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Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Review, streaming, TV | Tagged: captain Carter, disney, hayley atwell, lake bell, Marvel Studios, Marvel's What If, rachel weisz, Review, samuel l jackson
What If…? Season 2 E05 Review: Captain Carter Goes HYDRA-Stomping
Hayley Atwell shines in Season 2 Ep. 5, "What If...Captain Carter fought the HYDRA Stomper?" offering a twist on 2014's "The Winter Soldier."
It seems like the MCU is not done with Hayley Atwell and her character Peggy Carter, not by a long shot. Just as one door closes, another keeps opening. Introduced in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, Atwell made several appearances throughout the MCU even beyond the character's natural progression. The first door that was closed was the 2015 series Agent Carter, which lasted two seasons on ABC and focused on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s origins. She made returns with the third and final Steve Rodgers' (Chris Evans) Captain America film in 2016's Civil War which saw her character die of old age; the happy ending with 2019's Avengers: Endgame saw Steve grow old with her as he decided to "make up for lost time" with time travel. That wasn't even the end as Atwell experienced a phoenix-like rebirth as the alternate version of Captain Carter, which was introduced in season one of the Marvel animated series What If…? that explores the scenario where she – instead of Steve – took the super soldier serum to battle HYDRA and in the season one finale "What If…the Watcher Broke His Oath?" While we saw Atwell's live-action debut of the alternate universe Captain Carter in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all too brief gut-wrenching cameo, season two of What If continued her story in the episode "What If…Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?" which acts as a follow up to the series premiere episode "What If…Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?"
What If… Marvel Gave Hayley Atwell a Captain Carter TV Series Already?
In the premiere episode, it's established that since Carter stepped in to take the super soldier serum, Steve (Josh Keaton) volunteers to pilot the proto-Iron Man suit "Hydra Stomper" from Howard Stark. In the follow-up episode, we find that Steve's mind has become enthralled and imprisoned inside the suit like the canon MCU that found Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was brainwashed under HYDRA to become the Winter Soldier. While Steve's not being controlled by HYDRA per se, Cap must stop him by appealing to his feelings toward her again, like how Steve tried to reach his best friend in 2014's The Winter Soldier. In that vein, we see Carter bond with Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Lake Bell) instead of the latter bonding with Steve in the film.
Episode five certainly has no shortage of action and MCU holdovers Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Frank Grillo (Brick Rumlow), Stan, Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch), and Rachel Weisz reprising her role as Melina from 2021's Black Widow. I loved the twist they had on Weisz playing against type, and the episode shows us how criminally underutilized Atwell has been used by the greater MCU. I also got strong Harley Quinn vibes, given her chemistry with Bell and how well she plays the bestie. At this point, Disney should just pull the trigger on a dedicated Captain Carter animated series already. My only complaint is given the half-hour format of the series, we get everything squeezed in such a short time, and it feels like they're just giving us the tip of frosting and cherry without letting us enjoy the cake. "What If…Captain Carter Fights the HYDRA Stomper" is making its case for the best episode of the season. The season finale streams on December 30th on Disney+.
Marvel's What If...? Season Two Episode 5: What If...Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?
8/10
Hayley Atwell and Lake Bell make a powerful duo as Captain Carter and Black Widow in this memorable episode of Marvel's What If finding Carter in Steve Rodgers' role in 2014's "The Winter Soldier" trying to bring back her loved one from the brink of mind control proving once again she deserves another solo Marvel opportunity to lead another TV series, animated or live-action.
Credits
Director
Bryan Andrews
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