Will We See Peggy Carter on 'Agents of SHIELD'?

At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel hosted a joint panel for two of its TV shows: the returning Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D , and the debuting Agent Carter , which will air in January during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hiatus. While the S.H.I.E.L.D. folks answered questions about the second season of the show and teased some new characters and villains, the Agent Carter showrunners had less to share. Agent Carter hasn't started filming yet, and the full cast lineup isn't even completely set.

What we do know: The series will take place in 1946, after the events of the first Captain America movie. There, Agent Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, will have to pick up the pieces and soldier on after Steve Rogers' disappearance.

We also know this: Peggy Carter is awesome. She's a tough-as-nails soldier (see her Marvel One-Shot for more evidence) who helps found S.H.I.E.L.D. along with Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad). According to Badass Digest, Agent Carter producer Michele Fazekas calls Carter "a woman working in a man’s world after the war is over, and after the men have come home.”

In that case, it's going to be tough to wait until January to get into Carter's adventures. So I have to wonder if there's any chance we might catch a glimpse of her on S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sadly, We Probably Have to Wait

At the panel, S.H.I.E.L.D. producers gave a rundown of some of the new recruits to the show. TV Guide notes that Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), Isabel Hartley (Lucy Lawless), and Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond) were named as new characters, but no Peggy Carter. Similarly, Atwell hasn't announced any appearances on the show, and no one credits her as appearing in any upcoming episodes.

It's possible they've been able to keep a tight lid on a cameo, but it's hard to keep a secret in the Marvel universe. Still, if you're looking for a ray of hope, it might be possible to keep your fingers crossed for a glimpse of Peggy Carter. Here's how.

She's Alive in the Present

If you remember, Peggy Carter isn't dead during Captain America: The Winter Soldier . The tough-as-nails agent is very, very old, but still alive. Hitfix notes that, during the Comic-Con panel, Winter Soldier screenwriter Christopher Markus said, "We keep trying to kill her, and she won't die." It might not be as fun to see an ancient Peggy Carter pop up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but at least she's still around.

There's Always the Flashback Crossover

If there's one thing we know, it's that Marvel loves crossovers. In fact, it's been rumored that Agent Carter will appear in Avengers: Age of Ulton via flashback. If that's the case, it wouldn't matter that Agent Carter takes place in the '40s, and S.H.I.E.L.D. takes place in present day — flashbacks can happen anytime. It makes sense that S.H.I.E.L.D. would want to flashback to Agent Carter, since Carter probably started some S.H.I.E.L.D. initiatives that are still playing out.

They Didn't Specifically Rule It Out

"Marvel is very much about synergy and synergy between their properties," producer Fazekas told Super Hero Hype in an interview. "So I think if there’s room for synergy, if there’s room for little things between the shows, I think everybody’s open to that. If we can find it and it makes sense, it’s organic and it doesn’t just look like a gimmick." We might have to wait a while for an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D./Agent Carter crossover, but at least it's not impossible.

Image: Giphy