Captain Carter #3 Review

Written by: Jamie McKelvie
Art by: Marika Cresta
Colors by: Matt Milla
Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Jamie McKelvie
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 25, 2022

Captain Carter #3 suddenly becomes the target of a vast network of operatives from the highest levels of the British government. With a few friends operating in secret, Captain Carters come face-to-face with her enemy and possibly a new ally.

Was It Good?

Captain Carter #3 is an improvement over issue #2, and it’s an overall fine albeit unoriginal comic.

“Why is it unoriginal?”, you ask. When Captain Carter made her debut in the Disney+ “What If…?” series, the main criticism of her episode was that the story was an almost exact reproduction of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). The point of “What If…?” is to change a key event and create a new timeline to see how the world would have played out differently. The key event was changed, but the story stayed the same for a gender-swapped Captain America. Here, McKelvie appears to be continuing the trend of telling a slightly modified version of the same story by reproducing Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014).

Instead of Stever working for SHIELD, Peggy is working for STRIKE. Both avoid assassination attempts leading back to colleagues who’ve worked in their respective organizations for years. Steve has an elevator scene where he fights against overwhelming numbers, and Peggy has a small conference room scene where she fights against overwhelming numbers. Steve escapes SHIELD HQ on a motorcycle, and Peggy escapes STRIKE HQ on a motorcycle. Steve has a superhero buddy to help (Falcon), and Peggy has a superhero sidekick to help (Psylocke). The paint may be different, but the structure is nearly identical.

Peggy eventually tracks down a mysterious blonde woman who coordinated the conference room attack, only to be confronted by a small army of like-dressed soldiers who look strangely like Hydra agents. If the idea was to retell Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) in a British setting, McKelvie nailed it.

At least the art is excellent. Cresta, Milla, and Cowles put in outstanding work. The lines are sharp and clean, the coloring is impressively polished, and the lettering is perfect.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Captain Carter #3 has excellent plotting, pacing, dialog, and action. Unfortunately, it’s almost a direct copy of Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) with a British setting, which misses the whole point of “What If…?”. If all you want is an excuse to see Captain Carter in action, this issue is fine. If you want a little more imagination in your Elseworlds story, skip this one.