I have a little secret to tell.  Up until my trip to Los Angeles in November I hadn’t seen a Marvel movie.  I know that many of them are blockbuster hits but they just weren’t on my list.  Truth be told in the last few years most movies I have seen have been movies my 2 daughters have wanted to see (Frozen, Big Hero 6, etc.) as hubby and I haven’t had a movie date night in YEARS.  So I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for when I was told that we’d be screening the new Marvel television series, Agent Carter.  They said it was based the character of Peggy Carter who was Captain America’s love interest.  But I didn’t even know WHO Peggy Carter was.  The whole Marvel Universe really was a mystery to me.  Luckily another blogger friend of mine gave me the 30 second versions of some of the Marvel story lines to help me understand what we were about to watch.  I got a taste of it from the screenings and I have to say I’m hooked.

What I totally thought wasn’t “my thing” TOTALLY IS!  I absolutely LOVED the clips we were shown from Marvel’s Agent Carter series that starts tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. EST.  I mean I am totally hooked!  So much so that I already started watching other Marvel movies just to acquaint myself with the Marvel Universe.  I even got my girls to watch their first Marvel movie, The Avengers, with me.  There!  My secret is out but now I can no longer say I’ve never watched a Marvel movie, I can say that I am now HOOKED on all things Marvel, especially Agent Carter!

Agent Carter premieres on Tuesday, January 6th at 8:00 pm EST with a 2-hour premiere.
It will then run for 6 weeks at it’s normal time of 9:00 pm EST for a total of 8 episodes.

MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER – “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” starring “Captain America’s” Hayley Atwell, follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life – Steve Rogers. Inspired by the feature films “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” along with the short “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter.” (Marvel/Katrin Marchinowski)

So even if you THINK Agent Carter isn’t for you, you just might change your mind after seeing some of these clips:

photo credit Marvel

On our trip we had the privilege of interviewing Co-President of Marvel Studios Louis D’Esposito (also Executive Producer on “Agent Carter”) and Marvel’s Head of TV Jeph Loeb (also Executive Producer on “Agent Carter”).  They shared with us how Agent Carter went from a character in a Marvel movie to bringing Agent Carter to series on ABC.

After the Captain America movie, it was decided to tell more of Peggy Carter’s story. They  decided to go back in time and encapsulate what Peggy Carter did after the death of her love, Steve Rogers AKA Captain America and they created a one-shot based on her character.  Fans wanted to learn more about Agent Carter so it was decided to bring her to life on television in a 7 part event, Agent Carter. Jeph Loeb noted that it couldn’t be done without Hayley Atwell so she first had to be on board with the project for it to happen.   So just where in the Marvel Universe timeline does Agent Carter fit in?  Jeph explained that Agent Carter takes place about 6 months after Captain America’s death during the time that the SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve) was running and shows viewers a little bit about how S.H.I.E.L.D was formed.

Marvel knows how to empower women. They aren’t sidekicks. They are just as important.  Marvel has always believed in strong heroes, it doesn’t matter whether they are men or women, young or old, black or white. A hero comes from within. ~ Jeph Loeb

I love that Peggy Carter is a beautiful, strong female character who knows how to kick booty!  She makes being a secret agent look easy. Hayley Atwell is the perfect Peggy Carter.  She captures the audience’s attention from the first moment showing that she isn’t just a pretty secretary.  She can hold her own with the boys for sure.  So just who is Peggy Carter?  Viewers first learn about Peggy Carter as the love interest of Steve Rogers AKA Captain America.  She is left brokenhearted as Captain America plummeted to what she thought was his death. She was then featured on Marvel’s Peggy Carter one-shot (self-contained story) on the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray.  On the one shot viewers find out that Peggy is a member of the SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve) which is the precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D.  She may be an agent but the men don’t take her seriously and she ends up doing paperwork while “the boys” get to go out on the action packed cases.  One night while alone in the SSR office, Peggy intercepts a call with a tip on where to find the mysterious Zodiac.  When she single-handedly defeats Zodiac, instead of praising her for a job well done, her boss reprimands her for not following the proper protocol.  But don’t feel bad for Agent Carter.  She gets the recognition she deserves.  Howard Stark calls and tells Peggy’s boss that she will now co-head the newly created S.H.I.E.L.D.  Way to go Agent Carter!  The Agent Carter seven-part event takes place in between these two times and shows just how Agent Carter came to co-head S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tonight’s Premiere Episodes

In the pilot “Now is Not the End,” Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is contacted by old acquaintance Howard Stark(Dominic Cooper, Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger) when he is framed for unleashing his deadliest weapons and can trust no one else. To help Peggy clear Stark’s name, he insists his butler, Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy,) be at her beck and call — whether she likes it or not. But the risk is great: If caught, Agent Carter could be targeted as a traitor and spend the rest of her days in prison…or worse.

In “Bridge and Tunnel,” Howard Stark’s deadliest weapon has fallen into enemy hands, and only Agent Carter can recover it. But can she do so before her undercover mission is discovered by SSR Chief Roger Dooley (Shea Whigham) and Agent Jack Thompson (Chad Michael Murray)?

I just love all of the clothes and props from the 1940’s.  I even got to meet Hayley Atwell, tour the set, and meet with the costume designers so keep an eye out next week for that post.  It was an amazing experience.

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Disclosure- I have been provided an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for the Big Hero 6 movie premiere and ABC TV Event in exchange for coverage of these events.  All opinions are 100% my own.   Thank you so much Disney and ABC TV!