Marvel Just Brought The Weirdest Part Of Tony Stark"s Backstory Back Into MCU Canon 8 Years After It First Appeared

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Eight years after a strange part of the Stark family"s history was introduced into live-action, Marvel Studios" What If...? has finally made it officially canon to the MCU. What If...? season 3 explored some of the weirdest realities that the Multiverse Saga series ever has, and debuted characters such as the Mech Avengers, Darcy Lewis and Howard the Duck"s hybrid daughter and 1872"s Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop. One episode of What If...? season 3, however, while detailing a cosmic Celestial-sized story, also brought something first seen in the Agent Carter series into the MCU proper.
Seeing Agatha Harkness assume the power of the Celestials wasn"t the only interesting thing about What If...? season 3, episode 2, "What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood?" In fact, What If...? might have just brought Marvel Television"s Agent Carter series one step closer to being made canon to the MCU"s main continuity of Earth-616, similarly to how Netflix"s Defenders Saga was in early 2024. It"s unclear exactly why Agent Carter hasn"t been made MCU canon yet, but What If...? season 3"s new Stark development could finally make this happen.
What If…? Introduced Stark Pictures To The MCU Howard Stark Filmed Agatha Harkness & Kingo In What If...?

What If...? season 3, episode 2, marked the debut of Stark Pictures in the MCU proper, with Howard Stark being revealed to have established his own film production company during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Hoping to revolutionize Hollywood, Stark filmed Agatha"s attempts to steal the Celestial Tiamut"s power, and eventually captured the witch"s dance-battle with the Eternal Kingo and her evolution into a Celestial on camera. This showed audiences a piece of Tony Stark"s family history that had never before been seen in the MCU proper.
Throughout his career in the MCU, Howard Stark has always been shown as a man of science, but not at all as a man of entertainment. The MCU"s Iron Man franchise saw him so devoted to his work, he often neglected his son. Captain America: The First Avenger saw Howard as a young man, but still one embroiled in the world of science and development, while Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame underlined how he was a founding member of SHIELD. What If...? season 3 opened new avenues for Howard Stark in the MCU, and this was also seen in Agent Carter.
Stark Pictures Was Previously Seen In Marvel TV’s Agent Carter Series Agent Carter Season 2 Saw Howard Stark Branch Out Into Film

While Agent Carter season 1 was set in New York City, the second season of the Hayley Atwell-led series relocated to Los Angeles, and saw Howard Stark establish Stark Pictures. Back in 1947, Howard Stark founded Stark Pictures to revolutionize the movie industry, and set to work adapting the iconic comic Kid Colt, Outlaw for screen. Stark hoped to broaden Hollywood"s horizons by not only capturing visible light on film, but also invisible light, such as infrared and x-rays. Despite his ambition, Stark"s lack of interest in the film business was also palpable.
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Posts 1 Stark ended up employing the help of some of his scantily-clad "production assistants" to help Peggy Carter infiltrate the Arena Club, hoping to investigate the mysterious Council of Nine. The Stark Pictures Studio Lot is later used by Carter, Stark and their team as the site of their rift, allowing them to defeat Whitney Frost. Unfortunately, Stark Pictures" Kid Colt, Outlaw adaptation was never realized, and the production company was forgotten after 2016"s Agent Carter season 2, until What If...? season 3.
Agent Carter Could Easily Be Made MCU Canon Agent Carter Doesn't Ruin The MCU's Continuity At All Close The return of Stark Pictures in What If...? season 3 could hint at Marvel Studios beginning to tie the events of Agent Carter into the MCU"s main continuity. Following the establishment of Disney+ and Marvel Studios starting to create its own MCU-set TV shows, the previous Marvel Television shows were thought to have been removed from MCU canon, with some having veered far away anyway. This changed in January 2024, however, as Netflix"s Defenders Saga was integrated into the MCU"s main timeline alongside Echo"s premiere, so Agent Carter could get the same honor.
Marvel Television Series
Release
Seasons
Canon
Agents of SHIELD
2013-2020
7
No
Agent Carter
2015-2016
2
No
Daredevil
2015-2018
3
Yes
Jessica Jones
2015-2019
3
Yes
Luke Cage
2016-2018
2
Yes
Iron Fist
2017-2018
2
Yes
The Defenders
2017
1
Yes
Inhumans
2017
1
No
The Punisher
2017-2019
2
Yes
Runaways
2017-2019
3
No
Cloak & Dagger
2018-2019
2
No
Helstrom
2020
1
No
Taking place in the wake of Captain America: The First Avenger, with season 1 set in 1946 and season 2 set in 1947, Agent Carter slots perfectly into the MCU"s timeline in between The First Avenger and the 1995-set Captain Marvel. Agent Carter doesn"t contain anything that ruins the flow of the MCU"s official continuity, and, in fact, includes elements that enhance it. This includes James D"Arcy"s Edwin Jarvis, who appeared in Avengers: Endgame, the Roxxon Company and the evolution of the Strategic Scientific Reserve into SHIELD.
Why Agent Carter Isn't MCU Canon Hayley Atwell Is Soon Returning To The MCU

Currently, the only Agent Carter property that is considered canon to the MCU is the Agent Carter One-Shot that was included in the home media release of 2013"s Iron Man 3. This One-Shot inspired the long-form series of Agent Carter, so it would make sense for this two-season show to be made MCU canon, but this hasn"t yet occurred. Produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television, Agent Carter was not specifically developed by Marvel Studios, but neither were Netflix"s Defenders Saga shows, so it"s unclear why Agent Carter hasn"t repeated their canon shift.
The Defenders Saga becoming canon brings the likes of Charlie Cox"s Daredevil, Vincent D"Onofrio"s Kingpin, Deborah Ann Woll"s Karen Page, Elden Henson"s Foggy Nelson and Jon Bernthal"s Punisher, among many others, back to the MCU.
Marvel Studios could easily fold Agent Carter into the MCU"s official timeline, and after the events of What If...? season 3, episode 2, and the confirmation that Hayley Atwell is returning in Avengers: Doomsday, this could be on the cards. Atwell has portrayed Peggy Carter in the MCU since Captain America: The First Avenger, though has more-recently become Captain Carter in What If...? and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so it"s uncertain what the future holds for her, but it would be great to see her come back to the MCU in more Agent Carter adventures.

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65 7.7/10 What If...? SuperheroAnimationActionAdventure What If… ? is an animated anthology series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which features fan-favorite characters, including Peggy Carter, T’Challa, Doctor Strange, Killmonger, Thor, and more. The new series, directed by Bryan Andrews with AC Bradley as head writer, features signature MCU action with a curious twist. The show sees Uatu the Watcher, an omnipotent being that observes the events of multiple universes from afar as they unfold, unable to interfere. However, things shift when an entity peers beyond the veil, jeopardizing the multiverse.
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*Availability in US Release Date August 11, 2021 Finale Year December 22, 2024 Cast Samuel L. Jackson , Stanley Tucci , Michael Douglas , Sean Gunn , Mark Ruffalo , Karen Gillan , Tom Hiddleston , Jeffrey Wright , Michael B. Jordan , Toby Jones , Sebastian Stan , Paul Rudd , David Dastmalchian , Natalie Portman , Josh Brolin , Dominic Cooper , Jeff Goldblum , Hayley Atwell , Djimon Hounsou , Chadwick Boseman , Taika Waititi , Chris Hemsworth , Neil McDonaugh , Jeremy Renner , Michael Rooker Seasons 3 Writers Ashley Bradley , Matthew Chauncey Directors Bryan Andrews Showrunner Ashley Bradley Expand Upcoming MCU Movies