it's the epic superhero film we've all been waiting for. avengers: infinity war is the culmination of every film in the marvel cinematic universe, meaning we're likely to see almost every character we've ever encountered make an appearance.

well, almost. sharon carter is among the few that will not be appearing in the film, which is a shame given everything that happened between her and steve rogers in captain america: civil war. according to actor emily vancamp, the issue with her joining the big battle was, given the scale of the film and the abundance of huge action sequences, there simply wasn't enough room for sharon carter to make a worthwhile appearance.

related: avengers: unlikely sharon carter is in infinity war

in the grand scheme of the current mcu, sharon carter isn't exactly a vital role. that doesn't mean that her character has no significant part to play. she has been quite an important character in steve roger's world, after all, but perhaps not in the way you might think.

from the beginning of captain america: the winter soldier, it was clear that the russo brothers were keen on exploring a different side of steve rogers as a character, as evidenced by the inclusion of black widow's constant attempts at getting rogers to start dating.

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throughout his appearances, it has been quite evident that steve views himself as a super-soldier fighting a war, and little more than that. he's a natural leader and a masterful fighter, he's great at battling evil forces but he clearly neglects everything else within him. carter fit right into that world and managed to drag a different side of rogers into view. he'd had the whole tender romance with peggy back during world war ii but in the modern era, it seemed as though he was devoting himself to fighting whenever he could. that changed in captain america: civil war when he shared a moment with agent 13, to bucky and sam's laughing approval.

clearly, the russo brothers intended to gradually expand on the softer side of rogers, and carter was an integral part of that. however, with infinity war shaping up to present us with a monumental shift in the mcu, we may never get to see carter and rogers become anything more. not just because carter won't be showing up in the next film, but because rogers might not make it out alive.

yes, there are a lot of factors leading us to believe that thanos may just defeat captain america in some way, bringing all these subplots to a potentially abrupt end. then we have the numerous times kevin feige has stated that the mcu will look completely different after infinity war, and the fact that chris evans may not want to extend his contract after his current contract expires.

what place, then, is there for sharon carter?

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if captain america disappears, what does that mean for the rest of his world? sam wilson and bucky barnes wouldn't necessarily disappear from the mcu, but what about the smaller characters, like sharon carter? it'd be odd for her and cap's simmering subplot to end with that moment in civil war, especially when there are so many possibilities for the character.

related: chris evans explains why he extended his marvel contract

for example, there were discussions about having sharon carter appear in agents of s.h.i.e.l.d, but no plans were ever made as emily vancamp was busy with her television series, revenge. perhaps that appearance can still happen. it would only benefit the character in the event of captain america's demise.

in fact, captain america's death might actually be a perfect way for the mcu to continue expanding on what has already been established about the character. she has had this special relationship with steve rogers, sand upported him during the events of civil war. his death might present us with an opportunity to see how he affected her and through her, how he affected non-superhumans.

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in the aftermath of the major comic book crossover event of 2006-07, civil war, captain america was seemingly assassinated by crossbones, red skull and, in a shocking turn of events, sharon carter, who was under the control of doctor faustus. it was a storyline titled "the death of captain america," and it presented major changes to several characters. bucky took up the shield and sharon, in the midst of dealing with guilt and anger, had a chance to show everyone that she was more than the average s.h.i.e.l.d agent. in fact, she was capable of taking on the likes of arnim zola and the red skull, as we see in captain america #42 (written by ed brubaker, illustrated by steven epting, luke ross and others).

elements of that story are still ripe for adaptation somewhere in the mcu after infinity war if it so happens that captain america doesn't survive. it's just one way sharon carter and her subplot could be developed in a meaningful and organic way.

with all these possibilities, we're fairly confident that we haven't seen the last of sharon carter. with any luck, future films will continue to develop her character, regardless of whether or not captain america is present for the story.


directed by joe and anthony russo, avengers: infinity war will arrive in theaters on may 28. the film stars robert downey jr. as iron man, chris evans as captain america, chris hemsworth as thor, mark ruffalo as the hulk, jeremy renner as hawkeye, scarlett johansson as black widow, anthony mackie as the falcon, paul rudd as ant-man, elizabeth olsen as scarlet witch, tom holland as spider-man, benedict cumberbatch as doctor strange, chadwick boseman as black panther, chris pratt as star lord, zoe saldana as gamora, dave bautista as drax, bradley cooper as rocket, vin diesel as groot, tom hiddleston as loki, and josh brolin as thanos.