The 12 Best Love Stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
By Lacy Baugher
Hayley Atwell and Enver Gjokaj in Marvel’s Agent Carter (Photo: ABC/Byron Cohen)
Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa
Given that one half of this relationship is also a part of one of the MCU’s most popular and recognizable couples, the fact that this Agent Carter duo makes this list at all is pretty impressive. But the slow moving romance between Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa turns out to be surprisingly charming and sweet. Sadly, we never got the chance to see what a real relationship between the two might have looked like because ABC cruelly canceled Agent Carter after its second season. But Peggy and Sousa are pretty adorable together, and had a lot of potential. Plus, the show never glossed over the fact that Peggy had a romantic history before Sousa came into her life. Sousa didn’t think less of her for the fact that she loved someone else before she met him. And Peggy never pretended like
Agent Carter handled the fact of Peggy’s previous relationship with Steve Rogers deftly and with respect. We never doubted that Captain America was indeed the love of her life. Her feelings for Steve made Peggy who she is, and the show acknowledges them as such. But Agent Carter isn’t afraid of letting her move on, either. This attitude is obviously necessary since we already know that Peggy went on to lead a successful, full life after Steve’s death. And yet the build up to Peggy and Daniel’s kiss at the end of Season 2 still seems natural. It takes forever to happen, as many TV romances do.
But in this instance, that delay made sense. By the time the two lock lips, we believe that Peggy is ready to give love a chance again. And by this point, the audience is okay with considering a romantic partner for her that isn’t Steve. It’s a shame we probably won’t get to see their actual relationship play out.
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In its recent big and small-screen outings Marvel made some missteps regarding relationships. Some just didn’t work at all. (Steve and Sharon in Civil War spring to mind.) But the franchise has come a long way in this area. And they’ve also done a lot of things right along the way. Hopefully, they’ll follow the lead of their television properties, and continue to create more stories like these.