As it heads towards the conclusion of its second ever saga, the MCU is looking back to its own past more than ever before. For proof, just take a glance at Marvel’s most recent TV series and its next movie. Just as Avengers: Doomsday is bringing back numerous faces not seen in years, like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, Disney Plus’ VisionQuest features ties to everything from Age of Ultron to 2008’s Iron Man.
With the MCU itself getting nostalgic, now is the perfect time for fans to plug the gaps in their Marvel knowledge by catching up on any projects they might not have watched yet. Among the more forgotten entries in the franchise is ABC’s Agent Carter, which ran for just two seasons until it was abruptly canceled a full decade ago. As time has gone by, however, the series has only become more and more significant to the wider universe, with several of its characters and concepts proving to have surprising longevity and crossover appeal.
Agent Carter Was a Groundbreaking Series in Marvel History
10 years ago was a very different time for Marvel Television. Not only was Disney Plus a distant reality, but Marvel had only just started its collaboration with Netflix on Daredevil. This meant that network TV was where Marvel was mostly focusing its efforts. In 2013, fans were gifted Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and in 2015, that was followed up by Agent Carter, starring Captain America: The First Avenger’s Hayley Atwell.
Agent Carter was quietly a big deal for Marvel, in a way that has been forgotten over time. Debuting years before Captain Marvel and Black Widow, and 10 months prior to Jessica Jones, Agent Carter was the MCU’s first female-led project. Some may doubt if it actually counts as MCU canon, but with Infinity War and Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely writing the pilot, and Joe Russo directing episode 2, the series was more directly tied into the movie side of Marvel than its contemporaries.
Set in 1946, Agent Carter follows Peggy Carter as she works for the SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), the precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D. Unfortunately, despite her stellar service in the war, Peggy is belittled and undervalued by her male colleagues, leading her to go rogue and take matters into her own hands. In the first season, Peggy must prove her old friend, Howard Stark, innocent when he is framed for selling dangerous tech to the Russians. In the second season, Peggy heads to Los Angeles and goes head-to-head with villainous movie star/genius scientist Whitney Frost.
Why You Shouldn’t Sleep On Agent Carter
Tragically, Agent Carter was canceled due to low ratings before it was able to deliver on its big promise: that it would eventually depict the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. Likewise, anyone diving into the show now should be warned that it ends on a big unanswered cliffhanger. Nevertheless, Agent Carter is a must-watch for those looking to properly do their homework for Avengers: Doomsday. After all, Peggy is believed to be playing a major role in the blockbuster, in sharp contrast to her small cameo roles in Endgame and Doctor Strange 2.
An important piece of Doomsday prep it may be, but the real reason to watch Agent Carter is that it’s just great entertainment. It’s a fun, breezy show that revels in the 1940s noir/old spy movie vibes of its first season and then gleefully switches things up to homage classic Hollywood in its second run (complete with a musical dream sequence). The number one reason why Agent Carter is compulsory viewing, though, is for its central dynamic duo: Peggy and her partner in crime, Edwin Jarvis.
As she is operating independently of the SSR and is trying to clear Howard Stark’s name, Peggy teams up with the Stark family butler, Jarvis, on her missions. Jarvis’ prim and proper demeanor and English brand of sarcasm (think Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) are the perfect counterpart to Peggy’s action-heroine attitude and the pair have wonderful platonic chemistry. Clearly, James D’Arcy wasn’t just popular with the fans but also with Marvel producers, as the actor has been invited back to reprise his role numerous times since.
Agent Carter’s Impact on the MCU Is Bigger Than Fans Realize
Aside from its quality and Hayley Atwell’s incoming Marvel return, Agent Carter deserves to be revisited because it’s had far more of an impact on the MCU than fans may be cognizant of. Despite its short lifespan and lack of attention in recent times, Agent Carter made some notable additions to MCU lore that are still in play today.
The big bads of Season 1 are a shadowy organization known as Leviathan. Essentially the Russian version of HYDRA, Leviathan are trying to steal Steve Rogers’ blood so they can recreate the Super-Soldier serum that turned him into Captain America. Russia’s interest in making their own Cap would later be revisited in both Black Widow and Thunderbolts, through the character of Red Guardian.
Season 2, meanwhile, explores the destructive fallout of the discovery of Zero Matter, a cosmic element that fans will know better as the Darkforce, which later became a big deal in the (equally short-lived and equally underrated) Cloak & Dagger TV show. Likewise, the Darkforce played a key role in Wonder Man — featuring in the acclaimed “Doorman” episode of the Disney Plus show.
Yet the show’s biggest impact on the MCU is the aforementioned Edwin Jarvis. By introducing this character into the lore, it was implied that he was the inspiration for Tony Stark’s AI of the same name. This was then further suggested when D’Arcy cameod in Endgame, making him the only Marvel TV character to be included in the film. Last but not least, D’Arcy has returned again for VisionQuest, which finally makes the direct connection between Jarvis and JARVIS canon.
At just 18 episodes, Agent Carter is the perfect long weekend binge and can be found on Disney Plus in most territories. And, if you want to be really thorough, you can also seek out the Agent Carter Marvel One Shot, which acted as a kind of proof-of-concept pilot. The show might have been ignored for a long time, but like any good spy, it turns out it’s been making moves from the shadows. While fans weren’t looking, Agent Carter secretly turned itself into an integral part of the MCU.
- Release Date
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2015 – 2016-00-00
- Network
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ABC
- Showrunner
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Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas
- Directors
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Craig Zisk, David Platt, Jennifer Getzinger, Lawrence Trilling, Metin Hüseyin, Christopher Misiano, Joe Russo, Louis D’Esposito, Peter Leto, Scott Winant, Stephen Cragg, Stephen Williams
- Writers
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Eric Pearson, Brant Englestein, Lindsey Allen, Jose Molina, Andi Bushell, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
