Marvel fans have been left disappointed after a recent Peggy Carter Legends episode failed to recognize the character's TV show.
With Peggy Carter set to star in the first episode of Marvel's What If...? animated anthology series, which premieres on Disney Plus on August 11, the character – portrayed by Hayley Atwell – was one of three MCU characters to recently receive an episode in Marvel Studios' Legends series.
Despite being a cult TV favorite that ran for two seasons on US network ABC, though, Agent Carter has been completely overlooked by Marvel in the SHIELD agent's Legends instalment – and, as first seen by GamesRadar, fans aren't happy about the oversight.
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Taking to Twitter in the wake of watching Peggy Carter's Legends episode, fans voiced their displeasure that Agent Carter didn't form part of her Marvel arc.
One fan took exception to the fact that key Marvel Studios staff helped to make the show, so it should be considered as canon in the MCU. President Kevin Feige was an executive producer on Agent Carter, while writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely – who have penned seven MCU movies to date – also created the TV series.
Another viewer was annoyed that Peggy's iconic red hat (as seen in Agent Carter) was used in the thumbnail for the character's Legends episode, even though the show isn't referenced at any other point.
Other Marvel fans added further fuel to the fire, including the fact that Marvel Studios had also centered a One-Shot short story around Peggy Carter that acted as a sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger and, seemingly, a prequel to her TV show. Some, though, were simply sad that this was confirmation that Marvel didn't consider another TV show to be canon in its live-action universe.
Analysis: Marvel's TV history continues to create plenty of fan debate
This isn't the first time that Marvel fans have been frustrated with the studio's stance over its TV back catalog.
Before Marvel began to develop its own TV series for Disney Plus, the studio outsourced various characters and properties to other streaming platforms and TV networks.
Netflix's Defenders-Verse, ABC shows including Inhumans, Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD, Hulu's Runaways and Helstrom, and Freeform's Cloak and Dagger were created under the now-defunct division known as Marvel Television – and some even had loose ties to the MCU. Netflix's Marvel shows made direct references to 2012's The Avengers, while Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter were thought to exist in the same universe as Iron Man, Thor and more.
Now, though, it seems that Marvel isn't addressing these productions, even though there is some crossover between them and the MCU. Avengers: Endgame, for instance, saw the same actor – James D'Arcy – portray Edwin Jarvis in the 2019 movie and ABC's Agent Carter series. Clark Gregg, meanwhile, plays Agent Coulson in Marvel's Phase 1 movie slate and ABC's Agents of SHIELD, later reappearing in Captain Marvel.
It's understandable why, then, that some Marvel fans have taken exception to Agent Carter's TV show being overlooked for her Legends episode. After all, using the same actors in Marvel movies and TV shows, regardless of where they aired, means there must be some semblance of crossover between the properties, right?
To be fair to Marvel, though, these episodes are less than 10 minutes long – so it's not like there's loads of time for a comprehensive overview.
Of course, What If...? (and the arrival of its cinematic multiverse) gives the studio a potential way out of this mess. They can simply chalk up Agent Carter and other pre-Disney Plus shows to being variants of its MCU characters, which exist in alternate realities or on different timelines.
Still, Marvel's decision to overlook some elements of its TV show history is disappointing to sections of its fanbase. It may not matter to most but, to those who bothered getting invested in these stories, it's clearly a big deal.
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