Season 1, Episode 1 What If: Captain Carter was ...The First Avenger? (Discussion)

[The Caped Knight]

During World War II, Steve Rogers is initially chosen to be the world's first super soldier, however, a Hydra spy intervenes and almost kills Rogers. Peggy Carter volunteers instead to be given the serum and successfully becomes "Captain Carter".

 

[The Caped Knight]

Haley Atwell returns to the MCU as Peggy Carter and doesn’t disappoint. She plays a unique style of her character with an alternate version as Captain Carter an amalgamation of Captain America + Union Jack + Captain Britain = Captain Carter . Peggy definitely proves her valor in the battlefield as a leading fighter .

Steve Rogers voiced by Josh Keaton isn’t Captain America, but it doesn’t stop him from getting into the ring and fight. He shows that he is a determined man. No matter the odds, the choice to give him a battle armored suit by Howard Stark was brilliant. I thought it was a nice nod to Iron Man in the 1940’s as a Hydra Stomper. Together with Carter they made an incredible duo as seen in a montage .


Returning to voice their respective characters
Sebastian Stan … James Barnes,
Samuel L. Jackson ... Nick Fury
Stanley Tucci ... Dr. Abraham Erskine
Neal McDonough ... Dum Dum Dugan
Bradley Whitford ... John Flynn
Dominic Cooper ... Howard Stark
Toby Jones ... Arnim Zola

the animation is definitely a unique style that blends well to the graphic novel era of comics.

I can’t wait to see more

 

[Hannibal75]

I liked it. The relationship between bulked up Peggy and skinny Steve was actually quite endearing and it made me sad how it ended. It felt a bit rushed at times but that's to be expected when someone tries to retell a two hour movie in just 30 minutes.
BTW, does anyone know if the creature at the end is something from the comics or just some generic monster?

 

[Kane52630]

It was decent enough, but I guess I was expecting more.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I liked it. The relationship between bulked up Peggy and skinny Steve was actually quite endearing and it made me sad how it ended. It felt a bit rushed at times but that's to be expected when someone tries to retell a two hour movie in just 30 minutes.
BTW, does anyone know if the creature at the end is something from the comics or just some generic monster?

I really enjoyed how there relationship had grown much like in the film. It proves Peggy Carter didn't fall in love with Captain America, she fell for the skinny man from Brooklyn as evidence showed she carried the picture of pre-serum Steve Rogers in the MCU.

I believe it was the kraken from one of the nine relems.

 

[psylockolussus]

It would have cool if it was in live action,but it was okay. The animation could have been better and I felt like it should have been longer than 30 minutes. But I have seen worse cartoons.

However, this series totally feel like MCU filler content. Definitely wouldn't have been made without D+.

 

[BlackFox]

Enjoyed it a lot, Hayley Atwell is great as Captain Carter and liked how Steve was the one left behind and it was also twisted around based on one change to the usual story. The animation always looked good in the trailers and it really helped the action pop and zip along which was the best thing about it

It was a pretty simple straight forward cartoon Nazi story but then its based on the First Avenger film so that is one of the weaker MCU films, nothing fancy but introduced CC nicely and set up the whole premise of the show nicely, I hope we see more of her. The stand in voice actors were all good efforts too, nothing felt out of place.

 

[Spider-Fan]

This was a very underwhelming start. Where to begin:

This was SUPER rushed. They tried to cram like....the entire Captain America: The First Avenger, a film some already accuse of being rushed, into 30 mins. As a result, I could not get invested in anything.

Another thing that really bothered me was Red Skull and Hyrda in TFA had the Tesseract BEFORE Steve took the serum. Peggy taking the serum doesn't change that. So like....half the plot of this episode hinges on more than 1 alternate choice being made. Which I am fine with alternate worlds and such, but it being 1 choice changes the entire world doesn't really work when you make changes to events prior to that choice being made.

I got used to the animation, but I still don't love it. Like I said in the past, this feels very MTV Spider-Man show and while the motion is maybe more fluid than that, I ultimately think the attempt at realism doesn't work.

All in all, I hope the show gets better. Cause if not, this will be the worst entry into the MCU show or movie if this is the quality we are going to get. All in all, this was pretty forgettable and I likely won't go out of my way to watch this episode again. The idea was much better than the execution.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I liked it. The relationship between bulked up Peggy and skinny Steve was actually quite endearing and it made me sad how it ended. It felt a bit rushed at times but that's to be expected when someone tries to retell a two hour movie in just 30 minutes.
BTW, does anyone know if the creature at the end is something from the comics or just some generic monster?

My bet is the monster was Shuma Gorath making a cameo before maybe being the villain of Doctor Strange 2.

 

[Prison Mike]

Was that really Sam Jackson at the end? It didn’t sound like him IMO. I did hear Renner as Hawkeye though.

 

[Holy Slapper]

That was a great start. This animation style seems perfect for action scenes. Complete opposite of the current DC animation style. How they managed to make this feel longer than 30 minutes, I don't know.

 

[DyeLorean]

I really liked it to be honest, the action is what saved it for me. I agree that it feels very rushed. But the animation is gorgeous.

 

[Drizzle]

I thought Captain Carter was pretty solid for what was essentially a condensed, role-swapped version of The First Avenger. If anything it made me realize that I actually miss Dominic Cooper's young Howard Stark. My only real complaint was that Chester Phillips was nowhere to be found which is strange considering how much of a key player he was in those events. It would have been a good way to bring the character back, even for a brief appearance.

I also thought that the animation was fine now that we've seen a full episode of it.

Sure it was rushed, but in this particular case do we really need a lot of development for characters we already know? Even though it's an alternate universe, Peggy was still Peggy and Steve was still Steve. I felt like the moments we got between the two of them were enough. I can tell it's going to be a case by case basis for this show. Peggy and Steve were pretty similar to their main timeline branch counterparts, but I'm sure Starlord T'Challa won't share as many similarities with his Black Panther counterpart.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I thought Captain Carter was pretty solid for what was essentially a condensed, role-swapped version of The First Avenger. If anything it made me realize that I actually miss Dominic Cooper's young Howard Stark. My only real complaint was that Chester Phillips was nowhere to be found which is strange considering how much of a key player he was in those events. It would have been a good way to bring the character back, even for a brief appearance.

I also thought that the animation was fine now that we've seen a full episode of it.

Sure it was rushed, but in this particular case do we really need a lot of development for characters we already know? Even though it's an alternate universe, Peggy was still Peggy and Steve was still Steve. I felt like the moments we got between the two of them were enough. I can tell it's going to be a case by case basis for this show. Peggy and Steve were pretty similar to their main timeline branch counterparts, but I'm sure Starlord T'Challa won't share as many similarities with his Black Panther counterpart.

Yes, character development is still important regardless if this is a mirror universe. You cannot just ask me to get invested piggy backing off the prior property. These episodes have to stand on their own. If you have to bank on another movie without earning your own quality, that is just bad writing. The people making this show know these are 30 minute episodes. Cramming in a 2hr movie into 30 mins is never a good idea. They gotta do better than that

 

[Venom 1988]

My only real complaint was that Chester Phillips was nowhere to be found which is strange considering how much of a key player he was in those events. It would have been a good way to bring the character back, even for a brief appearance.

I'd have to rewatch it but wasn't that him getting shot by the Hydra agent at the beginning of the episode? That's why Flynn ended up taking over the SSR.

Anyway as far as my own views, I actually thought the episode was pretty great. The animation was a lot more fluid that what I was expecting and by the end I loved it. Pacing wise, yea it's fast no getting around that. But I felt engaged the whole time and honestly did not mind it. I will say that this episode could have definitely benefitted from an extra 5-10 minutes but overall I liked it a lot.


EDIT- I just rewatched the beginning of the episode and yeah that's Chester Phillips. You see him briefly in 2 other shots but you see him get killed by the Hydra agent.

 

[The Caped Knight]

The critic's want more Captain Carter

 

[Spider-Fan]

The critic's want more Captain Carter

I like the IDEA of Captain Carter, so absolutely use the character more. I love the character design, I love Peggy in general, and I would like to see her in something more fresh that isn’t trying to cram a greatest hits of another movie into an even tighter window.

 

[Kane52630]

based on the First Avenger film so that is one of the weaker MCU films.

I dunno about that...

 

[BlackFox]

I dunno about that...

Well compared to the other two Cap films it doesnt seem as popular anyway.

 

[Web-Head]

Well, I certainly want a Captain Carter movie now...

Actually really enjoyed the first episode and I wasn't exactly looking forward to this show as much as the other Disney+ series so far. I didn't mind the animation as much as I thought I would and I liked all of the nods to The First Avenger and other MCU films. I do think that Hayley Atwell overdid it a little bit at times when it came to the voice acting though.

A solid start for me though. If it keeps up, it could be my favorite of the Disney+ series to date. Next week is the T'Challa Star-Lord episode, right?

 

[Drizzle]

Yes, character development is still important regardless if this is a mirror universe. You cannot just ask me to get invested piggy backing off the prior property. These episodes have to stand on their own. If you have to bank on another movie without earning your own quality, that is just bad writing. The people making this show know these are 30 minute episodes. Cramming in a 2hr movie into 30 mins is never a good idea. They gotta do better than that

But isn't that the very reason why the MCU is so successful? Their whole gameplan is built with the expectation that the audience has seen all previous MCU movies and shows (at least the Disney+ shows) based on how interconnected everything is. There's barely any kind of development for most of the Avengers in Infinity War due to time constraints but we're invested because we had been following their journeys through 18 films prior to that. It's not that different with this episode. We already know who Peggy and Steve are and because the show only has a half hour to convey its story, there isn't really a huge need to explore this in detail, otherwise it just becomes redundant since it's covering the same ground as TFA.

I will absolutely agree with you about development when it comes to characters like Evil Doctor Strange and Good Guy Killmonger in future episodes because they are even more of a deviation from who we know in the MCU that there will need to be a good deal of explanation as to why they are who they are.

I'd have to rewatch it but wasn't that him getting shot by the Hydra agent at the beginning of the episode? That's why Flynn ended up taking over the SSR.

Anyway as far as my own views, I actually thought the episode was pretty great. The animation was a lot more fluid that what I was expecting and by the end I loved it. Pacing wise, yea it's fast no getting around that. But I felt engaged the whole time and honestly did not mind it. I will say that this episode could have definitely benefitted from an extra 5-10 minutes but overall I liked it a lot.


EDIT- I just rewatched the beginning of the episode and yeah that's Chester Phillips. You seem in briefly in 2 other shots but you see him get killed by the Hydra agent.

Oh wow, I totally missed that.

 

[Spider-Fan]

But isn't that the very reason why the MCU is so successful? Their whole gameplan is built with the expectation that the audience has seen all previous MCU movies and shows (at least the Disney+ shows) based on how interconnected everything is. There's barely any kind of development for most of the Avengers in Infinity War due to time constraints but we're invested because we had been following their journeys through 18 films prior to that. It's not that different with this episode. We already know who Peggy and Steve are and because the show only has a half hour to convey its story, there isn't really a huge need to explore this in detail, otherwise it just becomes redundant since it's covering the same ground as TFA.

I will absolutely agree with you about development when it comes to characters like Evil Doctor Strange and Good Guy Killmonger in future episodes because they are even more of a deviation from who we know in the MCU that there will need to be a good deal of explanation as to why they are who they are.


Oh wow, I totally missed that.

Infinity War also doesn't rush the plot into 30 minutes. So while a bunch of characters, they get developed in the movie. Many anyway. Cast that large, some being less fleshed out is acceptable. Also the scenes are also largely stronger in IW when they opt to do character work. Here, it is a mostly generic script rushed into a small window. So nothing breathes. You can't just live on good will. Especially when your episode has like....4 core characters and none are explored in very interesting ways because they had to rush everything.

Infinite possibilities dont matter if there is no time for a decent story

 

[Drizzle]

Infinity War also doesn't rush the plot into 30 minutes. So while a bunch of characters, they get developed in the movie. Many anyway. Cast that large, some being less fleshed out is acceptable. Also the scenes are also largely stronger in IW when they opt to do character work. Here, it is a mostly generic script rushed into a small window. So nothing breathes. You can't just live on good will. Especially when your episode has like....4 core characters and none are explored in very interesting ways because they had to rush everything.

Infinite possibilities dont matter if there is no time for a decent story

To each their own. Maybe you might have been expecting a little too much for an animated anthology series with a limited amount of time to tell each story. Personally, I don't really see how much more they could have improved upon this particular episode, but this is also probably the most basic storyline we'll see in this show compared to how much more outlandish it's going to get.

 

[Spider-Fan]

To each their own. Maybe you might have been expecting a little too much for an animated anthology series with a limited amount of time to tell each story. Personally, I don't really see how much more they could have improved upon this particular episode, but this is also probably the most basic storyline we'll see in this show compared to how much more outlandish it's going to get.

Plenty of cartoons tell great stories in 30 minutes. The key is to not make it overtly complicated or not span too much time. The issue here is they basically did a compilation of a greatest hits from a movie that had 2 hours to tell a story. That is the main issue. You have 30 mins to tell a story. Plan a story that can be told in 30 mins that doesn't sacrifice character, plot, etc. You cannot tell a 2hr+ story in 30 mins. That is a formula for failure.

Like I said before, I hope this show gets stronger as we go and they start catching a groove at some point. I just wish I liked this episode more. But I cannot excuse a rushed product like this just because it is a cartoon and it had to be 30 mins. Like I said....you know this is a 30 minute episodic series going into working on this show. Plan for stories that can be told effectively in that format.

 

[Superhero 101]

It was ok. I think I’m one of the few that think that the animation is pretty good. Some of the voice acting especially Stan as Bucky sounded bad like he was flat or something and SLJ sounded weird also other than that I hope the next few episodes are better