Agent Carter short film is a hit on the Iron Man 3 BluRay & DVD

It has often been said that behind every great man is a great woman. No one seems to know this better than the folks at Marvel Entertainment. If you ask me, those writers know a thing or two about crafting strong female characters. Let’s momentarily take the focus off of Captain America, Iron Man and those other two super-powered guys in that little summer blockbuster that came out last year. Instead, let’s place a little emphasis on their love interests – the strong, outspoken, assertive women that aren’t only beautiful, but have purpose.

Leading the pack, in my humble opinion, is Peggy Carter, Captain America’s main squeeze and card-carrying bad ass. Ask any of my nerd friends, and they’ll tell you that Peggy’s always been my favorite of the Marvel ladies. Pepper’s spunky, Betty’s clever and Jane is inquisitive. Conversely, Peggy is the one to call to get the job done. To that end, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that she was the star of her very own short film – Agent Carter – found on the recent Blu-Ray release of Iron Man 3. Ah, how happy I was.

You see, the thing you need to know about Peggy Carter is that she doesn’t take any crap. Period. Fans, including myself, were left hanging at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger when the star-spangled superhero found himself in modern-day New York City after having been frozen and leaving Peggy behind in the 1940’s. I was always curious about what became of Peggy. Did she move on? Was she depressed? Was she exposed to gamma radiation?

Inquiring minds wanted to know.

Well, it turns out that Peggy is still an agent – and a damn good one at that. Agent Carter picks up a year after the events of Captain America and depicts the character as having been reduced to nothing more than a mere secretary in a male dominated work environment. Apparently, she’s been removed from field work and hasn’t been given a meaty assignment. Her sexist boss believes she’s nothing more than Captain America’s girlfriend — which she takes as an insult. Evidently the guy didn’t see Peggy in the first Captain America movie.

Needless to say, Peggy grows tired of her new vocation and decides to take care of business. I’d stop reading here if you don’t want spoilers. After her boss and the sexist dudes leave Peggy alone at work to file papers, she takes a call from a field operative and receives a dangerous assignment meant for three to five (male) agents. Peggy decides to handle it alone, and singlehandedly takes out several baddies in the process. There is a point where she’s nearly strangled to death, but I didn’t break a single sweat because I knew Peggy could get out of it. Like I said before, Peggy is the one to call in order to get the job done. What I liked about the short film is that it showcased what Peggy Carter is capable of. The film shows that she is proficient in detective work, data entry and writing a substantial report. Clearly she has a head on her shoulders. Despite this, Peggy’s not some helpless damsel in distress. She’s just as tough as her male counterparts and has a feminine side. She uses a compact to check her makeup one minute, and a second later spins around to fire several rounds at a metal door to create a hole large enough to toss a gas grenade inside to knock out a bad guy. Another scene depicts her subduing two burly men with several quick jabs and lightning fast kicks.

Where has this woman been all of my life?

The film also boasts a nice cameo by Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark who offers Peggy an interesting business related proposition at the end. Leave it to Marvel to cross promote their characters and superhero groups. Yet, I digress. I like Peggy Carter because she’s three-dimensional. She still carries the black and white photo of Steve Rogers — before his super solider enhancement — around with her. She misses the guy, but is able to put those emotions aside in order to accomplish a task.

It also doesn’t hurt that she’s portrayed by the talented Hayley Atwell, an actress accomplished in film, television and theatre. Atwell owns the character and is a natural in the role. Perchance this is why ABC Studios is tinkering with the idea of giving her an Agent Carter television series. I don’t see why not. Television seems to be lacking when it comes to programming with butt-kicking female leads. Besides, superheroes appear to be all the rage now. Arrow seems to be doing rather well on The CW. If Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. performs admirably on ABC — which it may do if my friend Ivey is correct – it could be good news for Atwell … and me. I wouldn’t mind seeing a tough chick on the small screen.

After all, if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that a superwoman can do anything that a superman can do — but in heels.

Hey, you! Enjoy what you read? Follow the author, Jaylen Christie, on Twitter @thesuperflynerd!