AGENT CARTER: JAMES D'ARCY

The Continuum continues its preview of Marvel's Agent Carter -- premiering Tuesday, Jan. 6 on ABC -- with comments from James D'Arcy, who plays Edwin Jarvis.

On his character:

D'Arcy:Jarvis doesn't seem to be very flappable. In a crisis, he's actually pretty good. He's able to think fairly clearly. And he's also pretty funny. i mean, he's got a pretty wry sense of humor about everything, every situation that they're in. And I think that helps diffuse what is sort of a gathering storm around Peggy.

On Jarvis' relationship with Agent Carter:

D'Arcy:There is an initial bond between Jarvis and Peggy because they're both English. They both come from the same background, culturally speaking, so they're able to speak in almost a sort of shorthand. And then beyond that, they quite swiftly fall into -- I don't want to say a sibling relationship - but they have a real banter together. They very much enjoy undercutting each other in a sort of humorous way. And I think that Jarvis surprises Peggy quite often.

He's like really the one person that she can go to for support at a time when she's getting none from the SSR, and she feels ungrounded and obviously Steve is gone. You know, she's a little at sea at the beginning of the series, and Jarvis is the person who is able to provide some guidance for her.

On Peggy Carter:

D'Arcy:It's the first time that Marvel have had a single female lead. They have a woman front and center in this show. And they have chosen to place this woman in a time when it's even harder for women to get by in the world. And she has to fight the system, she has to fight her own personal fears and demons. Firstly, she does it really well. I mean, she kicks ass.

Secondarily, I think a lot of woman are to identify with her because she's aspirational. Obviously, Hayley (Atwell) is incredibly beautiful and looks fantastic doing all these fight sequences. And then beyond that, she deals with men really, really well. And I think that is something that people are going to be excited to watch.

On Marvel Easter Eggs:

D'Arcy: There's like a lot of really good stuff there that you will be able to enjoy and kind of go, "Oh, OK, I get it, I get it, I get. Right, right, right." You don't have to know who Edwin Jarvis is. You don't need have to know that Jarvis becomes Jarvis in Iron Man. It's not important, but if you know it, it's a wonderful little thing to have in the back of your head. You don't even have to know that Howard Stark is Tony Stark's father. But if you know it, it's great. Then there's lots more little Easter Eggs. Although they're really, really clever, the writers. They make sure they're constantly throwing in little things for the fans. It's wonderful.

On the show's wider appeal:

D'Arcy: Whilst being absolutely a Marvel show -- it's exciting, there's lots of action, it's very funny, it's very cleverly written -- within all of that, we're also dealing with some interesting stuff. Like the aftereffects of the second World War, what it's like to be a woman in that time in New York, how people were treated at the time. So there's actually some kind of really interesting social commentary going on within this very exciting, fast-paced, very good-looking TV show.