“I pray we never see that character ever again”: Hayley Atwell’s MCU Hero Might Just Be the Most Hated Hero in MCU After What If…? Season 3

SUMMARY

• For the third season in a row, Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter becomes one of the central characters in the finale.
• In the latest season, Carter dies a heroic death, saving her friends and The Watcher from imminent doom.
• Fans hate the show trying to make Captain Carter into a god-like figure and unleash their fury upon her on social media.

Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter had a hero’s farewell in the finale episode of What If…? Season 3. However, fans are not happy that Captain Carter became one of the central characters throughout the What If…? universe. She was a common denominator in all of The Watcher’s multiverse-saving superhero teams.

Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Credits: Marvel Studios

Fans shared their frustration that Atwell’s character took away most of the screen time that could’ve been dedicated to more characters from the comic book. In fact, fans shared that writers should’ve included other powerful female characters from the comics instead of relying on Hayley Atwell every single time.

Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter in What If…? becomes one of the most hated MCU characters

The finale of What If…? Season 3 featuring Byrdie, Captain Carter, and Kahhori | Credits: Marvel Studios

What If…? writers’ obsession with the character of Captain Carter is getting on the nerves of the fans. Marvel’s animated hit show used Captain Carter as one of the key figures in all three seasons and fans are not happy with the outcome. In the finale of the last season, Captain Carter dies a heroic death, saving The Watcher and her friends.

Fans exploded on X with their frustration after seeing Hayley Atwell‘s character appear in more episodes than any other character. One of the fan comments shared that they would rather see other interesting characters from the comics, like the Samurai Ghost Rider or Jubilee as Silver Surfer.

Another fan called out Marvel for shoving Captain Carter down the throats of fans as a God-like character in the animated series. There were also issues raised that the character’s episodes were boring and pretentious. Some of the fan reactions to Captain Carter’s appearances read:

THE WATCHERS ERASING EVERY VARIANT OF CAPTAIN CARTER EVER pic.twitter.com/7KXJjJ66PQ

why do they keep shoving captain carter down our throats.. if it didn’t work on s1 it won’t work on s3. her eps are always boring and pretentious and all the great eps have been the ones without a trace of her. https://t.co/t8RTQWQN1I pic.twitter.com/b3lM5kLOe0

What is up with the writers of What If always wanting to make Captain Carter a god like being? pic.twitter.com/GdLJngNX9d

CAPTAIN CARTER IS DEAD 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hyQkTjY3aQ

However, there were also a few fans who shared their happiness in seeing Peggy Carter getting her moment. Atwell’s character introduced in Captain America: The First Avengers was a badass agent and a key figure in establishing the S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Marvel fans didn’t get to see her in action for the most part, as it took place either off-screen or during the non-canon Agent Carter episodes.

Some fans couldn’t understand the hate for the character and vehemently supported her. Some of the fan reactions supporting her read:

Captain Carter haters are boring and will not survive the winter pic.twitter.com/3hpn3uBUev

I’ll never understand all the hate Captain Carter gets! She had lots of cool and fun moments all throughout the 3 seasons of #WhatIf and her story came to a fitting conclusion doing what she always did, protecting others. 👏✨🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/VIPpCOGdqg

Captain Carter sacrificing herself for her friends and proved that she is too powerful in any reality#WhatIf #WhatIfSeason3 pic.twitter.com/JiZ220nZqp

With Brad Winderbaum confirming that What If…? Season 3 is the conclusion of the series, fans particularly hate the fact that the expansive universe of the series didn’t really explore several great characters. This would’ve also translated to the hate against Atwell’s Captain Carter.

What If…? Season 3 is ‘yikes’ for former Marvel head writer Beau DeMayo

Captain Carter and team in What If…? Season 3 | Credits: Marvel Studios

A general consensus among critics and audiences suggested that the third season is proving to be an underwhelming conclusion to one of the Marvel Multiverse Saga’s best ideas. Former X-Men ’97 writer Beau DeMayo went after Marvel in the most brutal way when he attacked the new season of What If…?.

His review for the series read, “yikes just yikes.” He further mocked the series by sharing that he would’ve watched the series to give more notes but he had “some water to watch boil.” While DeMayo may be biased against the studio, there is some truth to his brutal review.

I’d watch more to give notes on how it could’ve easily been done better but I have some water to watch boil

Critics are largely divided on the currently running third and final season of What If…?. The Rotten Tomatoes rating for the third season is also a significant drop from its earlier seasons. As of writing, the Tomatometer score of the series stood at 75% from 12 reviews, while the Popcornmeter score is an even disappointing 47%.

What If…? episodes are now available for streaming on Disney+.

Written by Hashim Asraff

Articles Published: 2153

Hashim, Entertainment Writer. With over 2000 published articles on FandomWire, he covers a wide range of topics from celebrity life to comic book movies. He holds a Masters degree in Sociology and his expertise proves invaluable in handling sensitive news. His passion for crime investigation thrillers has turned him into a detective, exploring the darkest corners of the internet during his research.