MARVEL’S CAPTAIN CARTER
THE SUPER WEIRD ORIGIN OF
By Kirsten Howard
Marvel introduced Peggy Carter as Captain Carter in its new Disney+ series What If…? but the character wasn’t born in the pages of Marvel Comics.
What If…? got underway on Disney+ with a wild multiverse story that pondered what would have happened if Peggy had taken the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers.
Peggy’s role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had been pretty patchy since she first debuted in Captain America: The First Avenger.
But she did go on to snag a two-season live-action series called Agent Carter, which was unfortunately cancelled due to low ratings.
In What If…? Peggy became a WWII superhero who rescued Bucky Barnes from captivity and had a skinny Steve as her Hydra-stomping sidekick.
Though we’re only just getting to see Captain Carter onscreen now, it may seem like the character has been around in the comic book zeitgeist for ages.
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However, it simply isn't so, and Captain Carter has a unique origin story that most Marvel fans find surprising.
It all began in 2013 when the match-3 game Marvel Puzzle Quest was first launched.
Touting itself as the original Match 3 Super Hero Game, Marvel Puzzle Quest once boasted a community of over 20 million players worldwide.
It was the game’s developer, Demiurge Studios, that first wondered what would happen if Peggy took Steve’s super soldier serum, and created Captain Carter for Puzzle Quest in 2016.
Two years later, Marvel Comics embraced the concept of Peggy as Captain America, and she debuted in Exiles #3.
Writer Saladin Ahmed had seen Captain Carter in Marvel Puzzle Quest and found the idea “super-compelling”.
Marvel fans went nuts for the Peggy version of Captain America, and some wondered if she’d make the transition to the MCU one day.
What If…? finally delivered this year, with an adventure for Captain Carter that was out of this world.
That’s not the last we’ve seen of the character, as the creators of the show are planning to feature Captain Carter in every season of What If…? going forwards.