Exclusive Look at Jamie McKelvie’s New Character Designs for Captain Carter

On March 9, Agent Peggy Carter, the fan-favorite character recently featured in Marvel Studios’ What If...? , will be pulled from the ice and step into the modern age of Marvel!

Prolific creator Jamie McKelvie, known for his defining work on characters like Captain Marvel and the Young Avengers, brings the World War II-age Super Hero to the forefront in CAPTAIN CARTER (2022), a brand-new five-issue limited series with rising star artist Marika Cresta. And, McKelvie has also spun up an all-new look for Captain Carter, signaling a major change for the hero lost in action decades before. Cities are louder, technology is smarter and enemies wear friendly faces. In today’s world, everyone with an agenda wants Captain Carter on their side. But what does Peggy want?

On March 4, tune into This Week in Marvel, Marvel’s flagship podcast series, for McKelvie’s exclusive interview with hosts Ryan Penagos and Lorraine Cink. He’ll share details about his new designs and what readers can expect from CAPTAIN CARTER.

Grab some highlights here!

ON HIS OWN COMIC INFLUENCES

“I was in Cardiff with my family because all my family's Welsh, and I went to a comic shop there and I picked up a book—an X-Men book called “From the Ashes,” which is the [collection] of most of the Paul Smith/Chris Claremont run from UNCANNY X-MEN (1963). I mean, I think probably still it's having some massive influence on me. It blew me away that book. So yeah, still got it, but it's like falling apart because it's years old. All I saw was the Arthur Adam's cover...”

ON THE RESPONSE TO HIS 2012 CAPTAIN MARVEL DESIGN:

“I wish I could put that into words. I mean, obviously, it's amazing. I remember the first American [convention] I went to after that. I think it was New York, and within like 10 minutes of stepping inside, I saw one or two people dressed in the character. And I saw so many that weekend. That was sort of like the first inkling that like, ‘Oh, this is, you know, this has gone down well.’ Then just after the movie came out, it was all sort of mind-blowing. Seeing the sort of impact it has on people has been really amazing.”

ON THIS ALL-NEW CAPTAIN CARTER LOOK:

“Obviously, she's a soldier, [a] World War II Super-Soldier. Within the story that we're telling, it's designed for her by a government agency which feeds into [the look] as well, because it's not just about her, it's also about what their intentions are for it. But she is as she is—Peggy has a military background. So I was looking at modern combat dress, the practicality of it. There were things that the last couple of Olympics outfits did, Team GB (Great Britain), [taking] the colors and the shapes and sort of deconstructing them. Because one of the things when you look at Captain America, he hasn't just got a United States flag on him, you know, it's all kind of deconstructed about his costume. So it was that kind of thought process.

And then she's got this kind of combat trouser again, with the same sort of colors like red piping. And then she's got these red, pretty heavy duty boots, and red fingerless gloves. And she's got these stylized captain's pips like a British Army captain sort of insignia. And she’s got pockets and pouches, which are very important!”

ON CAPTAIN CARTER WAKING UP IN THE PRESENT:

“It's such a long time since World War II till now, so much has changed. And if you wake up, you know, it's nearly eighty years at this point. How do you react to that—how do you deal with [the fact that] everything’s changed? Now there's no one left that she remembers. I think Peggy’s reaction to that is a bit different from Steve Rogers’. I think I really enjoy, I guess, the comparative side as well. And this is another big part of it. Our society and our cultures remember big events in our history differently to the reality. And I think it's really interesting to have somebody come into a world where everybody is remembering her, remembering her legacy and everything she's involved in probably a bit differently to how she actually thought it went.”

ON WHAT READERS CAN EXPECT:

“You know, the focus is on Peggy, but it's really fun to mess around. I'm bringing back a few of the Marvel UK characters from the ‘90s. So I guess a few of those sorts of nods coming in, like 80s CAPTAIN BRITAIN. I brought S.T.R.I.K.E. back, which is sort of like the British equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. And there's a few other characters that I don’t want to mention! Yeah, it's been really fun, reimagining things. Like a Super Hero spy thriller in a way. So it's not all cosmic events and everything, but it's quite exciting. Mystery. A lot of action!”

Listen to Jamie’s full interview with This Week in Marvel on March 4, and preorder CAPTAIN CARTER #1 today, hitting comic shops March 9!

To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com.