Captain America Girl

The era-spanning Avengers: Endgame saw the return of a much-loved character who hasn’t been seen since Captain America: The First Avenger, but he didn’t come alone. Hayley Atwell, who also stars in the ABC cancelled series Agent Carter, reprised her role as S.H.I.E.L.D agent and love interest to Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Her presence helped make this one of the most pleasantly surprising Marvel movies to date.

The film succeeds where most MCU films fail to provide a romance that feels believable and earned, a testament to Atwell’s unpretentious charm as well as to the scriptwriters. Her no-nonsense approach to her work is enough to rock any male recruit, as demonstrated when she punches a man for calling her “Queen Victoria.”

Even as the movie progresses and she is stranded in the future, where HYDRA has become a permanent force, she remains a loyal asset to S.H.I.E.L.D and Nick Fury, proving herself a world class spy with a knack for military strategy and the ability to evade even the most sophisticated traps. She doesn’t let her pipsqueak status as a woman deter her, disregarding pickup lines and mere displays of machismo in favor of more subtle qualities that matter.

This is the one MCU movie that really made me believe in a world where female heroes can exist just as prominently as their male counterparts. It would be great to see Carter get her own ongoing series as a more mature and grown-up version of the character. After her turn as a superhero in the interdimensional adventures of the Avengers: Exiles, we’re certainly hopeful that this will happen.