Agent Carter: The Hero We've Been Waiting For

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Agent Carter By Knightreaver-d813yks (1) by techgnotic












“Agent Carter” is the latest Marvel Comics based show to hit the airwaves.




Picking up where the Captain America: The First Avenger movie left off, we find ourselves back in the 1940’s following the life of Peggy Carter after losing Steve Rogers (a.k.a. “Captain America”). Set in 1946, it is a period still trying to come to terms with the idea of the self–sufficient “working woman” who, before the war, was a rare creature. It is also an era when it was totally acceptable to bombard women with sexist and belittling comments.


When we first meet Peggy Carter she is walking down the street in a sea of grey suits and it is clear from her attire that she is not here to blend in with the background. The show’s costume designers created a very patriotic red, white, and blue look for the first time we see her; the same outfit she wears in all of the publicity photos for the show. Her ensemble was created most likely to visually link her previous ties to Captain America who sports the same patriotic color pallet in his outfit rather than being the same colors as her own country’s Union Jack. While she is dressed in the female equivalent to a men’s suit there is one item that sets her apart: her bright red hat.







Comic book heroes have never been trendsetters or fashion icons, and one knows better than to look to them for fashion inspiration. The skin–tight latex one piece suits favored by comic book heroines are fashion disasters when attempted in the real world.


By moving away from the up until now established hypersexualized female comic book hero, Agent Carter looks to appeal to an entirely different audience, one mainstream comics often forgets or deliberately ignores. The typical comic book audience is no longer the stereotyped young “nerdy” male living out his fantasies vicariously with the pin–up style ladies filling the pages of the latest graphic novel. Today’s comic book audience is almost 50% female and they expect more from their heroines’ attire than the usual “barely–there” outfits.







Which Brings Us Back to The Red Hat


Enter Peggy Carter, who is not only capable, confident, and poised — but feminine as well. When Agent Carter appears at her job, her outfit is modest, well–tailored, and professional; fashionable for the time without being distracting. Peggy is respected by her female coworkers, something which is rare not only in comics, but in entertainment as a whole, where one is more likely to see females engaged in “cat fights” than sisterhood. Her female colleague specifically compliments Peggy's red hat as she enters the office. She likes it, and more importantly, she lets us know that we, as the audience, are allowed to like it.


It establishes that being fashionable and feminine are acceptable and do not, in any way, detract from a woman’s ability to be competent and intelligent. At the same time Peggy knows how to use her femininity, and the reality of the sexist world she lives in, to her advantage. She disguises herself as a sultry blond to gain easy access to the information she needs. She uses the ages–old “lady troubles” excuse when she needs the day off to investigate a case. She claims she hurt herself when she caught her heel in the cobblestones to hide the real reason for her limp after being injured while saving the day. After all, if sexism can work against her, why can’t she make it work for her?











Agent Carter
by Knightreaver









Peggy Carter
by pain-art




We also find that Agent Carter isn’t afraid to reverse the typical gender roles




In this show Peggy Carter takes the spotlight, while Jarvis, a butler whose services she has inherited, happily plays a supporting character to our hero in his role as emotional support and get–away–car driver. The contrast between the Peggy and Jarvis relationship and Peggy’s relationship with her male co–workers, and even that of her friend Angie’s with her male customers at the restaurant, is quite stark. The show makes it crystal clear what its message is regarding gender equality and sexism during a scene in the diner. Peggy almost impales a misogynistic male customer with a fork while setting him straight on how to treat his waitress before sending him on his way.


Even though Peggy is still mourning the recent loss of Steve Rogers, who ostensibly died just as their romance was starting to bloom, she clearly has no intention of throwing herself into the arms of the nearest man for comfort, as she maintains professional and platonic relationships with Jarvis and her fellow agents. Peggy signals through her actions that she is an independent woman who can take care of herself and is ready roll with the punches. She clarifies this for Agent Sousa when he tries to defend her after callous comments from another agent. Instead of the “thank you” he expects, he is told to back off because Peggy can fight her own battles and doesn’t need a man to defend her.


The character of Peggy Carter fills an interesting space in the comic world, violating the social norms of her time without attempting to start a revolution. She has no qualms donning a dress in order to get closer to her target, but firmly reminds others that she is an agent, not a secretary. Her hat is a symbol of her power, and unlike so many other comic book heroines, her symbol of power is not built for the male gaze. She doesn’t don a skintight, revealing outfit involving a gravity–defying bra, but a swell accessory with a pop of color. You can expect to see many a red hat and period appropriate hemline on cosplayers at upcoming conventions, and it will be a very welcome sight.


Credit is definitely due to Hayley Atwell, the actor playing Peggy Carter, whose performance sells the character and the story. Atwell is on her way to becoming this generation’s Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) in the way she drives the message home that women don’t need protecting or rescuing, they just need people to get out of their way so they can save the day. Atwell’s Peggy Carter makes it clear to anyone that tries to demean her that she isn't going any where and is here to stay. She may not have super powers, an iron suit or super soldier serum, but she is, without a doubt, the hero so many women have been waiting for and the one they have deserved for a long, long time.












Your Thoughts




  1. Which female comic book hero would you like to see get her own movie?
  2. Do you feel a hero’s outfit distracts from their storyline or takes away from their credibility?










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AnonymousPonyPerson's avatar
Why does no one love Jarvis ;-;