The Avengers: Infinity War’s writers’ excuse for no Sharon Carter is really flimsy

Congratulations, Stephen Markus and Christopher McFeely. We’re unimpressed with your Sharon Carter explanation for Avengers: Infinity War.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken great strides with women. They’re late strides, to be sure, but they are at least strides. The latest from Avengers: Infinity War‘s Stephen Markus and Christopher McFeely is not one of them.

In the interest of wanting Marvel to do better, let’s break this down.

CBR transcribed an interview the pair did with Collider. Here’s how that article transcribes the mention of Sharon Carter not being in Infinity War from Markus:

"[If] you’re writing scenes that set up people before the story has gotten to them such as Steve and Sharon trying to make it work in an apartment, they’re gonna go because the movie does not have time to catch up ‘previously on the life of Steve Rogers.’"

Not unsurprisingly, we here have issues with this statement and CBR’s ensuing focus on the relationship aspect of Sharon’s character. Sharon, strangely enough, exists outside of being Steve Rogers’ modern-day girl Friday. In fact, she spends time, shockingly enough, as both an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a member of the CIA.

Here’s a simple way to put Sharon into the film: have her riding with Maria Hill and Nick Fury in the post-credits scene. Whether or not she lives doesn’t really matter; neither of the other two ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. characters remain standing by the end of the scene.

But to say that Sharon doesn’t fit because of the fact that her relationship with Steve would take up too much time smacks a bit of, to borrow a phrase from Deadpool 2, “lazy writing.” We’re not saying we needed to see her in Infinity War, but the explanation we’re getting really doesn’t satisfy us, either.

Next: 5 Infinity War stories we almost had

Marvel can do better. Marvel must do better. Sharon in Infinity War is perhaps a smaller example than others we can think of, as GLAAD has of late.

It’s still an example of where things could and should change.