Captain Carter #2 Review

Written by: Jamie McKelvie
Art by: Marika Cresta
Colors by: Erick Arciniega
Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Jamie McKelvie
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 13, 2022

Captain Carter #2 finds Peggy Carter adapting to modern life as an agent of S.T.R.I.K.E. during escalating terror attacks from Hydra. However, the more she works for S.T.R.I.K.E. and the Prime Minister, the more she realizes how little she understands about the power of politics.

Was It Good?

Whoo, boy! Did this one go downhill fast or what!

I noted in the prior review that issue #1 was off to a solid start. Good art combined with a fish-out-of-water setup makes for a strong foundation of curiosity. Admittedly, Captain Carter’s origin in the Disney+ “What If…?” series was the weakest entry because it completely missed the point of the series, but we have a chance here to take a derivative character and tell brand new adventures.

And then it starts. It’s hard to tell what McKelvie was thinking with the script in this issue other than “let’s use Peggy Carter to vent over every political failing of the British Government possible”. Under the thin guise of stopping a Hydra weapons shipment, McKelvie goes all-in on propagandist plot points (that have nothing to do with the main Hydra conflict) railing against Brexit, Border/Refugee policies, Colonialism, Press Manipulation, and more.

It would be different if the points were made through the action of the story or were directly pertinent to the plot. But these political points are not pertinent. At the midway point, the book comes to a screeching halt for a multi-page lecture by Peggy’s neighbor about how she’s complicit in the government’s wrongdoing related to refugees, and to be blunt, It was so tedious and annoying I had to take a break from the issue.

At least the art’s good. Cresta and Arciniega have an excellent eye for engaging panels. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to see here except a LOT of talking and an action scene that’s almost a direct ripoff of the confrontation between Cap and Batroc in Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Bits and Pieces

Captain Carter #2 almost completely derails the goodwill built up in the first issue with a heavy-handed, overstuffed collection of unrelated (to the plot) lectures about everything from the failures of Brexit to Colonialism. Somehow, the creators forgot this is supposed to be fun escapism. Skip this title until they remember.