Thursday, 18 February 2021 15:00

Marvel’s Disney+ Shows Can Answer Lingering Agent Carter Questions

Written by Amanda Bruce
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Agent Carter left unanswered questions for MCU fans, but Disney+ shows can remedy that.

When Agent Carter first premiered on ABC in 2015, the network advertised the show as a "limited series." That indicated there was no intention of it spanning years as Agents Of SHIELD did, but it garnered a second season all the same. Fans were disappointed when the second season, which opted to end with several unfinished stories and unanswered questions, ended up being canceled.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's short-lived series followed the adventures of Peggy Carter as she adjusted to life in an America after the "war to end all wars" and losing Steve Rogers. An SSR agent who is used to being in the field, Peggy doesn't take kindly to the men in her office frequently benching her. It leads her to investigate on her own and have a compelling group of allies that expands in the second season. Some of those allies and fellow agents make up the heart of many of the show's unanswered questions.

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The second season clearly set up a few new story arcs for a potential third season to pursue. Unfortunately, it never got the chance. Some of those questions still plague fans today.

Chief among them is what really happened to Peggy Carter's brother. Her brother Michael's death is the push that gets her to begin spy craft instead of settle down and become a housewife. Michael inspires her to use her skills to help in the war. Without Michael's death, Peggy might never have become a Strategic Scientific Reserve agent. Of course, Captain America: Civil War reveals to the MCU's audience that Peggy's niece Sharon shares her last name. Presumably, Sharon is related to Peggy through Michael, leaving the audience wondering just what happened to him.

Peggy's coworker, and interim chief in the New York office, Jack Thompson, also ends up involved with a shady secret organization called the Arena Club. The Club looks like yet another version of Hydra, but details about it never come to light. Thompson even ends up shot in the season finale, leaving his fate completely up in the air.

Even Howard Stark has a plot point that drops off as a result of the show ending. Howard, future father of Tony Stark and founder of Stark Industries, heads to Brazil. He claims he's working on a new project there. Just what that project is and what effect it might have on the future of the MCU is never known. Stark tends to have a hand in many areas of the wider MCU history. He's connected to SHIELD, the Winter Soldier, and, of course, Iron Man. Just what he might have been up to in Brazil makes for an interesting thread to pursue.

The MCU as a whole is clearly moving on from its past heroes. After all, Agent Peggy Carter's formative era is the '40s and '50s. The audience is already looking forward to a future that includes the Fantastic Four on the big screen and heroes like Moon Knight on the small screen. That doesn't mean every character from the earlier phases of the MCU needs to be abandoned. In fact, Disney+ has already made strides to make sure that doesn't happen.

Supporting players from across the MCU - and even villains - are getting expanded stories thanks to the streaming site. While WandaVision spotlights Avenger Wanda Maximoff, it also brings supporting players like Darcy Lewis, Jimmy Woo, and Monica Rambeau back for more adventures from their original projects. The upcoming Loki series will see the titular character time hopping across the events of the MCU. What If is set to explore potential alternate events, just as the similarly named comic book series has. Armor Wars will finally give James Rhodes a leading role.

All of these projects expand on existing plot points within the MCU or give new depth to existing characters. They can easily be utilized to answer questions the audience still has from abandoned properties like Agent Carter.

If Armor Wars focuses on Stark Industries, there's a slim chance the show could address Howard Stark's long ago project in Brazil. With the series more likely to focus on the Iron Man technology, however, that seems unlikely. Disney+ does, however, have the perfect property on the way to answer one of these other lingering questions: The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Sharon Carter returns in the series. She hasn't had a part to play in the MCU since Civil War.

Stopping the action to have Sharon expand on her long-gone aunt is clearly not the way to go. Some of her family history, however, might come up over the course of the show. Especially since her connection to the two title characters is through Captain America and her aunt Peggy. Bucky Barnes actually met and worked with Peggy before he became the Winter Soldier. Sam Wilson only met Sharon because he helped Steve Rogers while he was on the run. The three of them owe their team ups with Captain America to Peggy's legacy.

Unless Loki makes a trip to the '50s, the audience is unlikely to get answers about the Arena Club or Jack Thompson any time soon. Sharon, at the very least, might be able to shed light on just what happened to Michael Carter.

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