Actress Hayley Atwell talks 'Marvel's Agent Carter'

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The latest TV star to come from the world of comic book superheroes is not a superhero herself, though she is the first female-led Marvel enterprise.

Marvel's Agent Carter is known to Captain America fans, but in her new miniseries, she's the star. And she's fighting the battles that happened after the war and what was believed to have been the demise of her great love.

The latest character to spring out of the Marvel Universe is a SHIELD agent without any special powers, but she's tracking down bad guys while mourning the loss of her beloved, Captain America.

Hayley Atwell has played Agent Peggy Carter in both feature films, plus a short movie Marvel made for the fans that was attached to the Iron Man DVD.

Fans asked for more, and now she is starring in primetime.

"I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I wasn't familiar very much with the comic book Marvel Universe before I became part of the project," she said. "But you don't need to be."

Carter is a woman 75 years ahead of her time, when a woman's place was thought to be in the home or maybe in an office serving tea.

"They were hard workers in World War II, and they're actually many female spies," Atwell said. "And that was exciting to explore, because I wasn't aware of the extent to which women were so active."

They were active during what is considered one of the most stylish periods in American history, and the show reflects those trends.

"It's very feminine, very womanly," Atwell said. "And yet, she's fighting in high heels, which is very surreal and a good skill to have in life, to be able to move around in high heels is very useful."

But the actress is still learning how.

"Through practice and trial and error, and a lot of slipping and falling accidentally," she said. "My foot slipping and accidentally kicking stuntmen in the wrong place. I learned the hard way, but the production guys are really suffering because of that."

"Marvel's Agent Carter" airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on WABC-TV.