Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter was introduced all the way back in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Since then, the character has only been seen a handful of times throughout the MCU, but she made a surprising return in the What If...? animated series that debuted on Disney+ in 2021. This time, viewers were introduced to Captain Carter, a variant of the character that fans were familiar with. In this scenario, Peggy was the one who was given the Super-Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rogers.
Following What If...?, Captain Carter appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Atwell reprised her role, and the character was part of the Illuminati superhero team from the Earth-838 universe that Doctor Strange and America Chavez traveled to. When the Scarlet Witch used the Darkhold to possess her own body in the 838 universe, the Illuminati were forced to face off against her. Captain Carter and the rest of the team didn't stand much of a chance, and they were easily wiped out within a few moments.
Some fans questioned if Captain Carter from Doctor Strange was the same version of the character from What If...? Now, it seems that the minds behind the show have opened up and given a concrete answer.
The MCU's Different Versions of Captain Carter
During Marvel Studios' animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it was confirmed that Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not the same version of the character seen in the What If...? animated series. Most fans didn't believe that the two characters were the same. Michael Waldron, the head writer for the Doctor Strange sequel, recently made his own comments on the topic, saying that "that'd be too bad" if they were the same character.
According to ComicBook's Brandon Davis, What If...? director Bryan Andrews stated that seeing the character in live-action was "pretty awesome," but also said that she was "some variant version" of the character from the animated series:
"I think it’s important to point out, that’s not our Captain Carter. That’s some variant version."
Brad Winderbaum, the executive producer of What If...?, agreed, and also added that "(their) Captain Carter wouldn't have gone down like that."
Captain Carter's Future is Now Open
When What If...? first aired, many fans didn't know how it would affect the future of the MCU. Certain questions were asked about if characters from the series would appear in live-action, if storylines would translate over from the show into other projects, etc.
The live-action version of Captain Carter from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was first seen in a TV spot before the film was released. Once the movie came out, and the character was killed by Wanda, the fandom didn't know if the character would make any more appearances in future seasons of What If...?, or possibly even other projects down the line. The general consensus was that the two characters were completely different, but there was no official word on the matter, so nothing was set in stone.
Now that Brad Winderbaum and Bryan Andrews have spoken out and definitively stated that they were not the same characters, that opens the door for more stories to be told involving Captain Carter. Season 2 of What If...? already has a release date of early 2023, and thanks to Marvel Studios' animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it has already been confirmed that Captain Carter will be a part of the upcoming installment. It is also worth mentioning that What If...? has officially been renewed for Season 3, so fans of Captain Carter can expect to see her there as well.
