Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswas true to its title and explored different Marvel universes, but one star wasn’t pleased with how the new version of their character was presented.
InDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange was confronted almost immediately byElizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch becoming a villainonce the sequel began. Upon asking Wanda for help hiding America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), he realized Wanda had not only gone to the dark side but was the person after the universe-jumping teen from the beginning. Wanda became the true personification of the Scarlet Witch in all her glory and only wanted to be in a universe where her children are alive. What followed was a mad dash through different timelines.
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But even though fans got to see Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) as Captain Marvel and the first Mr. Fantastic (John Krasinski) in a long while, not everyone was pleased with how they appeared onscreen. Hayley Atwell appeared as Captain Carter briefly, only to be bisected by her shield. “When she was like, ‘I could do this all day’ and then followed by she’s immediately cut in half by a frisbee. And the audience being like, ‘She can’t do it all day. Apparently you’re able to’t, so, egg on your face,” Atwell recounted on Josh Horowitz’s podcast,Happy Sad Confused. “That doesn’t really serve Peggy very well.”
Atwell hasn’t been Peggy Carter’s custodian for a few movies only to be Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) romantic interest. A spy at heart, Peggy led her own show for two tragically short seasons. A female character defined by her wits, Peggy was an outlier in the universe, which was what made her demise in thedisappointing Phase Four MCU movieso disheartening.
Peggy appeared alongside many Marvel variants in the shortDoctor Strange 2scene. Mr. Fantastic and Captain Marvel appear alongside Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Black Bolt (Anson Mount), and theX-Men: Animated Series-inspired iteration of Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart). This sequence was fan service at best and pandering at worst. Fans have been waiting for years to see another live-action Mr. Fantastic and see theX-Menintroduced into the MCU, but witnessing them all be murdered is probably not what they desired. Many viewers wantedJohn Krasinski to officially be cast as Mr. Fantastic, not see him turned to spaghetti.
The biggest travesty was how Peggy was treated. Unlike Mount, who played Black Bolt in the short-livedInhumansseries, Atwell has been a beloved part of the MCU for a good decade. She has appeared asCaptain Carter inMarvel Studios' What If…?and stood on her own two feet in her self-titled series. Featuring her with a shield to say Captain America’s catchphrase only to be cut down is disrespect in the highest order. Peggy deserved more than a jetpack and five minutes of screentime.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis streaming on Disney Plus.
