Ahead of Hayley Atwell aka Peggy Carter starring in What If…? 2, all you need to know about the iconic MCU character

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding at an uber speed. Because of its ever-growing roster of characters, it can be a little overwhelming at times. Names like Captain America and Iron Man are famous, sure. But ever wondered how many casual fans recognize the names Harold Hogan, Darcy Lewis and Mike Peterson right away? Only very few. This makes it more interesting given the huge table of characters to choose from, Marvel has opted to make Peggy Carter such a linchpin.

When Wonder Woman was released, there was much talk about DC beating Marvel after the Captain Marvel movie. Wonder Woman was about the first female lead in a superhero movie. DC did claim a small win on the small screen with Marvel’s Jessica Jones. But the truth is, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is considered a big deal in the field. She is the quiet, most unheralded, architect of the MCU and everyone loves that.

Not overstating, but without Peggy, Steve Rogers never would have become Captain America nor would Tony Stark be born and most importantly there is no S.H.I.E.L.D. Without her, WWII would most likely have been lost to Hydra, Phyll Coulson who never would have grown up to idolize Cap and the Avengers.

Agent Carter was trained as a spy during WWII but went ahead and did so much post-war, proving that she is much more than a mere girlfriend of Captain America. Perhaps one of the most touching moments in the whole of the MCU was in the second Captain America movie when Steve visits Peggy in her 90s who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It isn’t a regular occurrence that we see our superheroes grow old.

For a brief couple of seasons, we were treated to Peggy’s post-war espionage adventures stateside in the fun Agent Carter, as she battled sexism and continued on her journey toward founding SHIELD. Like their relationship, the show was over too quickly. But Avengers: Endgame gave us a better send-off for the fun, the investigative world of Agent Carter than ever expected or hoped for at this point.