K.E. (Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies), the British equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her final mission of the war involves stopping a HYDRA doomsday weapon. In a heroic act of self-sacrifice eerily similar to her MCU counterpart and the prime Steve Rogers, she pilots a bomb-laden drone away from populated areas over the ocean, where it detonates, seemingly killing her. She is lost and presumed dead, frozen in the ice for decades. She is discovered and thawed out in the modern day by S.T.R.I.K.E., finding herself a woman out of her time in a Britain she no longer recognizes. Unlike the MCU version who is quickly integrated into a global superhero network, this Captain Carter's story is initially more grounded and espionage-focused. She grapples with a changed political landscape, modern threats, and the ghost of a past that everyone else has moved on from. Her primary mission becomes finding her place in this new world while serving a nation that has profoundly changed.

While both versions of Captain Carter are defined by the Super-Soldier Serum, their specific capabilities, gear, and character traits show distinct variations reflecting their different environments.

• Powers & Abilities:
• Super-Soldier Physiology: The serum enhanced all of Peggy's bodily functions to the peak of human potential. This grants her superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, reflexes, and stamina. Her metabolism is hyper-efficient, giving her a healing factor that is faster than a normal human's and making her immune to terrestrial diseases and toxins.
  • Feats of Strength: She has been shown casually throwing HYDRA soldiers dozens of feet, kicking a truck with enough force to flip it, and holding her own in physical combat against threats like Batroc the Leaper and even Infinity Ultron's drones. The Earth-838 variant was strong enough to briefly hold back the Scarlet Witch.
• Master Tactician and Strategist: Long before the serum, Peggy was a brilliant SSR agent. This intelligence and strategic acumen are amplified by her enhanced mind, making her an exceptional battlefield commander and problem-solver.
• Expert Martial Artist: She is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, blending styles of boxing, judo, and military combatives. Her fighting style is often more direct and brutal than Steve Rogers's, reflecting her training as a field agent. She seamlessly integrates her shield into both her offense and defense.
• Equipment:
• Vibranium Shield: Her primary weapon is a circular shield made of vibranium. Unlike Steve's star-spangled shield, hers is decorated with the British Union Jack. It possesses the same properties: it's virtually indestructible, absorbs kinetic energy, and can be thrown with incredible accuracy and ricochet capabilities.
• World War II Gear: During the war, she carried a standard sidearm and wore a modified, tactical uniform that incorporated her national colors.
• Jetpack (Earth-838 Variant): The Captain Carter of the Illuminati on Earth-838 possessed a sophisticated jetpack, allowing for high-speed flight and aerial combat. This was likely a technological upgrade provided by her team's advanced resources, possibly from Tony Stark or Reed Richards.
• Personality:
• Captain Carter is defined by her unwavering sense of duty, confidence, and pragmatism. Having already fought for respect in a male-dominated world, she possesses a no-nonsense attitude and is less concerned with ceremony than Steve Rogers. She is decisive, sometimes to a fault, and carries the heavy emotional burden of her “woman out of time” status, particularly the loss of her life with Steve. Her leadership is inspiring but also tinged with a deep loneliness. She knows what she is fighting for, but often struggles with who she has to fight alongside in these strange new worlds.

• Powers & Abilities:
• Super-Soldier Physiology: Her powers are functionally identical to her MCU counterpart and the prime Steve Rogers, granting her peak human physical and mental attributes. She is a perfect soldier, strategist, and fighter.
• Master Spy: Her comic version places a greater emphasis on her espionage background. Before becoming Captain Carter, she was a top agent for the S.O.E., skilled in infiltration, intelligence gathering, and subterfuge. These skills remain a core part of her methodology in the modern day.
• Weapon Proficiency: Beyond her shield, she is highly proficient with a wide array of firearms and other weaponry, befitting her special forces training.
• Equipment:
• Vibranium-Alloy Shield: Similar to the MCU version, her main weapon is a shield adorned with the Union Jack. In the comics, its composition is often described as a unique Vibranium-steel alloy, consistent with Steve Rogers's original shield.
• S.T.R.I.K.E. Uniform: Her modern-day uniform is a more tactical, armored suit provided by S.T.R.I.K.E. It offers greater protection than her WWII-era gear and incorporates modern communication technology.
• Personality:
• The comic book Captain Carter is more explicitly a product of her British identity. She is fiercely patriotic but also deeply cynical about politics, having seen the promises of her era give way to the complex and morally ambiguous landscape of the 21st century. Her “woman out of time” struggle is more internal and focused on her disillusionment with modern Britain. She is witty, with a dry sense of humor, but also carries a profound sense of loss for the comrades she left behind, particularly Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, who died in her timeline's origin story. She is a soldier trying to find a new war, struggling to reconcile the black-and-white morality of her past with the shades of grey of her present.

Captain Carter's network of allies and enemies is deeply tied to her specific reality and the era she finds herself in.

• Steve Rogers: This is the most defining relationship for Captain Carter, but it is one of profound inversion.
• MCU: In her timeline, Steve is not a supersoldier, but her primary partner and the love of her life. She is the protector, and he is the one she fights to protect and return to. As the pilot of the HYDRA Stomper, he is her equal on the battlefield, creating a dynamic partnership of two individuals who are powerful in different ways. Her grief over losing him is the central emotional core of her character arc.
• Comics: In her comic timeline, Steve Rogers died before he could become Captain America. For her, he represents the ultimate loss and the catalyst for her own transformation—a ghost she honors through her actions. When she is transported to the modern day, she must contend with meeting the prime Earth-616 Steve Rogers, a living legend who is a painful reminder of the man she lost.
• Bucky Barnes:
• MCU: Captain Carter's relationship with Bucky mirrors the prime timeline's Steve and Bucky. She is his commanding officer and close friend, saving him and his unit, the Howling Commandos, from HYDRA. He respects and trusts her implicitly.
• Comics: Like Steve, Bucky Barnes died during the HYDRA attack on Project Rebirth in her timeline. He is another fallen comrade whose memory she carries.
• Howard Stark:
• MCU: Howard is her technical genius and steadfast supporter. He has unwavering faith in Peggy, enabling her transformation and creating both her shield and Steve's HYDRA Stomper armor. He is a crucial part of the “found family” she forms during the war.

• Red Skull / HYDRA: The quintessential foe for any Captain. In all her incarnations, Captain Carter's primary mission during World War II is the complete and utter destruction of Johann Schmidt's HYDRA and its twisted ideology. He is her direct opposite: a man who abused science for power and conquest, while she uses it for protection and liberty.
• Infinity Ultron (MCU): In What If…?, Captain Carter faced one of the greatest threats in the multiverse: a version of Ultron who successfully acquired all six Infinity Stones and began wiping out all life across different realities. She was instrumental in his defeat as part of the Guardians of the Multiverse.
• The Scarlet Witch (MCU - Earth-838): In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Earth-838 Captain Carter, as a member of the Illuminati, confronted the prime MCU's Scarlet Witch. Despite her power and confidence, Carter tragically underestimated Wanda's reality-warping abilities and was brutally killed when Wanda bisected her with her own shield. This encounter served as a stark demonstration of the immense power of the Scarlet Witch.

• Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR): The precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D., the SSR was her home and the organization that empowered her (if reluctantly at first) in the 1940s.
• Guardians of the Multiverse (MCU): A team hand-picked by The Watcher from across various realities to defeat Infinity Ultron. Her leadership and tactical skill made her a natural choice for the team, which included Star-Lord T'Challa, Doctor Strange Supreme, and Party Thor.
• The Illuminati (MCU - Earth-838): A variant of Captain Carter was a founding member of this secret organization dedicated to protecting their Earth from multiversal threats. This demonstrated the high esteem in which she was held in her reality, serving alongside figures like Professor X, Mister Fantastic, and Black Bolt.
• S.T.R.I.K.E. (Comics): In the comic universe, S.T.R.I.K.E. is her primary affiliation in both the 1940s and the modern day. She is their most legendary agent and, upon her return, becomes their key operative in dealing with superhuman threats.

This episode serves as her complete origin story. The narrative focuses on Peggy's struggle for acceptance after gaining her powers. It establishes her core personality traits: her defiance in the face of authority, her deep bond with Steve Rogers, and her heroic capacity for self-sacrifice. The episode's climax, where she pushes the Champion of HYDRA through a portal while saying goodbye to Steve, is a direct and powerful parallel to Steve Rogers's crash of the Valkyrie in the prime timeline, perfectly cementing her as a true “Captain.” It sets the stage for her entire multiversal journey.

This live-action appearance introduced a more seasoned, established Captain Carter. As a member of Earth-838's Illuminati, she is presented as a pillar of her world's superhero community. Her confidence is at its peak, and her statement, “I can do this all day,” is a direct, poignant nod to her connection with Steve Rogers. Her role in this film is pivotal but brief. She and her team confront the Dreamwalking Scarlet Witch, vastly underestimating her power. Her shocking and violent death—cut in half by her own shield—was a defining moment in the film, establishing the stakes and demonstrating that no hero, no matter how powerful, was safe from the Scarlet Witch's rampage.

This 2022 five-issue miniseries is her definitive comic book storyline. It chronicles her re-emergence in the 21st century after being frozen for decades. The story focuses on her culture shock and disillusionment with modern Britain, which she perceives as having lost the resolve and unity she fought for. She is thrust into a conspiracy involving a resurgent HYDRA and a new politician, Tony Stark, the Prime Minister's secretary. The series explores her attempts to adapt, build new relationships (including a tentative one with a modern S.T.R.I.K.E. agent named Lizzie Braddock), and ultimately reaffirm her commitment to being a hero, even in a world she doesn't understand. It solidifies her place in the Marvel comic multiverse as a hero defined by both her past ideals and her present challenges.

As a character born from the concept of a multiverse, Captain Carter is inherently a “variant.” However, several distinct versions have appeared, each with subtle differences.

• Earth-82111 (MCU - What If…? Main Variant): This is the primary version of the character followed in the animated series. She is defined by her journey from WWII to becoming a Guardian of the Multiverse. Her story is one of loss, duty, and finding a new purpose in the grander cosmic scale. She forms a close bond with the MCU's Black Widow in the finale of Season 1.
• Earth-838 (MCU - Illuminati Variant): This live-action version was seemingly more established and perhaps more confident than her animated counterpart upon emerging from the ice. Her access to advanced technology like a jetpack suggests her world's technological progression was different. Her fate serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers lurking in the multiverse.
• Earth-TRN1008 (Comic Variant): This is the main comic book version. Her backstory is grimmer, with both Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes dying in her origin. Her modern-day story is more grounded in espionage and political thriller elements than the cosmic adventures of her MCU counterpart. She is more of a spy-soldier than a global superhero.
• Video Game Appearances: Captain Carter has appeared in numerous mobile games like Marvel Puzzle Quest, Marvel Future Revolution, and Marvel Strike Force. These appearances generally adapt the look and powers of her primary MCU version, further cementing her popularity and place within the wider Marvel brand.

• Steve Rogers (Captain America)
• peggy_carter
• super_soldier_serum
• multiverse
• What If...? (TV Series)
• hydra
• shield
• the_watcher

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