Don’t confuse What If’s Captain Carter with Marvel’s Captain Britain

by marvel What if…? kicked off with something many Marvel fans have been waiting for years: Peggy Carter kick ass and take names. Infused with the Super Soldier Serum, “Captain Carter” is every inch the superhero that Steve Rogers was in the official MCU timeline.

But wait, Steve’s superhero name was Captain America, not Captain Rogers. Shouldn’t Peggy’s superhero name be Captain Britain? After all, there has been a Captain Britain in Marvel comics since 1976.

Marvel’s Captain Britain comics have a very, very different story than Captain America. “Captain Britain” is a title of magical origin, passed down among the members of the Braddock family, and bestowed by this fantastic figure of pop culture, Merlyn. Traditionally, the various British captains have a fairytale choice between the amulet of law and the sword of might, with those choosing the sword. usually rejected for their penchant for violence. He’s far from a serum-enhanced WWII super-soldier.

Image: Tini Howard, Marcus To / Marvel Comics

The character of Captain Britain – whether it’s Brian Braddock, his twin sister Betsy, or anyone else – owes much of his longevity to his association with the X-Men. Captain Britain was not created as a mutant character, but when some X-Men writers wanted to create an X-Men spinoff book in England, they enlisted the right captain on the team because of their affection. for the character.

Which begs the question: Is Peggy “Captain Carter” because Marvel Studios doesn’t want to hint at the possibility of X-Men before they’re properly presented?

When Polygon sat down with What if…? Creator and Head Writer AC Bradley, we had to ask ourselves: Why Captain Carter? Why not Captain Britain? Bradley seemed to have anticipated the question.

“She doesn’t hide her face,” she replied, “why does she have to go by a pen name?”

Touch.