Captain Carter (subtitled Woman out of Time for the collected edition) is a limited series from Marvel Comics, written by Jamie McKelvie (who also contributes the cover art) and illustrated by Marika Cresta, with color art by Erick Arciniega.
The series is connected to the shared Marvel Universe, but set in an alternate universe where Peggy Carter became a World War II superhero, taking the super-soldier role normally occupied by Captain America (Steve Rogers).
Frozen for almost 80 years, Peggy’s reawakened in the modern world and faces a new set of challenges.
Although this isn’t the first comic series to imagine a world where Carter takes Rogers’ place in some way, the series was announced not long after the Disney+ series What if…? introduced a Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the concept, and it follows some aspects of that story.
The first issue was released March 9, 2022.
Captain Carter provides examples of:
- Aliens in Cardiff: Batroc in Immingham, a rather small Lincolnshire town.
- All in the Manual: The series never specifies which of Marvel's many Alternate Universes it's set in, but an issue of Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain later mentions that it's Earth-76.
- Alternative-Self Name-Change: A minor one for a supporting character. Lizzie Braddock rather than Betsy Braddock. And Lizzie's grandfather was Jacob Braddock in this world, not John.
- Alternate Universe: The story is set in one (later labelled as Earth-76). The Prime Minister offhandedly mentions a Fantastic Five instead of Four. Despite the character similarities, it's not set in the What If…? (2021) series' universe either, as Peggy goes from WWII to modern day as a Human Popsicle (in the same way as Captain America), not by crossing an interdimensional portal.
- Bland-Name Product: Used throughout the Newspaper Backstory pages.
- Social media giant mys-tech is a Continuity Nod to Marvel UK's omnipresent Evil, Inc. Mys-Tech, but the industry, font and lower case logo also make it clear that it's referencing Facebook.
- The Morning Sentinel is clearly based on British broadsheet newspaperThe Guardian.
- Canon Character All Along: The Prime Minister, "Harry Williams", is actually the vampire John Falsworth. His main Marvel Universe (Earth-616) counterpart is better known as Baron Blood.
- Canon Immigrant: This particular take on Captain Carter is heavily inspired by the What If…? animated version.
- Captain Patriotic: Invoked by Prime Minister Harry Williams, who wants Peggy to be Britain's "greatest hero", complains that nearly all of the current superheroes are American and states her presence in Britain's hour of need would signal the nation's return to global significance.
- Cassandra Truth: This is everyone's first reaction to hearing about vampires being real, and that Williams is one. "Willams"/Falsworth has been running on this all his existence.
- Coincidental Broadcast: The second issue starts with TV screens showing the Prime Minister being interviewed about the Hydra attacks and proposed changes to the anti-terrorism laws. Breaking news talks about a new attack and then Peggy's shield shatters the TV screen, which is revealed to be in an electronics shop, as the story shifts to the action.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Unsurprisingly, Carter looks like the actress portraying her in the MCU, Hayley Atwell.
- Comic-Book Time: Downplayed, as the montage of present day newspaper stories opening the second issue are clearly dated April and May 2022, with the newspapers opening the fourth issue later in May, but captions within the story itself are more generic.
- Compound-Interest Time Travel Gambit: It’s the popsicle variant rather than time travel, and it’s not intentional, but between that and nobody cutting off her pay/pension by officially declaring her dead Peggy wakes up to find her bank balance is looking pretty good.
- Continuity Nod: Lots of them in opening newspaper montages.
- The second issue includes a "Carter Vexes Vixen" headline. Vixen was a recurring villain in the Marvel UK Captain Britain stories.
- A newspaper in the fourth issue has a "free phone for every reader" offer from social media giant mys-tech (written in all lowercase letters in a font that's oddly similar to the Facebook logo). Mys-Tech was the Big Bad for Marvel UK's 1990s books, an Evil, Inc. corporation led by immortal magicians who'd made a Deal with the Devil.
- The fourth issue's montage also mentions the apparent death of U.S. nuclear energy expert Bruce Banner in an experimental accident, a figure seen fighting a dragon during an Icelandic storm, a Canadian hermit whose genes might unlock eternal youth, and Professor Max Eisenhardt, expert on mutants, caught up in a row at a London university.
- There‘s also a half-seen headline asking whether "-oni really created" "-al intelligence", which seems to be a reference to Marvel UK's Nakasoni Corporation and Digitek.
- Cyanide Pill: The first Hydra assassin takes one after the attack on the bus, preventing Peggy from interrogating him.
- Cyborg: This version of Tony Stark is a cyborg, with a synthetic body built around his original brain and spine - although he appears totally human until he uses his powers. His hand splits and disassembles, revealing machinery, whenever he deploys a Hand Blast.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: This version of S.T.R.I.K.E. split from S.H.I.E.L.D., ostensibly to allow the UK government to make its own decisions and reduce red tape. In practice, that's making it much harder for them to work with foreign intelligence agencies. Brexit is never mentioned, but it's very familiar language (and consequences) for British readers.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Peggy finds herself in this situation. For her, World War II was only weeks ago.
- Foreshadowing: The electronics shop seen in the second issue is owned by Stark Industries. Tony Stark turns up in the third issue.
- Government Conspiracy: As of the second issue, it's clear that the Prime Minister has his own agenda. The veiled threats about the fate of Lizzie's family and the end-of-issue ambush he arranges confirm that he's prepared to assassinate people to continue it. And all of that's before he's revealed as an actual President Evil, a fake identity for vampire John Falsworth.
- Hand Blast: Tony Stark's preferred weapon. This version of Stark is a cyborg and his artificial hand can split apart to reveal a concealed blaster.
- Human Popsicle: Peggy’s been frozen in ice since the last days of World War II.
- In Spite of a Nail: Downplayed, but Harley still ends up as a cyborg after a throat injury, just as her counterpart in the 'main' Marvel universe (Earth-616) did. It's downplayed because we don't see her using the same sonic powers.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Carter's rediscovery sets this off briefly between the Russians (salvage rights to the seabed where the Hydra craft was found), the United States (who came up with the Super Soldier Serum) and Britain. Things had degenerated to an acrimonious shouting match before Peggy interrupted them (by smashing the tables between the representatives), confirmed her citizenship status, and expressed a desire to go home.
- Just Following Orders: Prime Minister Harry Williams tries to use a variant of this, with a touch of My Country, Right or Wrong. His internment camps and deportation orders for asylum seekers may be inhumane, but those policies reflect the "will of the people", so he doesn’t accept much responsibility for them.
- Mind over Matter: Lizzie Braddock's revealed to have telekinetic powers.
- Mythology Gag:
- The first issue shows Peggy in a red jacket, standing out in a crowd of grey, echoing the red hat crowd scenes in Agent Carter.
- The energy guns used by Hydra attackers in the second issue are identical to those from Captain America: The First Avenger.
- There's a "Motormouth + Killpower" poster in Harley's apartment.
- Newspaper Backstory: The first issue opens with a newspaper montage page establishing what happened to Peggy in the 1940s. The second issue uses a similar montage for the present day, showing her initial activities as a superhero.
- Precision-Guided Boomerang: Peggy's shield, as you might expect. Batroc initially thinks she's thrown it away in response to his challenge. Then it ricochets and hits him in the back of the head.
- Predecessor Villain: Baron Von Strucker and Zemo are initially positioned this way. The modern Hydra is continuing their war and using Zemo's technology for weapons.
- President Evil: Harry Williams, the British Prime Minister. Who's actually the vampire John Falsworth.
- Punch a Wall: At the start of the first issue, just after Peggy's been revived, representatives of several nations are squabbling over her future as if she's property, not a person. Peggy's in the room while all this is happening, and eventually ends the debate by punching - and breaking - the meeting table.
- Race Lift: A Changing the Majority example. In the original Motormouth & Killpower series, Harley was white. In Captain Carter's alternate universe, she's Black.
- Refusal of the Call: After being defrosted, Peggy is not interested in becoming Britain's national superhero and tries to stay anonymous. However, Peggy winds up stopping assassins from killing bystanders and the British public immediately gushes over her.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: Tony Stark is Howard Stark's grandson here instead of his son.
- The Reveal: Prime Minister Harry Williams is John Falsworth, the vampire better known in the main (Earth-616) universe as Baron Blood. And the blonde woman who confronted Peggy and Tony is Lady Jacqueline Falsworth, whose Earth-616 equivalent is the super-fast vampiric superhero Spitfire.
- Super-Soldier: Captain Carter herself, as an alternate version of Captain America.
- Throwing Your Shield Always Works: Unsurprisingly, as an alternate Captain America, Peggy lives and breathes this trope.
- Writer on Board: Downplayed, as it's well integrated into the story and fuels plot. Carter's version of the UK reflects a lot of the nation's real 2022 political challenges, including nationalistic nostalgia, the 'hostile environment' for asylum seekers and the UK's post-Brexit approach to international cooperation and world politics. Jamie McKelvie has been outspoken about much of this on social media, and the alternate world setting gives it a little distance from real events.
- Written by the Winners:
- Peggy is not happy with her international team of World War II commandos being written out, replaced with the idea that Britain's champion did it all herself.
- More broadly, the post-war end of the British Empire is handled this way, with references to Operation Legacy, the Windrush generation and the Partition of India all airbrushed out. The narrative is that the Empire benevolently granted independence to the colonies. As Harley points out, the reality is more complicated.
