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
frogoat