Line #30 Film/AgentCarter


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7a2d0b8c48295a726c1cc9111c4dddbc.jpg]]
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3	''Agent Carter'', also known as ''Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter'', is a 2013 ShortFilm and the fourth of ''Film/MarvelOneShots'', set in Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. It's included on the ''Film/IronMan3'' Blu-ray, and was used as a proof-of-concept for ''Series/AgentCarter'', a weekly TV series that debuted on ABC in 2015. This short film takes place after the TV series' Season 2. Creator/DisneyPlus posted it online first as an extra for ''Iron Man 3'', then later on its own page.
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5	A year after [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Steve Rogers' disappearance]], ComicBook/PeggyCarter works a menial job at the New York office for the Strategic Scientific Reserve (S.S.R.). But after yet another day of being put down by her coworkers and sexist boss John Flynn, Peggy receives word of an urgent mission to close in on a mysterious target named "Zodiac". Putting herself back into the field, Peggy dusts off her old skills, beats up bad guys, and alerts the ear of her old friend Howard Stark, who invites her to help him run a new organization called [[ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} S.H.I.E.L.D]].
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7	Creator/HayleyAtwell reprises her role as Peggy. Supporting cast includes Creator/BradleyWhitford as Agent Flynn, Creator/DominicCooper reprising his role as Howard Stark, and Creator/NealMcDonough also returning as Dum-Dum Dugan in TheStinger. The short film is directed by Louis D'Esposito, with a screenplay by Eric Pearson.
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9	!Tropes
10	* ActionGirl: [[BadassNormal Peggy's no Captain America]] but she does excellently on a mission intended for 3-5 agents all by herself.
11	* ActorAllusion: Apparently Bradley Whitford's characters have a [[Series/TheWestWing history]] of putting overqualified women in a secretarial position.
12	* ADayInTheLimelight: A one-shot for Peggy Carter.
13	* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Peggy's masterful performance in the Zodiac mission leads to her being invited to co-run S.H.I.E.L.D. with Howard Stark.
14	* BackdoorPilot: Although not produced as such, response to the short was so strong that, coupled with the success of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', ABC eventually ordered an ''Series/AgentCarter'' series as a spinoff to the short and as a prequel/spinoff for ''[=AoS=]''.
15	* BaitAndSwitchComment: As the office closes up for the night, Agent Flynn tells Peggy that he and the others are going to go out for a drink. For a moment it sounds as though he's going to invite her to come along with them, but then it turns out he's actually asking for her to proofread his reports.
16	* BrooklynRage: Peggy seems to have inherited some from Steve.
17	-->'''Guard''': You're not from around here, are you?
18	-->'''Peggy''': [[PreAssKickingOneLiner No, I live in Brooklyn, actually]]. (''starts kicking the tar out of both goons'')
19	* TheCameo: ''Film/IronMan3'' director Shane Black as the mission debriefer on the phone, as well as Creator/DominicCooper reprising his role as Howard Stark at the end and Creator/NealMcDonough as Dum-Dum Dugan in TheStinger.
20	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: It's the '[=40s=], so respect for women isn't exactly common, especially not at Peggy's workplace.
21	* DeskJockey: What Peggy was reduced to code-breaking and report proof-reading after the events of ''The First Avenger''.
22	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Because planning for the ''Agent Carter'' TV show wasn't beyond the concept stage yet, the one-shot little resembles it. The SSR office is smaller and headed by Flynn, not Dooley. None of Peggy's coworkers are there, nor supporting cast such as Jarvis. The mysterious Leviathan organization goes unmentioned; in its place is the equally mysterious Zodiac. It only thematically resembles the ''Agent Carter'' series, e.g. "Peggy Carter deals with sexism, beats up bad guys, and is awesome."
23	* GreaterScopeVillain: "Zodiac" never appears, though they're responsible for the shipment of serum.
24	* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: A pre-headphones variant, but still the same idea; the desk guard of the Zodiac hideout doesn't overhear Peggy beating the snot out of two other flunkies because he's got the radio turned up.
25	* HeartbrokenBadass: Peggy. Agent Flynn even accuses their superiors of letting her still work for them because she was grieving.
26	* HowWeGotHere: The short has been hinted to be the eventual finale of the ''Agent Carter'' series, so in a way it leads up to this.
27	* ImprovisedWeapon: Peggy uses her suitcase to beat up Zodiac's agents.
28	* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Peggy defeats seven mooks with her bare hands (and her briefcase) while dressed in a fashionable [[TheForties 1940s professional skirt, high heels, and jacket]]. She even stops to check her makeup in the middle of battle!
29	* TheLostLenore: (male) Obviously, she is still thinking about Steve, and wanting to get into the field to help her get over losing him. It's notable that she has his ''pre''-serum photo, which shows her love for him, not "Captain America."
30	* MacGuffin: The briefcase full of serum is the objective of the mission, but nothing about it is discussed.
31	* MeanBoss: Agent Flynn, who's kept Peggy from going on missions in the three months that she's been there.
32	* MilitaryMaverick: Peggy decides to go after the mission even when she wasn't assigned to do so. It was time-sensitive, after all.
33	* NeverASelfMadeWoman: Agent Flynn tells Peggy that the only reason she has a job is because everyone feels sorry for Captain America's bereft girlfriend. Considering Peggy was a badass long before Steve's procedure...
34	* OriginStory: The very beginning of an origin story for S.H.I.E.L.D., which Peggy is invited to help form along with Philips, Stark, and presumably the Howling Commandos.
35	* ProtagonistTitle: Just like [[Series/AgentCarter the series]].
36	* TheStinger:
37	** Howard Stark and Dum-Dum Dugan are sitting next to each other as [[DistractedByTheSexy Dugan looks confusedly towards two women wearing bikinis]], which Stark has to explain to him about as he's never heard of them before.
38	*** [[ShownTheirWork Makes sense]]; bikinis had only just come out in 1946, and wouldn't become popular until their adoption by celebrities.
39	** A second one also occurs at the very end in text.
40	--> Steve Rogers will return in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.
41	* TimeSkip: The one-shot begins by showing Peggy and Steve's last conversation in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', then fast-forwards one year later to Peggy's current job.
42	* TheUnreveal: The organization Peggy works for is hot on the tail of "Zodiac," an enigmatic person or persons (possibly both) that has eluded even their best groups of agents. As Peggy closes in on their operation, she seems to have cornered them - however, upon following information on Zodiac's location, she finds only a [[MacGuffin mysterious serum]] that is not elaborated on in the short itself.

Context Film / AgentCarter