AGENT CARTER | Review

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, the world can’t get enough of it and Marvel knows it. So this time, they take a bold move with yet another original series that’s based on a widely unknown cast of characters. This time, with Agent Carter, the series is based on Peggy Carter, Captain America’s love interest from the “Captain America: The First Avenger” movie. This is a character that hasn’t stared in her own comic book so the story is an original given the little source material they had to work with. Straight from the title I expected a story of espionage into the unknown world of super powers, the strange and more Hydra salutes. If we get any of that, it remains to be seen:

Agent Carter is based on events that took place after Captain America took the ice bucket challenge and literally became an ice man. This is a period that has been largely unexplored in both movies and the comic books. After the War, Howard Stark is framed for selling lethal weapons to enemies of America. To clear his name and find the weapons before they are used to cause fatal incidents, he seeks the help of Peggy Carter to work undercover and find these weapons with the help of Jarvis, Starks butler. When I first heard of this it screamed a lot of epicness because I’m sure I’m not the only one who asked myself, “I wonder what Peggy was up to after Captain America disappeared.” So here we are.

My general thoughts so far are a bit mixed largely because of the presentation and also given the show is still ongoing, but largely my thoughts are positive. Firstly, it is based where it ought to be, the 1940’s right after World War II. The setting is great and looks fantastic on screen, like a majestic classic movie. The cinematography was also a surprise coz it looked so polished unlike most series where green screen effects are so obvious. In short, the series looks great and stays true to the period.

Now whenever there is a series being adapted from a movie, what throws me off at first is when they use different actors from the movie yet portraying the same character. Sure circumstances to this are understandable, but it’s an attitude you can’t help feeling until you get used to the new actor. But so is not the case in Agent Carter. The actors you got from the first Captain America film are the same ones you get here, most notably Peggy Carter and Howard Stark (Tony Stark’s dad). On top of that there is the addition of Jarvis, this time as a living man. If I remember correctly, Jarvis in the comic books was Tony Stark’s butler, not an A.I Computer. So this is a very welcome character to have. Carter and Jarvis’ characters play well on screen together. Their exchanges make for great dialogue that reminded me of the old Bond films.

This series has a bunch of Eastereggs and references to the Avengers if you into that kind of stuff. What I’m looking forward to the most is how S.H.I.E.L.D is formed and the early processes of that are already evident. The pilot episode though didn’t have much to offer in terms of story other than a foundation, and it’s a damn strong one even so. There is a lot of potential for this series to appeal to both comic book fans and the clueless. We’ll see how the story goes from here but I’m highly positive of it and expect to enjoy in thoroughly.

[Cheerz for reading! And always keep in mind: The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources]