One of the nice touches Marvel has been doing on their DVD releases is including a short film that somehow ties into the larger universe on each release. Whether it’s Agent Coulson kicking ass or somebody explaining just what happened to all those alien guns lying around in New York after The Avengers ended, they’re usually pretty good. And Agent Carter, which following Hayley Atwell from Captain America, looks to follow the trend.
Part of the Iron Man 3 Blu-Ray arriving in September, it follows Peggy Carter as she becomes an agent of SHIELD during its early days, hunting down Zodiac (a MacGuffin in this case). Unfortunately, this being the 1940s, being a woman in the super-spy game turns out to be more difficult than it should:
Agent Carter is also battling a sexist, bureaucratic boss Agent Flynn (The West Wing’s Bradley Whitford), who thinks women have no place in the secret agent business.
“He knows her background but insults her by saying the only reason why she’s gotten anywhere is because she was the girlfriend of Captain America,” says [director Louis] D’Esposito. “We know that’s not true, but he’s intentionally suppressing her and not allowing her to go on a mission when the opportunity arises.”
The One-Shot shorts are actually becoming more important: They directly inspired the upcoming Agents Of SHIELD, and Disney has been giving them more money as they help tie the various films in the Marvel Universe together… and not coincidentally sell more DVDs, because hey, you get to see a cool short on top of everything else.
If you’re at San Diego Comic-Con, keep an eye out: Agent Carter will be screening there next week.