Sharon Carter in the MC2

 

 

 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is out on Disney + and because I now find myself with a little extra time, I thought I might talk about a relevant character requested way too long ago by good friend and reader Jesús Arias when I first covered The Carter Family Tree. So, let’s look at what happened to Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter in the MC2.

 

Sharon Carter is first mentioned in A-Next #10, when we learn that her demise was something that Steve Rogers never quite got over. This of course refers to the events Captain America #233 and clarified in Captain America #237 where Doctor Faustus has brainwashed a group of people including S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter to incite racial violence which culminates in the group self-immolating.

This sudden and unexpected death remained the ultimate fate for Sharon Carter for 15 years, with Steve recalling the painful event right up until long-time writer Mark Gruenwald’s final issue, Captain America #443.

 

However, when Gruenwald’s successor Mark Waid took over the title, he revealed Sharon was secretly alive, having had her death faked in order to send her on a deep-cover mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. While this story takes place prior to the usual point where the MC2’s history diverges, it appears that these events did not play out as they did in the Main Marvel Universe. Sharon’s death remained permanent, as suggested by Steve Rogers dialogue in A-Next #10 and all references to Sharon Carter being in the past-tense. In addition to this, the lack of any mention of events relating to her return such as her all-black uniform or more pessimistic outlook from later stories further support this idea.

 

As I mentioned in The Carter Family Tree, Sharon was originally depicted as the younger sister of World War II veteran Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter, a fact that now makes little sense in light of the passage of so many decades. While this was partially addressed with a retcon in the Main Marvel Universe which made Sharon the niece of Peggy, the two explicitly remain sisters in the MC2, as stated in flashbacks in the American Dream mini-series and in Spider-Girl #32. That said, I think the only potential explanation is that the MC2’s Peggy Carter was not a WWII-era veteran and lover of Steve Rogers, given that there is no mention of this aspect of her history in any MC2 stories.

 

The legacy of Sharon Carter in the MC2 can not be understated. Without Sharon Carter’s diaries to inspire Shannon Carter, we would not have American Dream. This is made clear not only in the aforementioned A-Next #10 but also in Spider-Girl #32 when Shannon briefly discusses her origin story. We’d get a more in-depth version of Shannon’s origins in the American Dream mini-series where we see Peggy give her sister’s diaries to the recently orphaned Shannon to try to encourage her to attempt rehabilitation.

 

I had gone back and forth on the particulars relating to Sharon’s status in the MC2, but I’m confident I’ve arrived at the most likely answer. Sharon Carter is dead, but her legacy lives on in the next generation of heroes. A huge thanks to Jesús Arias for all the help with researching and debating on this topic.

 

Until I figure out how to plant my feet in the ground, I remain

 

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