Margaret Elizabeth "Peggy" Carter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in books featuring Captain America. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, she debuted, unnamed, in Tales of Suspense #75 as a World War II love interest of Steve Rogers in flashback sequences. She would later be better known as the aunt of Sharon Carter.

Peggy Carter
Peggy Carter on the cover of Captain America: Peggy Carter, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (Dec. 2014). Art by Siya Oum.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceTales of Suspense #75 (March 1966; unnamed and obscured)
Tales of Suspense #77 (May 1966; unnamed)
Captain America (comic book) #162 (March 1973; as Peggy Carter)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Full nameMargaret Elizabeth "Peggy" Carter
Team affiliations
Supporting character ofCaptain America
Notable aliasesDryad, Agent 13
AbilitiesSkilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, markswoman, and tactician

Hayley Atwell portrayed the character in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from 2011 to 2019, including films, a short film, and television series, before playing alternate versions of the character known as Captain Carter in the animated series What If...? (2021–present) and the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022),[1] with the comic book version of the character subsequently being redesigned after Atwell.

Publication history

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The character debuted in a single panel (and unnamed) as a wartime love interest of Captain America in Tales of Suspense #75 (March 1966), and then receiving a backstory in #77 (May 1966). She was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. She was created to give Sharon Carter a family background.[2][3] She appeared again as the older sister of Sharon Carter in Captain America #161 (May 1973). She was later retconned as Sharon's aunt, then later great-aunt, due to the unaging nature of comic book characters. The character has appeared frequently in Captain America stories set during World War II.[citation needed]

Fictional character biography

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Dr.[4] Peggy Carter joins the French Resistance as a teenager and becomes a skilled fighter, who serves on several operations alongside Captain America.[5] The two fall in love, but an exploding shell gives her amnesia and she is sent to live with her parents in Virginia.[6]

During the "Original Sin" storyline, it was revealed in 1952 that Peggy Carter worked with Howard Stark and Woody McCord when they investigated an alien ship in Siberia.[7] The three of them worked to keep the alien from being taken by Hydra and had the alien live with Anton Vanko.[8]

In the 1960s, Peggy Carter joins S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long tenure.[9]

At the time when Captain America resurfaced in the world, Peggy Carter was taking treatments from Doctor Faustus. When she was rescued by Captain America, she maintained her friendship with him.[10]

Peggy Carter later helped Captain America fight the Secret Empire.[11] She also dealt with his decision to stop being Captain America for a while.[12]

Peggy helps Captain America when her niece Sharon Carter and some S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents went missing while gathering information on the new Grand Director.[13]

Peggy Carter later joined the Avengers' support staff at Avengers Mansion.[14]

Following her retirement, Peggy lives in a nursing home, where she eventually dies.[15] Following her death,[7] S.H.I.E.L.D. erects a memorial statue outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy in Newark.[16]

Through unknown means, Peggy Carter is resurrected and becomes a founding member of the Daughters of Liberty as Dryad. Besides Sharon, the only other people who knew were Falcon and Winter Soldier.[17] She assists the group in clearing Captain America's name when he is framed for Thunderbolt Ross' death.[18][19][17]

Abilities

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Peggy Carter is shown to be a superb martial artist, also excelling in using firearms. She is a highly trained spy and tactician.

As Dryad, Peggy wears a type of battle armor that is strong enough to protect her from a missile attack and keep her insulated when it is ablaze.

Other versions

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Amalgam Comics

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Mademoiselle Peggy, a fusion of Peggy Carter and DC Comics character Mademoiselle Marie, appears in the Amalgam Comics one-shot Super-Soldier: Man of War.[20]

Captain America

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The concept of Peggy Carter (modelled after Hayley Atwell) serving as Captain America was created for the game Marvel Puzzle Quest for Captain America's 75th anniversary. She was adapted into the third series of the comic Exiles.[21]

Exiles

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In Exiles Vol. 3, the titular team is joined by a Peggy Carter (modelled after Hayley Atwell) who became the Captain America of her universe and a female version of Bucky Barnes named Becky Barnes.[21][22][23][24]

Captain Carter

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As a result of the success of the new Captain Carter from the What If...? animated series, Marvel introduced a similarly-named reinvention of the Exiles Captain America Peggy Carter (modelled after Hayley Atwell) in the comic Captain Carter #1. It is set in its own universe, unrelated to the main Marvel universe or the MCU's Captain Carter. Captain Carter is cryogenically frozen from WWII up to the modern day, as in the usual origin story of Captain America, and discovers that HYDRA is still active.[25]

Another Captain Carter, similar to the MCU character as well, appeared in Avengers Forever #4, a crossover involving the multiverse and many alternate versions of characters.[26] She, Warbow, and War Widow find Moon Knight and Vision from Earth-818 at the Center of Infinity and recruit them into Avenger Prime's army.[27]

As the Multiversal Avengers and the Avengers of Earth-616 fight the Doctor Doom variants working for Doom Supreme, Captain America of Earth-616 fights alongside Captain Carter as she tells him to maintain the formation.[28]

House of M

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In the alternate reality created by Scarlet Witch in the 2005 "House of M" storyline, Captain America is never frozen in the Arctic, and instead marries Peggy shortly after World War II ends.[29]

Spider-Gwen

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On Earth-65, Peggy Carter (designed after Hayley Atwell) is the long-lived director of S.H.I.E.L.D., much like Nick Fury in the primary universe. She also sports an eye patch similar to the one worn by Fury,[30] later recruiting an amnesiac Mr. Murderhands to work for her as an assassin.[31]

In other media

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Television

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Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Hayley Atwell, who portrays Peggy Carter in the MCU, at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015

Peggy Carter appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Hayley Atwell. This version is a British agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) before co-founding S.H.I.E.L.D. with Howard Stark and becoming the aunt of Sharon Carter. She first appears in the live-action film Captain America: The First Avenger before making subsequent appearances in the live-action Marvel One-Shot Agent Carter,[34][35] the live-action TV series Agent Carter[36] Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[37] and the live-action films Captain America: The Winter Soldier,[34][38][39] Avengers: Age of Ultron,[40] and Ant-Man.[41] While she does not appear in the live-action film Captain America: Civil War, she is stated to have died.[42] Additionally, alternate timeline versions of Peggy appear in the live-action films Avengers: Endgame[43][44] and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)[1] as well as the Disney+ animated series What If...?.[45][33]

Video games

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Garbutt, Emily (5 May 2022). "The Illuminati members in Doctor Strange 2, listed and explained". Total Film. GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Peggy Carter". IGN. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  3. ^ "If a Hostage Should Die!" Archived 2018-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, Tales of Suspense #77 (May 1966) at the Grand Comics Database
  4. ^ Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2 #4
  5. ^ Catherine Saunders, Heather Scott, Julia March, and Alastair Dougall, editors, 2008, Marvel Chronicle: A year by Year History, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 115; ISBN 978-1-4093-8399-4.
  6. ^ Tales of Suspense #77. Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ a b Operation S.I.N. #1. Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ Operation S.I.N. #2-5. Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ Agent Carter: S.H.I.E.L.D. Anniversary #1. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Captain America #161-163. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Captain America #174-175. Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Captain America #176. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ Captain America #231-236. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ The Avengers #300. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Captain America vol. 5 #45. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Silk vol. 2 #8. Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ a b Captain America vol. 9 #19. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Captain America vol. 9 #9-11. Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ Captain America vol. 9 #12-13. Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ Super-Soldier: Man of War #1 (June 1997). Amalgam Comics.
  21. ^ a b Holub, Christian (19 April 2018). "Peggy Carter is Captain America in new Marvel comic". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  22. ^ Exiles (2018) #8-12
  23. ^ Future Foundation (2019) #3
  24. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ Captain Carter #1. Marvel Comics.
  26. ^ Brandon Zachary (23 March 2022). "Marvel Makes a What If... Star as a New Leader of The Multiverse". CBR. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  27. ^ Avengers: Forever Vol. 2 #4. Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ Avengers: Forever Vol. 2 #14. Marvel Comics.
  29. ^ Captain America vol. 5 #10 (Oct. 2005). Marvel Comics.
  30. ^ Spider-Gwen #2
  31. ^ Spider-Gwen Vol 2. #20
  32. ^ Awesome, Amy (8 October 2016). "Hayley Atwell Returning As Agent Carter". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  33. ^ a b c "Peggy Carter Voices (Captain America)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 13 October 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  34. ^ a b Breznican, Anthony (11 July 2013). "'Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter' -- First Look at poster and three photos from the new short!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  35. ^ Breznican, Anthony (11 July 2013). "'Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter' --First Look at poster and three photos from the new short! (Part 3)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  36. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (17 January 2014). "Marvel's 'Agent Carter': Hayley Atwell, Writers, Showrunners Confirmed for ABC Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  37. ^ "Learn How Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Begins Its Second Season". Marvel.com. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  38. ^ "Captain America: The Winter Soldier Begins Filming". Marvel Comics. April 8, 2013.
  39. ^ Failes, Ian (1 May 2014). "Captain America: The Winter Soldier – reaching new heights". Fxguide. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  40. ^ Dumaraog, Ana (20 February 2023). "Captain America's Age Of Ultron Vision Revealed 1 Big Avenger Difference". Screen Rant. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  41. ^ Panos, Maggie (25 July 2015). "Ant-Man: Why the 3 People in That Opening Scene Are Important". POPSUGAR Entertainment. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  42. ^ Romano, Nick (19 May 2015). "The First Captain America: Civil War Death Has Already Been Leaked". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  43. ^ Robinson, Joanna (25 April 2019). "Avengers: The Hidden Meaning Behind That Final Endgame Song". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  44. ^ Sirikul, Laura (27 April 2019). "Why 'Avengers: Endgame' Final Scene Isn't What It Seems". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  45. ^ Chitwood, Adam (12 April 2019). "Marvel's What If? Disney+ Series Will Launch with Peggy Carter Episode". Collider. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  46. ^ Kevin Kelly (27 July 2011). "Captain America: Super Soldier Review - Xbox 360". G4. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  47. ^ Slead, Evan (27 June 2016). "Captain America: Peggy Carter wields the shield in new Marvel Game". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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