Just in time, 'Agent Carter' rises to the occasion

Robert Bianco | USA TODAY

Peggy Carter to the rescue.

And boy, can Marvel and ABC use her help. Until now, the best they've been able to offer in their attempt to capitalize on the Avengers franchise is the wan semi-sequel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — an under-powered, unfocused disappointment that has struggled to provide a reason to exist.

Who knew the solution to Marvel's problem was to turn the clock back rather than forward — and turn the spotlight over to a British woman? By setting the story in 1946, this new short-run series immediately gets a snappy, well-tailored, Hollywood-glamour look that separates it from most of TV's offerings, And by building it closely around Hayley Atwell's smart, tough, dryly humorous Peggy Carter, the show (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET/PT, * * * out of four) gets the streamlined benefit of a strong, easy-to-identify central character.

As a bonus, Marvel's Agent Carter also gets to explore the treatment of women in the post-war workplace. Not that it treads heavily or digs deeply, mind you, but the very existence of that cultural conflict gives Carter a weight and a point that S.H.I.E.L.D. lacks.

As Captain America fans know, Peggy was a hero during the war, but in peacetime, her fellow secret agents dismiss her as the Captain's ex, and treat her like an unglorified secretary. To add to her indignity (but our enjoyment), she has to endure a cheesy Captain America radio show that presents her as a helpless, squealing damsel in distress.

She's in emotional distress, mourning her lost love and walling herself off from new friendships — but helpless, Peggy is not. The men at work (including Chad Michael Murray's condescending Agent Jack Thompson) don't realize it yet, but Peggy is sharper than all of them and just as handy with her fists. Which is why Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) turns to her for help when he's accused of selling weapons to our nation's enemies.

So Peggy is off to find out who framed him, with the help of Stark's not-always-cooperative butler Edwin Jarvis (James D'Arcy). In Tuesday's two-hour premiere, that means tracking down the thief who has stolen some super-powerful grenade that looks like an oversized Christmas tree ornament.

Or at least I think that's what it looked like. The download Marvel made available for preview was so emblazoned with upload-prevention watermarks that it wasn't always easy to tell one prop or person from another.

But never mind the props, and don't worry if you're not up on your Avengers mythology. What matters is Atwell's ability to project both Peggy's sense of loss and her determination, and the show's skill at highlighting the problems women faced while still retaining the pleasures of a comic-book pulp adventure. It's hard not to fall a little in love with a woman who knows how to use her co-workers' sexism against them — and who can disguise herself as a blond femme fatale while stapling a bad guy out of her way.

For a few hours on a cold winter's night, she's offering entertainment aid. Why say no?