Sharon Carter Repeats A Black Widow Trick From Captain America 2

Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Finale – “One World, One People”.

In The Falcon and The Winter Soldierfinale, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) used a Photostatic Veil to infiltrate the Global Repatriation Council crisis zone. This device, a thin mesh of programmable, nano-sized holographic cells, was debuted by Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Carter made only the second use of it in the canonical Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the Photostatic Veil saw much wider use in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2.

In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Natasha Romanoff used the Photostatic Veil to disguise herself as Councilwoman Hawley (Jenny Agutter), a member of the World Security Council. Thanks to the Veil, Romanoff’s illusion was so complete that she entered the Triskelion undetected while it was under the control of Hydra. Not even Secretary Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) realized that Hawley was Agent Romanoff until Black Widow unmasked herself. Thanks to her disguise, Romanoff was able to save one of the Council members that Pierce threatened to shoot and he was exposed as Hydra’s leader. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who Pierce believed was dead, then emerged to take his former boss into custody while Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) brought down the Project Insight Helicarriers and stopped the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

The Photostatic Veil made a return appearance 10 years later in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but this time, Sharon Carter used it to disguise herself as a man. In addition, the Veil also altered Sharon’s voice to be much lower and she fooled Bucky Barnes until she revealed herself. The Veil that Natasha Romanoff wore also altered her voice to sound like Hawley, so the technology of the face mask can be adjusted for the tenor of both male and female voices, including those of specific people. The Photostatic Veil is S.H.I.E.L.D. technology and part of their spycraft, so it makes sense that Carter, a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., had access to one (especially since Carter is also dealing in contraband art and technology in her secret identity as the Power Broker).

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 not only made more extensive use of the Photostatic Veil but also gave it another name: a Nano Mask. The device was used by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Sunil Bakshi (Simon Kassianides) used the Nano Mask to impersonate General Glenn Talbot (Adrian Pasdar), and he was even able to temporarily confuse Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen). The Photostatic Veil was also worn several times by Kara Palamas, a.k.a. Agent 33 (Maya Stojan), who used it to impersonate several people, including May and fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennet). Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also introduced the creator, Dr. Selwyn (Landall Goolsby), who had to try to repair the mask after it was damaged and permanently grafted onto Agent 33’s face.

Despite the wider use of the Photostatic Veil in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., some fans might consider Sharon Carter donning it in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier as the second time it was used in the MCU. This is because Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s status as part of the canonical MCU is in question as the series broke away from the movies’ timeline in its later seasons, and, since then, the Disney+ shows have started to retcon certain things that happened in that series. However, since Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 took place after Captain America: The Winter Soldier when it was still considered connected (albeit loosely) to the MCU movies, it could be argued the episodes where the Nano Mask appeared are canonical. Regardless, Sharon Carter using the Photostatic Veil in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was a clever nod to Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the Nano Mask may make future MCU appearances.

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