Marvel.
Question?
Are you being ironic?
The Mighty World Of Marvel (Screen Dept) has been coming in for critcism lately for its lack of diversity. Too many white men, not enough women. It's hard to refute this really. Of the big screen films we have less than a handful of female hero types (even counting the non-Marvel Studio Marvel films it's still a real imbalance).
So an extra woman in the franchise will take off the pressure right ?
Well not if that character spends a lot of time not fighting the forces of Evil, but fighting bigotry and sexism. Or as its also known ... The forces of Evil...
This show brings it to the fore, so you could well be hoist with your own petard.
And what's more apparent is...
This show is FABULOUS!
Come on Marvel, justify why (as rumours suggest) you dont think that people would go and see female-centric movies when the characters are THIS good.
The can of worms is well and truly open.
To recap, Peggy Carter from Captain America:The First Avenger was an Army Secret Agent in the Strategic Scientific Reserve, aide to Howard Stark, Steve Roger's army liaison, fighter, destroyer of HYDRA secret bases, and love interest before Ol' Cap decided (FOR ABSOLUTELY NO ADEQUATELY EXPLAINED REASON) to dive-bomb his plane into the frozen sea.
So with all that going on you'd think that would command some respect right?
Nope.
The war is over and Carter, as well as many other women are being pushed back into the shadows, the GI's are returning home to re-establish the old status quo. Equality in the US is a long way away. A woman's place is to teach the men the jobs they've been doing for the last five years then it's off back to the kitchen.
What's worse for Carter is that rather than her past being a door opener to a high flying career, it's actually a hinderance. Her associations with the SSR being treated with contempt, with her relationship to Steve Rogers being seen as the ONLY reason for her being where she is.
She is not impressed, oh no. She seethes, snarls and snarks at the less capable males in the secret organization she works for.
When one of her odious colleagues tells her she's better than him at filing so should do his, her comeback is priceless.
One person however has faith in her. Howard Stark. Big problem though. Stark is on the run as a traitor from the Government, trying to stop his military inventions finding their way into the hands of the enemies of the state. He's been robbed and wants his property back, and needs someone to help with the legwork, so Peggy is recruited, along with Stark's butler Jarvis (after first having the crap kicked out of him).
This makes her a SECRET Secret Agent! Stealthily Securing Stark's Super Secret Secrets !
And she does it brilliantly!
Well, technically it makes her an accomplice to a suspected traitor, so she's going to have to stay one step ahead of her own side as well.
Hayley Atwell is superb as Agent Carter, she fights, charms, threatens, cajoles and thoroughly outclasses everyone else on the screen. She's independent, mostly through lack of choice, tough, but not too tough to get emotional when someone gets killed because of her.
The actual plot revolves around one of Stark's inventions for an experimental Implosive. Carter is trying to retrieve it for Stark without the SSR getting their hands on it. With assistance from Jarvis only available until 9 p.m in the evenings, when he goes to bed with his wife, and a day job, she's going to have a lot to cope with.
Chasing down Stark's stolen property sees Peggy using guile, cunning and tranqilizing lipstick to get it back, but not before nearly being caught by her own side, and being followed home by a creepy villainous assassin with a distinctive scar on his neck.
These thefts from Stark are more than they seem, and there's a bigger picture involved.
This is FUN, and miles better than the introduction of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
I'd happily watch an Agent Carter movie, to my mind she's a better character than Scarlett Johannson's Black Widow.
Actually, why did they need Super Soldiers in WWII if the women were this good ?
They'd have had to have been a bunch of bigotted Male Chauvinist Pigs or something...
And she has a snazzy red hat.
Love the hat.