Another big character this often happens to is Captain America. In the comics, it took fans some time to get used to Bucky Barnes. Marvel Studios reinterpreted this idea with the mantle going to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson first instead of Bucky. While Steve Rogers and Sam have been excellent Sentinels of Liberty for Disney, they’re not the best Captain America. More than anything, What If…? showed the Peggy Carter variant who is Captain Carter outclasses both Captain Americas, especially after all she has done to protect the Multiverse.
Why Aren’t Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson The Best Captain America?
Steve and Sam Didn’t Have the Power of Gods
It’s worth noting that Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson are still great characters, especially with what they accomplished in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Steve fought in World War II, took the super-soldier serum, got lost in the cold and came back to lead the Avengers initiative. Sam assisted Steve as the Falcon before he got the shield.
Together, Steve and Sam repelled threats like Thanos, Crossbones and Hydra. Sam is still dealing with all that fallout, as Captain America: Brave New World will show. However, both are mere men who have limits. Even with the serum, Steve is mortal. Sam has no serum, so he is more at risk.
The two Captain Americas can only muster so much in their grounded stories against armies. That’s not to say they can’t fight monsters like Thanos’ legion, or Thanos himself, as Steve showed with Mjölnir in Avengers: Endgame. But no matter what, they won’t be gods. That’s the kind of power reserved for Thor and Captain Marvel.
What If…? Season 3 has further shown why these exponentially-powered beings are crucial to other realities, with characters like Agatha Harkness becoming a Celestial-witch. Simply put, Steve and Sam will always be revered as paragons of virtue. However, Peggy else has wielded the shield and become a deity who made one of the most integral decisions for the MCU.
What If Season 3 Shows Peggy Carter Has a Different Internal Strength
Captain Carter Used Supernatural Powers and Her Humanity to Defeat Cosmic Deities
The What If Season 3 finale has Peggy and her crew fighting the evil Watchers. The rogue Uatu shares some of his omnipotent essence with his friends, but the Watchers combine and start erasing the heroes from history. It’s a retooling of Thanos’ Snap, except, in this case, all variants of these heroes will be destroyed in all worlds. Peggy is torn over this Multiversal disaster.
Peggy lost so many friends and family along the way. She tried to do the mission alone to prevent these kinds of deaths, so guilt, remorse and sorrow set in. It angers Peggy, who reverses her ‘ashing.’ She builds her body back up in what is a different kind of grit, determination, perseverance and resilience. Sam couldn’t do it when he got dusted in Avengers: Infinity War. It stands to reason, had Steve gotten snapped, he too would have dissipated into nothingness.
It’s not just about a hero rebuilding their essence against godlike entities, however. As Peggy regenerates, she turns into a cosmic bullet and fires herself like a torpedo at the Watchers. It knocks them, not into oblivion, but straight into Strange Supreme’s reality in the “What If… What If?” ending. Peggy sacrifices her life to do this, nodding to when Steve went down against the Red Skull and the Cosmic Cube in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Granted, Peggy did have a boost from Uatu, but her allies disintegrating meant this was nullified. Peggy was disappearing as well. The fact that the godlike entities such as What If’s Byrdie and Kahorri were dying shows that Peggy had to have something extra. It’s undoubtedly her human mentality and her immense heart that her counterparts lacked. While Steve and Sam were good, selfless individuals, Peggy’s x-factor deserves massive applause.
What If Season 3 Gives Peggy Carter the Perfect Sendoff
Captain Carter’s Savior Mode Has More Nuance than the MCU
Not even Sharon knew to the point she tried to spark a romance with the past Steve. Reconciling these plot holes and awkwardness, Peggy’s death left more questions than answers. It offered a lack of closure, suggesting she died just to add grief and trauma to Steve’s life to advance his story along. By contrast, What If’s Captain Carter is celebrated as the engine that drove Steve and not as a secondary figure.
She helped Steve heal from when he was turned into the Hydra Stomper, then she traipsed across the Multiverse to help realities in dire need. She never gave up, she forgot about soulmates, and she devoted herself to a higher cause. It’s very much an Avengers-like journey, considering she also has What If’s Storm as a Thor variant on her team, and as a true god and military strategist.
Storm listens to Peggy the most, making Captain Carter’s big play to save the Multiverse’s Greatest Heroes feel right. She preserves her squad and Uatu in What If Season 3, knowing they will break rules and ensure all realities are kept safe, as best as they can in the future. She has a fitting sendoff, versus how she felt short-sold in movies like The Winter Soldier. This Peggy creates hope for many worlds, not just one. By the sheer scope of results, she tops the charts, and against villains who were way more powerful than the Mad Titan.
Ultimately, this is the shot of feminist power to bolster and cap Peggy’s arc. It has an even keel energy to it, built on progressiveness. Captain Carter wasn’t about one flag or two — she was about several. Even when clanging around volatile worlds, Peggy didn’t care about the creeping, suffering pain which she held on the inside. In the end, she didn’t let being alone consume or break her; it helped her evolve and become a titan that even the Watchers couldn’t contend with. This was all due to the power of love and a resolve and stubbornness that no one else in the MCU has.
