American Dream in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes?

 

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated series is often regarded by fans as one of if not the best adaption of the Avengers on the small screen. It’s a little-known fact that the MC2 Universe character American Dream showed up in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes…well, kinda.

 

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes series led to spin-off media including a tie-in comic which published brand new stories in the continuity of the show. Thus, within the pages of Marvel Universe: Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #11 in a story aptly titled ‘The Last American Dream,’ a version of the MC2’s own American Dream makes an appearance. While at first it appears to be a tale set in the future following an elderly retired Captain America aka Steve Rogers watching on as a team composed of James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes aka The Winter Soldier, John Walker aka U.S.Agent and a Werewolf version of Captain America led by Shannon Carter aka American Dream known as the Captain Americorps battles an army of Doombots, it soon becomes clear things are not as they seem.

 

The heroic Sleepwalker reveals to Steve Rogers that he is in fact ensnared within a dream being influenced and manipulated by the villainous Fear Lord entity known as Nightmare. The Sleepwalker succeeds in breaking Steve out of his dream, one in which he wasn’t frozen for decades and instead grew old and raised a family with Peggy Carter. Empowered by the Sleepwalker’s guidance, Rogers manages to fight off Nightmare’s influence and awakens.

 

It's interesting that the fictional Captain Americorps shares some members with the Captain America Corps seen in the mini-series of the same name: U.S.Agent, Bucky (formerly The Winter Soldier) and American Dream. Considering Steve would have no knowledge of Shannon’s superhero identity it’s would seem Nightmare was responsible for inserting a version of American Dream into the dream reality. Maybe he’s a fan? Another small point is Shannon’s costume including the little wings on the side of her head, as they appeared in her own mini-series.

 

Not quite a case of the MC2 in the animated Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes shared universe, but a case of a character crossover that I considered consequential enough to cover! I think it was neat to see American Dream pencilled in the show’s art style even if only for one page. Let me know what you think of these shorter, simpler posts.

 

Until I forget my hypnocil and fall asleep, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

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

 

frogoat

The Carter Family Tree

Oh, boy! This one was a headache and half, let me tell you! For the latest installment of MC2 Family Trees, I present the Carter Family Tree. Yes, the very same family who gave us the much-loved Agent Peggy Carter, Agent 13 and American Dream also gave me a whopper of a headache.  Let's take a look, shall we?

So, when Sharon and Peggy Carter were introduced, the former was the younger sister of the latter. Margaret 'Peggy' Carter was established as a French Resistance fighter Captain America met and fell in love with during World War II (first appearing in Tales of Suspense #75 or  #77, depending on who you ask). When Cap reawakened in the 'present' (at the time the 60's and later the 70's) he met a woman who looked strikingly similar (Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter also first appearing in Tales of Suspense #75) who it was later revealed was his wartime lover's little sister.

Fast forward to the early 2000's and you can now see the continuity headache beginning to manifest. If Peggy and Sharon are siblings....how could one have been active during WWII, some 70-odd years ago, while the other appears to be active and youthful in the present day? I mean, how old must their parents have been?!

Speaking of Peggy and Sharon's parents, we are introduced to Amanda and Harrison Carter in Captain America (vol. 1) #162 wherein we learn the familial connection between Cap's two love interests. I have not been able to find a definitive issue that identifies Peggy and Sharon's parents as Amanda and Harrison but as near as I can tell, it's likely a new piece of information introduced in a Marvel Handbook entry.

In recent years, Captain America writer Ed Brubaker introduced a retcon to alleviate the knots of continuity by instead making Peggy Carter Sharon's Aunt. I have to admit this does go some way toward helping the problem, but I wonder how future generations will fix this? Great Aunt? Great-great Aunt? Some dialog in Captain America (vol. 5) #49 suggest that Brubaker's intention was to make Sharon's father (Harrison Carter) Peggy's brother and that Sharon was a 'late surprise' for her parents.

Of course, any retcons introduced after the MC2 began aren't considered canonical unless otherwise mentioned and so, for the purposes of this Family Tree....Sharon and Peggy would still be- somehow- siblings! In fact, it's even expressly stated during flashbacks to Shannon Carter's origins in both Spider-Girl #32 and American Dream #2.

Despite being referred to colloquially as 'Aunt Peggy', Peggy herself clarifies that she is a cousin of Shannon's father. As for Shannon's parents, they have not been given names, neither on-panel nor in any Handbook entries. The little that we do know of Shannon's parents comes from a single panel in American Dream #1. Shannon's mother was a second grade teacher and Shannon's father was a police officer in their small Midwestern hometown.

So, based on the evidence in front of me, I have put together the Family Tree as presented at the top of this post. I have assumed that there are no other generations in the line between Harrison and Shannon's paternal grandfather, but frankly it's all supposition.

While it's really hard to reconcile a WWII veteran like Peggy being seen in the same panels as future generation hero American Dream without suggesting Infinity Formula's or the like, I do have a possible No-Prize explanation. Simply put: the MC2's Peggy Carter is not WWII veteran. I know it seems silly, but notice that no mention is ever made to her knowing Captain America during the second World War. Mention is made only of her time working with the Avengers on-staff, events which chronologically would take place roughly 20-30 years prior to the present of the MC2. Considering that Peggy is of an advanced age, but not an impossibly old age I think it can be argued that this particular point of continuity is different in the MC2.

Something else that jumped out at me is the fact that it was Peggy who was the next of kin to Shannon, rather than Sharon. In fact, Sharon is only ever referred to in the past-tense, leaving me to wonder if perhaps....Sharon remained 'dead' in the MC2. You see, back in Captain America #237, Sharon apparently died. It wasn't until the Mark Waid penned Captain America #445 that readers learned that she had not actually perished. Considering the later story came out shortly before the Marvel Universe suffered a dramatic shake up and the wibbly nature of this period of time in relation to the MC2's own history and point of divergence, an argument could be made either way.

*UPDATE* Upon further investigation, it would appear that Sharon Carter did, in fact, die at some point in the past. Or at the very least Captain America believes her dead and she hasn't resurfaced in the 10 or more years since his absence. From A-Next #10:

Until I find a more convoluted and pointless reason to scrub through half-century-old comics, I remain

frogoat