Samantha Carter

"Carter, you're one of this country's natural resources, if not national treasures."

- Jonathan J. O'Neill Samantha Carter is an astrophysicist, engineer and pilot as well as a member of the United States Air Force who played a key role in establishing the Stargate Program before being assigned to the SGC's flagship team, SG-1 where she was the second-in-command for eight years before becoming the Commanding Officer of SG-1 for a year. Considered Earth's leading expert on the Stargate and a host of other alien technology, her former Commanding officer, Colonel/General Jack O'Neill once emphatically proclaimed her brain to be a national resource.

After serving on SG-1 for ten years during that time which she saved her own life and those of her colleagues during various missions as a member of SG-1, the SGC and as a member of the United States Air Force, Carter was eventually reassigned to the Atlantis expedition which she led for over a year before being replaced by Richard Woolsey.

In 2009, after returning to Earth, Carter was later made the commander of the Daedalus-class ship, George Hammond which was originally called the Phoenix with the ship itself later being renamed the George Hammond in honor of the former Commander of the Stargate program, George S. Hammond, who died in 2008 after suffering a heart attack.

Background information
Carter is the daughter of Debra Carter and Jacob Carter, an Air Force Major General. She was born on December 29, 1968, although Orlin seemed to believe she was born in the month of May. She has a brother named Mark Carter, who is married and has two children, David and Lisa.

In 2003, she told Aden Corso that she was named Samantha as her father had wanted a boy.

As a child, Sam often sat on the willow tree in her backyard. On sunny days, the wind blowing through the leaves sounded exactly like rain when she closed her eyes. Replicator Carter later possessed this memory.

Her mother Debra Carter sang "" to her when she was a child.

Her mother died in the early 1980s when she was twelve. She blamed her father who was supposed to go pick her up at the airport but didn't, forcing Mrs. Carter to take a taxi and have the accident that killed her. Eventually, Sam forgave her father, although Mark didn't until after many years of estrangement.

She was exceptionally bright and went on to get a Ph.D. in Astrophysics with extensive knowledge in quantum mechanics while attending the Air Force Academy. She worked at The Pentagon for two years, and logged over 100 hours in enemy space during the Gulf War. She was assigned to work on the Stargate Project in 1993, two years before Dr. Daniel Jackson had the opportunity, and was a prominent member of investigating the sciences behind it and developing the Earth Dialing computer. It is not known whether she was the leader or just an important member of the team that designed the dialing computer. Captain Carter believed she should have been part of the first team to go to Abydos with Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson. The reason why she ended up not going was due to the urgency to complete the important first mission on time.

1997
Two years after the first Abydos Mission, however, Carter, being the foremost expert on the Stargate, was able to join Colonel Jack O'Neill, as his second-in-command, when returning to Abydos to discover if the Goa'uld attackers who arrived on Earth previously were from the planet. Though she had great scientific knowledge on the Stargate, she was not prepared for her first transport and was caught off-guard when arriving on Abydos. It took her a few minutes but she recovered. However, almost immediately she started investigating the Abydos Stargate, and its Dial Home Device. After meeting the missing Dr. Daniel Jackson, Carter, along with him and O'Neill, visited the Abydos cartouche, discovering that the "Gate" could go to several hundred worlds and the reason why Earth's Stargate could not dial any planet other than Abydos. She discovered that she could easily make the dialing computer do the necessary calculations. Along with the rest of the team and Jackson, she returned to Earth after Apophis attacked the Abydos pyramid through the Gate. After retrieving the gate address of Apophis's homeworld, Chulak, from Major Louis Ferretti, she was assigned to O'Neill's SG-1 team.

After the meeting, she and the team, along with Major Charles Kawalsky's SG-2 traveled to Chulak. Upon discovering a village, Carter, along with the rest of SG-1, were thrown into a large cell with other Abydonians. The work of O'Neill was able to get the Jaffa Teal'c to join them and allowed Carter, along with the others, to escape and return to Earth, along with the Abydonians.

She remained with SG-1 after that mission and became one of Stargate Command's best officers. She's also their most brilliant scientist and expert on alien technology. She was engaged to Captain Jonas Hanson, later also of the SGC, but returned the ring when she realized he wasn't right for her as he had a very domineering side. She was right to have broken it off as he took over Avnil and started acting like a god to its people.

Carter bonded very tightly with a little girl from a planet named Hanka, Cassandra, and risked her life to provide her with some comfort when they thought Cassie was a time bomb. Cassie was eventually adopted by Dr. Janet Fraiser which allowed Sam and Janet to become really close friends over the years.

1998
During her second year at Stargate Command, she was taken over by a Tok'ra symbiote, Jolinar of Malkshur, who sacrificed herself to save Sam from the Ashrak Edrekh, a high rank assassin sent after Jolinar. This experience left her with memories of the Tok'ra and a protein marker in her blood allowing her to use Goa'uld technology such as a Kara kesh and a healing device while also giving her the ability to sense other Goa'uld or Tok'ra.

After Jack O'Neill was left incapacitated, having been shot in the right arm by an arrow, Carter took over temporary command of SG-1.

Using the memories left by Jolinar of Malkshur, Carter led SG-1 to a planet where the Tok'ra were hiding. She'd learned earlier that her father, Jacob Carter, was dying of cancer. She offered him as a host for the dying Tok'ra Selmak as a show of good-will between the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri. She also made friends with the Tok'ra Martouf.

1999
For her efforts as both a member of SG-1 and the United States Air Force, Carter was later promoted to Major.

Once again, Jolinar's memories were needed to go rescue her father who had been captured by the Goa'uld Sokar and put on the prison moon Netu, a moon modeled after Hell. She and the team successfully escaped.

2000
Carter, along with Teal'c, were beamed up by Colonel Jack O'Neill when Thor's ship was infested with Replicators. After they destroyed the vessel and Gated back to Earth, Carter went to Othala to help coordinate its defense against the Replicators. Carter came up with the idea of using the O'Neill to lure the Replicator ships away, and to destroy the ship in hyperspace, which also destroyed the Replicators.

Shortly afterwards, the Tok'ra Anise convinced Carter, Colonel Jack O'Neill, and Dr. Daniel Jackson to use the Atanik armband. The armbands increased their physical abilities, but also impaired their judgment. The three hijacked the Stargate, but the armbands fell off. Afterwards, it was feared that O'Neill and Carter had been made Za'tarcs. It was only after they admitted that they had feelings for each other that they were absolved, but Carter was forced to kill Martouf with a Zat'nik'tel.

2001
After stealing Cronus' Ha'tak, SG-1 intended to use the vessel to evacuate the Tok'ra. Tanith, a spy serving Apophis, sent word to Apophis, who brought his fleet. Carter and Jacob Carter came up with a plan to destroy Apophis' fleet: they blew up Vorash's sun. The plan worked, but the Ha'tak Jacob and SG-1 were on was sent to another Galaxy, along with Apophis' mothership. The Replicators managed to capture and infest both ships, but SG-1 caused the Ha'tak to crash into Delmak, killing the Replicators and Apophis.

Afterwards, Carter was doing research on a weapon on Velona, where she encountered an Ascended being who unintentionally caused her to faint. After returning to Earth, Carter went on leave, but the Ascended being, named Orlin, followed her to Earth, and the two began to fall in love. However, the NID was watching Carter, and Orlin returned to Velona to destroy the Orbital weapon, which resulted in his death.

Carter was kidnapped by men hired by Adrian Conrad, who was terminally ill with a rare disease. He had her captured because he had a Goa'uld symbiote and wanted to use it as a means to cure him. He wanted Carter because of the incident with Jolinar of Malkshur, believing she had a means to kill the Goa'uld without risking the host's life, not knowing Jolinar actually gave up her life to save her three years previously. She was eventually rescued by Colonel Jack O'Neill.

2002
When Teal'c was left trapped in the Stargate, Sam worked to save in spite of a timeline of 48 hours. She also met and developed a strong grudge against her fellow scientific rival, Dr. Rodney McKay.

After Dr. Daniel Jackson's death, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Teal'c retreated into themselves, causing resentment for Carter. She was not as hostile to Jonas Quinn, though still opposed to allowing him onto SG-1. Around that time, Earth was attacked by Anubis, who attempted to cause the Stargate to overload. After Jonas gave Carter the idea to send the gate into space with the X-302 hyperspace fighter, Carter argued for Jonas to be allowed onto SG-1, and O'Neill finally agreed. During that time, Carter also developed something of a mutual respect towards McKay who the Pentagon had brought back from Russia to help with the crisis.

2003
When Human-form Replicators emerged on Hala, Carter bonded with Fifth, who was convinced to help stop the other Replicators. Colonel Jack O'Neill, however, ordered Carter to leave Fifth behind, which Carter felt guilty over.

After Dr. Daniel Jackson descended and returned to SG-1, Anubis created the new Kull warriors, and Carter helped in the creation of the weapon used to neutralize them.

2004
Carter was set up on a date with Pete Shanahan, who knew Sam's brother Mark Carter. Carter developed feelings for him, and the two began to see each other regularly.

After Colonel Jack O'Neill had the Ancient's Repository of knowledge downloaded into his brain, he was put in a Stasis pod to preserve his life. Carter was able to convince Dr. Elizabeth Weir to allow Teal'c and herself to travel to the Othala galaxy, to seek the assistance of Thor. Carter was captured by Fifth, who tortured her and sought to convince her he loved her, but was eventually convinced to free her. She was promoted to Lt. Colonel and given command of SG-1 as O'Neill was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of Stargate Command. Shortly afterwards, Pete Shanahan proposed to Carter, and she accepted. However, she was unaware that Fifth who still unable to let go of his own feelings for her had created a Replicator duplicate of Carter.

2005
The Atlantis expedition had an opportunity to send a very brief data transmission to Earth. The "intergalactic e-mail" was successfully sent to Stargate Command and received by Carter and SMSgt. Walter Harriman.

When the Replicators, led by a Replicator duplicate of Carter, invaded the Milky Way, they wiped out most of the System Lords. Carter worked with Thor to make the Replicator disruptor viable again, but was unable to succeed. After learning of the Dakara superweapon, Carter and Jacob Carter were able to use the device to destroy every Replicator in the galaxy at once, wiping them out, which also resulted in the destruction of the Goa'uld Empire. Afterwards, Carter began to doubt her decision to marry Pete Shanahan, due in part to a conversation with her father, and when her father died, she ended the relationship for good.

Later, Carter was convinced to allow SG-1 to use the Time Jumper SG-1 found on Harold Maybourne's planet to travel back in time to take a Zero Point Module from Ra. However, Horus Guards found the Puddle Jumper they used, stranding SG-1 in the past. SG-1 attempted to form a rebellion, but Carter, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, and Teal'c were killed, and Ra took the Stargate from Earth, changing history. However, an alternate Carter, O'Neill, and Teal'c traveled back in time, and managed to repair history with the help of the original timeline's Dr. Daniel Jackson.

With the collapse of the Goa'uld Empire, SG-1 disbanded itself. Carter transferred to Area 51 where she took command of Stargate's R & D. Carter did not join Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell's efforts to reunite the team, but came back temporary when SG-1 tried to stop an Ori Supergate from forming on Kallana.

She later joined SG-1 when it was officially re-formed.

When an Ori plague descended on Earth, Orlin descended himself to help the Tau'ri develop a cure, and Carter helped him. Their efforts eventually succeeded, but resulted in Orlin suffering brain damage and amnesia.

When Dr. Rodney McKay was trapped underwater in a sinking Puddle Jumper, his only chance for survival was Samantha Carter, taken form in a Hallucination.

2006
Carter participated in the mission to save Daniel who had been left stranded on Tegalus. Unfortunately, the mission became a battle for survival when an Ori Satelite belonging to the Rand Protectorate struck the Prometheus twice, severely damaging the ship while even killing its personnel. Carter along with Captain Kevin Marks attempted to repair the ship but were unsuccessful. Carter along with Marks and two-thirds of the Prometheus crew were successfully beamed to safely seconds before the satellite launched a final attack, ultimately resulting in the Prometheus being destroyed while also killing the Prometheus's commanding officer, Colonel Lionel Pendergast.

While studying Merlin's datalog, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Carter, and Dr. Daniel Jackson were shifted into an alternate dimension. Daniel read the log, and learned of the Sangraal a weapon designed to kill ascended beings. Later, Carter went out to a Supergate to dial the Alteran Home Galaxy, but was temporarily stranded when the Gate activated. She was saved when Mitchell guided the Odyssey to bring her into the F-302 fighter-interceptor bay.

When Jeannie Miller, Dr. Rodney McKay's estranged sister, submitted a mathematical proof to Professor Graeme Peel of the California Institute of Technology, she approached her with an offer to work for Stargate Command. When Jeannie refused to sign a Non-disclosure agreement, she enlisted McKay's help. She and McKay beamed her to the Daedalus to show her the importance of her proof and convince her to travel to Atlantis. They were successful and she wished the siblings luck in their experiment.

2007
She was once shot by an Ori soldier while attempting to protect a village from Ori forces by taking it "out of phase" with one of Merlin's inventions. Due to the fact that they were trapped, Mitchell used his medical training to keep Carter stablizied long enough for the team to return to the SGC with Carter eventually making a full recovery.

Later, while experimenting with increasing the size of the area she could put out of phase with the same device with an active force field around her and the device, she was accidentally pulled into an Alternate reality where Ori warships were headed towards Earth and as a result, the United States was under martial law. She managed to send the entire Earth out of phase by using up to 95% of all of the USA's power. She eventually made it back to her own reality.

She was part of the team to infiltrate the Alteran Home Galaxy to find the Ark of Truth and stop the Ori threat. However she had to stop the rebirth of the Replicators.

Sometime after those events, she was promoted to full-bird Colonel and was responsible for the final stages of the completion of the Midway space station along with Dr. Bill Lee. During the course of which she joined the search for the missing Atlantis on board the Apollo.

After helping to locate the city, she assisted in its landing on M35-117 before returning to Earth to brief Major General Henry Landry.

She was later sent back to Atlantis to take command of its operations after Dr. Elizabeth Weir went missing on Asuras, Weir having sacrificed herself to give John and the team time to escape.

During this period, Carter accompanied Lt. Colonel John Sheppard's team when a mission resulted in them discovering Fenrir, apparently the last surviving member of the Asgard race, who had been exiled before the death of his people. Despite his grief and anger after learning about the death of his race, Fenrir provided Carter with control of his ship so that she could destroy a Wraith Hive ship before he died as a result of a Wraith suicide bomber.

2008
"We defeated the Replicators; we thwarted Michael's plans; and the Wraith are in a state of disarray. All of this happened while she was leader of Atlantis."

- Teyla Emmagan

She recalled both the Daedalus and the Apollo, now fitted with Asgard plasma beam weapons to defeat the Asurans once and for all and worked with Dr. Rodney McKay to destroy their homeworld.

When trying to evacuate a civilization from a planet prone to earthquakes, she ended up trapped in an old Genii mining station with Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Jennifer Keller underground. During several attempts to escape, she broke her leg, but made it out eventually and recovered. During a game of "Who would you rather...?" with Keller and McKay while trapped, she admits that she prefers Neil deGrasse Tyson over, over , and  over. She also implied that she is having an affair with Major General Jack O'Neill, or that they are planning to begin their relationship after his imminent retirement.

Soon after rescuing Teyla Emmagan from the hands of Michael Kenmore, she returned to Earth for an "exhaustive review of her first year in command" and to attend the Extraction Ceremony of the last Ba'al clone with Major General Jack O'Neill and SG-1, but instead she was informed that she was being removed from command and would be replaced by Richard Woolsey.

With Major General Henry Landry opening the gate, she returned to SG-1 and she traveled to the Tok'ra homeworld for the Extraction Ceremony and met up with Major General Jack O'Neill. The ceremony went through and the final Ba'al clone was killed and Vala Mal Doran stayed behind to help Ba'al's host cope with the extraction because she knew what he was going through as a former host herself and she and the rest of the team went to lunch on O'Neill.

2009
"My next position is to take command of our new Daedalus-class ship. ...We're renaming it the [George] Hammond."

- Samantha Carter

Carter was left temporarily in charge of Stargate Command while Major General Henry Landry headed a task force in Washington D.C.. During that time, she coordinated Earth's forces, along with Major Paul Davis of Homeworld Security, when the planet was threatened by the Wraith underling's Super-hive. After Landry returned to his command of the SGC, Carter took command of the new Daedalus-Class ship, George Hammond.

Under her command, the George Hammond later transported a group of people to Icarus Base. Shortly following this event, the base came under attack and Carter led the George Hammond in a defensive against what they suspected were three Lucian Alliance Ha'taks. After the planet's core destabilized, she ordered Colonel David Telford and his F-302 fighter-interceptors to retreat and entered hyperspace. She reported the situation to Lt. General Jack O'Neill at Homeworld Command.

Later she commanded the George Hammond in a battle with the Lucian Alliance over the Icarus-like planet. When the planet was going critical due to the instability of naquadria, she ordered a fall back of all of the invasion forces. They were forced to retreat before two F-302 fighter-interceptor's could be safely dock with the Hammond and the two F-302's were destroyed along with the pilots on board who were killed in the attack.

Promotion to General
Non-canon: Roughly two years after the defeat of the Ori, Carter was later promoted to Brigadier General and was put in charge of Stargate Command, placing her in command when the base was attacked by the System Lords Third Battle Group. 

Alternate realities

 * In an alternate reality visited by Daniel Jackson in 1998, Dr. Samantha Carter, Ph.D was a civilian astrophysicist engaged to Brigadier General Jack O'Neill. She met Daniel during a Goa'uld invasion of Earth and correctly determined that he was from another reality. She was both amazed and excited at witnessing Daniel's videotape of P3R-233 which showed her counterpart from our reality. She committed suicide rather than surrender to Apophis' forces, luring a group of Jaffa into the conference room and then setting off a grenade to kill them all. Like her counterpart in our reality, she seems to be analytical and unflappable. She wore her hair long with a barrette.
 * In an alternate reality, Samantha Carter, Ph.D was a civilian astrophysicist who discovered how to make the Stargate work in 1995. While it is not specifically stated, it can be assumed that the first mission through the Stargate was to Abydos, as was the case in our reality. Furthermore, it is possible that Sam was part of the team on the Abydos Mission. She had been married to Jack O'Neill for a year when Apophis conquered Earth in 1999. During the Goa'uld invasion of Cheyenne Mountain, Jack was killed by Teal'c, the First Prime of Apophis, and his death had a huge effect on her. With Major Charles Kawalsky, she journeyed through the Quantum Mirror to our reality and met her counterpart as well as that of her late husband. She found the presence of the Colonel Jack O'Neill of our reality difficult to bear as he was virtually identical to her husband in terms of his personality. When entropic cascade failure occurred, due to two versions of the same person existing in one reality, Stargate Command decided that she and Kawalsky had to return to their own reality. Perhaps due to her lack of military training, the Carter from this reality seemed to be much more emotional than her counterpart in our reality to the point that she grimly reflected that her counterpart was "superior" to her as she had failed to stop the Goa'uld invasion despite knowing they were coming for two years while her counterpart had defeated an invasion with advance notice of only a few days, though they seem to be equal in the scientific realm. She eventually overcame her feelings of inadequacy towards her counterpart and they were able to work well together. The two Carters repaired the power booster device that allowed the SGC to contact the Asgard in our reality. After returning to her own reality, she used the device to contact the Asgard of her reality, who were able to liberate Earth from Apophis' forces. She also wore her hair long but without a barrette. She told the Sam of our reality that she could not imagine "going military." Unlike Kawalsky, she did not appear to blame the Teal'c of our reality for his counterpart's role in Jack's death as she gave him a kiss on the cheek to think him for his assistance in establishing contact with the Asgard. Though she was married to Jack O'Neill, she still referred to herself as Samantha Carter rather than Samantha O'Neill.
 * A version of Carter (it is unknown if her first name is the same) was briefly glimpsed by Dr. Daniel Jackson when he was attempting to find his reality on the Quantum Mirror. He thought that this was his own reality until he noticed that this Carter was still a captain. This version of Carter also seemed to waiting for someone to return to her reality through the Quantum Mirror.
 * An alternate version of Samantha Carter, who was likewise a colonel, came to our reality in 2006 in an attempt to steal a Zero Point Module from Atlantis and return it to their reality to use in securing their Earth from an Ori attack. When the original SG-1 took steps to stop additional SG-1s from arriving, the alternate SG-1 gained control of the Prometheus and set course for Atlantis. Eventually, the original Mitchell outsmarted his counterpart and her team was captured. The original SG-1 was able to use the alternate SG-1's methods to send the various SG-1s back to their own realities. She was married and had been on her honeymoon several months earlier. In this reality, both her father Jacob Carter and his symbiote Selmak were still alive in 2006.
 * In another alternate reality, Samantha Carter was not part of SG-1 in 2006 but was home for maternity leave. She had been involved with Martouf, but according to him, had moved on and was now with someone else, though he did not specifically say who it was. In this reality, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was still the commanding officer of Stargate Command.
 * In another alternate reality, Samantha Carter was a member of an SG-1 who wore Blue Digital Tiger Stripe uniforms. In 2006, she and her team were under heavy fire and ended up in our reality. Shortly afterwards, they were examined in the infirmary. Eventually, this SG-1 were sent back to their own reality.
 * In another alternate reality, Samantha Carter was a member of an SG-1 who wore Digital Woodland USMC MARPAT uniforms. Her teammates were Daniel Jackson, Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c, who unlike his counterpart in our reality was still bald. In 2006, she and her team ended up in our reality but were eventually sent home to their own.
 * In another alternate reality, Samantha Carter was a member of an SG-1 who wore Hazmat suits. In 2006, she and her team ended up in our reality but were eventually sent home to their own.
 * In another alternate reality, Samantha Carter was a member of an SG-1 who wore green jungle fatigues. In 2006, she and her team ended up in our reality but were eventually sent home to their own.
 * In another reality reality, Samantha Carter was still a major and had been married to a "dotcom millionaire smartass" named Dr. Rodney McKay, though they eventually divorced. In 2007, she was killed during an experiment to develop a new power source to help protect Earth against the Ori, the experiment triggering an explosion when it pulled the Carter from our reality into her reality.

Alternate timelines

 * In an alternate timeline in which Earth became an ally of the Aschen, Samantha Carter stayed faithful to her decision to support the alien race until she discovered the sinister actions behind the scenes. In the last ten years of her life, Carter eventually rose to the rank of Colonel before retiring from the United States Air Force, married Joseph Faxon, Earth's Ambassador to the Aschen, and worked on several major projects (one of which included the transformation of Jupiter into a Star). When Carter and her husband were having difficulty conceiving a child, she along with Dr. Janet Fraiser began an investigation that led to the discovery of the Aschen's efforts to sterilize Earth's population through the Anti-aging vaccine. The two women promptly told Teal'c, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and later, Jack O'Neill. The group soon formed a plan to send a message through the Stargate and back in time ten years previous, warning their past selves to avoid the mission that would have brought them into contact with the Aschen. But finding that they needed a GDO to make the plan work, Carter confessed what she had discovered to Joe, who then revealed that he had known about the sterilization all along, although he had been told it would only be a third of the population rather than the numbers that it had been; he attempted to justify his consent to the plan on the grounds that the Goa'uld would have killed them otherwise, but Sam countered that the only difference was that the Aschen were taking more time. Although he was convinced to obtain the GDO for them, he gave it up only after O'Neill gave his word that Carter would have no further part in what they were planning. Despite Joe's efforts, however, Carter turned away from her husband and rejoined her team in the plan's final execution. Even though the area around the Stargate was under heavy fire and O'Neill, Jackson, and Teal'c all lay dead around it, Carter ran to the Stargate to finish what they had begun. Picking up the message, she stumbled the last few feet to the Stargate and sent it through as she fell under the fire of the automated defense system.


 * In an alternate timeline accidentally created by SG-1 in which the Stargate Program never existed, Dr. Samantha Carter worked at the Department of Aerospace Research as a copy editor in 2005. In addition, the Dr. Carter of that reality possessed very little of the confidence that the Sam of the original timeline had. Sam, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Colonel Jack O'Neill traveled to Chulak to recruit Teal'c. They traveled back to ancient Egypt to fix the timeline. As she and Jack worked alone in the Puddle Jumper, he told her that he found her attractive, but she replied that she liked Daniel, whom Jack believed might have been gay. A short while later, however, when thinking they were going to be killed, she kissed him, saying that she had lied and that she had only wanted to take her time to get to know him better. He then cut off her rambling explanation by kissing her again. When Daniel told them over the radio that it was safe to come outside, Jack replied that they would be a bit longer; they then kissed again, sparks flew from the broken machine in the background, and Sam remarked that she could "fix that." She and Jack began a relationship and had a child named Ellie O'Neill, who was named for Sam's late mother Eleanor Carter who had died of cancer in 2003 at the age of 61. After the rebellion against Ra, she was appointed as the chief architect to the Pharaoh Hor-Aha. This version of Sam grew up without a father as the Jacob Carter of her timeline was killed in the Vietnam War in December 1969 when she was less than two years old. Her father's wingman Lieutenant George Hammond, who had tried unsuccessfully to save him, brought Jacob's body home to her mother. Furthermore, she was an only child as, in the original timeline, her younger brother Mark Carter was born in 1971. While Sam was growing up, Eleanor was overly protective of her. Her daughter told the Sam of our timeline that she had had a hard time convincing her mother to even let her get a car and claimed that she had never even considered joining the Air Force as she knew her mother would have "freaked out" if she had.


 * In another alternate timeline, Carter was trapped with SG-1 on the Odyssey in a time dilation field while she tried to figure out a way to circumvent the ship's new Asgard upgrades, because the Ori were able to track them. It took her fifty years to figure out a way by sending Teal'c back in time. During the 50 years, she looked over all the Asgard upgrades and learned to play the cello. She was killed temporarily as the ship was destroyed, but her plan was successful and Teal'c traveled back in time to a few seconds before the Odyssey was destroyed, his memory of the original timeline still intact. He prevented the new timeline's Carter from activating the time dilation field, and the Asgard systems were shut down, allowing the Odyssey to escape, ultimately preserving the Asgard's legacy.


 * In an alternate timeline created as a result of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard being sent 48,000 years into the future, Michael Kenmore controlled the Pegasus galaxy. In an effort to stop his crusade, Carter, unwilling to stand by and let Michael win, took command of the Phoenix and attacked Michael's fleet several times using Guerrilla warfare. However, luck ran out as Michael had leaked false information and Carter and her ship were ultimately led into an ambush. Losing shields, hyperdrive and Asgard plasma beam weapons, Carter evacuated the crew, but the transporters went offline before Carter herself could escape the ship. In a last ditch effort, she set the Phoenix on a collision course with the Hybrid controlled Hive ships. All three Hive ships were destroyed in the resulting explosion, as well as the Phoenix. Carter was killed, and as Dr. Rodney McKay put it, "another empty casket was buried."


 * In another alternate timeline created by Ba'al in which the Stargate Program also never existed, she became an astronaut for NASA and Mission Commander of the Intrepid. During one of her missions in 2004, she risked her own life trying to save the rest of her crew. She was killed, but her body was never found. She was deemed a hero and her funeral ceremony was held on the front lawn of the White House. It was learned that it was the real Ba'al who traveled back in time to create this alternate timeline by attacking the Achilles, the ship which brought the Stargate to the United States in 1939. Another alternate timeline version of Samantha Carter escaped the Extraction Ceremony of the last Ba'al clone with Cameron Mitchell and Daniel Jackson managed to escape Ba'al's rampage, although Jack O'Neill died after the Ba'al clone injected him with a lethal istop designed for the symbiote in its body and Teal'c and Vala Mal Doran completely disappeared from existence altogether. She, Daniel and Cameron escaped through the Stargate, emerging onto a frozen ship that harboured the Stargate. All three later found protective clothing capable of shielding them from the icy wind and they proceeded to get off the ship although Daniel told them to go on without him as he had been overcome with frost, having accidentally stepped in a frozen pool. All three were later picked up by a Navy submarine and met the Jack O'Neill, who was a colonel in Special Ops and whose son Charlie O'Neill was still alive. President Henry Hayes later split them up for a year, giving them new identities and lives to lead as he stopped their efforts to go back and change the past, claiming that they didn't have the right to do that. In 2009, Qetesh, Ba'al's queen who used Vala Mal Doran as her host, attacked Earth, having killed Ba'al, thus paving the way for a invasion. Teal'c, Ba'al's First Prime later attempted to stop her and formed a temporary partnership with Mitchell, Carter and Jackson. Qetesh's Jaffa later attacked the Stargate hideout, giving Mitchell an opportunity to get through the Stargate but at the cost of both Daniel and Sam, who were killed by Jaffa troops storming the hideout. The resulting battle left Teal'c injured but gave him enough time to destroy the building, killing both himself and Qetesh in the process. Mitchell who had arrived back in the past and met his grandfather later triumphed in ensuring that Ba'al's plan never came to pass and that everything went ahead as normal, thus resulting in the original timeline being restored and marking the true end of the System Lords at last.

Personality and traits
During her off hours, Sam likes to work on her Motorcycle (sometimes helped by MSgt. Sylvester Siler), work on her Naquadah generators, play chess with Cassandra Fraiser on Saturdays (when she is on Earth), and has lately discovered that she does, indeed, like fishing. She also talks to her plants. Her service number is 366349.

Some evidence does seem to imply that she may be at least somewhat religious. For example, in 1997, she stated that she hadn't heard Church bells for a long time and in 2001, when a brainwashed Teal'c asked her whether she believed in a god, she refused to give a straight answer. However, after being seriously wounded by an Ori soldier, she expressed a wish for something beyond her scientific views, stating: "I spent my entire life dedicated to science. Spent the last ten years, trying to convince people they believed in false gods. I don't feel like science is gonna help me. Right now, I'm just hoping somewhere one of those gods…"

Relationships
Throughout her years in the Stargate program, Sam's romantic life has taken several interesting twists and turns. A reoccurring theme with these men is that most of them have died. Captain Jonas Hanson was killed off-world by a people he had manipulated into worshiping him as a god; Martouf was killed when, under Za'tarc programming, he attempted to kill the President, Lantash following him roughly a year later when he sacrificed himself to save SG-1; Narim is presumed dead along with the rest of his people, as is Joseph Faxon; Orlin ascended once and died again after descending. Lt. General Jack O'Neill, Pete Shanahan and Dr. Rodney McKay seem to be the only ones who haven't yet died (though Jack has been 'officially dead' and brought back to life many times- coupled with McKay suffering one or two near-death experiences-, and in the alternate realities in which she and O'Neill were in a relationship he generally ended up dead). These events have led to a long-standing joke about a "Black Widow Curse;" perhaps the fact that Sam never returns McKay's interest is what has ultimately spared his life.

Jonas Hanson
Before she joined the Stargate program, Sam was engaged to Captain Jonas Hanson. When she discovered how controlling he could be, she broke off the engagement with him.

Martouf/Lantash
A member of the Tok'ra, Martouf/Lantash had been the mate of Rosha/Jolinar of Malkshur. Upon meeting host and symbiote, Sam could feel the residual emotions left behind by Jolinar. Over time, she herself grew to become very fond of Martouf, but she never pursued the emotions as such a relationship could never have happened unless she became a Tok'ra herself, coupled with her uncertainty about the extent to which her feelings were her own or were simply the remnants of Jolinar's old emotions. She was forced to kill Martouf when he was discovered to be a Za'tarc, with Lantash dying a year later when he and his new host, Lt. Kevin Elliot, sacrificed themselves to save SG-1 and the other Tok'ra from an attacking Jaffa group using symbiote poison.

Narim
Narim was one of the Tollan that was rescued by Sam and SG-1. They grew close during their time together and remained so until his supposed death. She even gave him her cat.

Orlin
Orlin was an Ancient who fell in love with her and followed her home to Earth, where he Descended in order to stay with her. He was forced to Ascend again when his presence became known and members of the NID sought to capture him for interrogation. Several years later, he returned to Earth to aide them in discovering a cure for the plague brought upon them by the Ori, but the circumstances of his descension meant that he was in the body of a child, as well as leaving him with brain damage.

Joseph Faxon
Joseph Faxon was an Ambassador assigned to negotiate with the Aschen. He offered to buy Sam dinner and was very keenly interested in her. Upon discovering the Aschen's plans to destroy Earth, he forced her to leave him behind so that she could return through the Stargate and close the iris before a bomb could be sent through.
 * In an alternate timeline, Sam and Joe were happily married to one another until she discovered that the Aschen had managed to sterilize nearly the entire population of Earth. Upon her revealing this to Joe, he revealed that he had known about the sterilization, and had even agreed to it in return for the Aschen's protection extending to Earth (Although he had believed that the Aschen would only sterilise a third of the population to prevent rapid growth rather than the ninety percent they had done in reality).

Pete Shanahan
Pete Shanahan was a cop from Denver that Sam's brother Mark set her up with. Early on in their relationship, he grew suspicious of her mysterious job and odd work hours and did a background check on her through the FBI. He even started following her and landed himself in the middle of a battle with Osiris. As a result, Sam received permission to reveal the Stargate Program to him. Several months later, he proposed to her, whom she accepted, but after the death of Jacob Carter, Sam ended the relationship.

Malcolm Barrett
While not an obvious one, Carter never allowed this relationship to blossom. Agent Malcolm Barrett has showed interest in her on several occasions, making small advances, however she turned them down as she was either dating Pete Shanahan at the time or simply said that she was 'unavailable'.

Jack O'Neill
Perhaps her most interesting and most enduring relationship. For seven years, Colonel Jack O'Neill was her commanding officer, but this did not stop feelings from developing between the two. These feelings were revealed in the midst of the Za'tarc crisis, but both chose not to act on them given their working relationship. Sometime after, Jack is stuck in a time loop and decides to enjoy himself, kissing her on his second to last trip through the loop, an incident she does not remember. One recurring incident was Jack inviting her to go fishing at his cabin, something she always turned down until shortly after the death of her father.
 * In two different alternate realities Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter were engaged or married to one another. In a third alternate timeline, where Sam was married to Joseph Faxon, they were clearly estranged from one another, given their difference of opinion concerning the Aschen Alliance. One reoccurring theme is the fact that Daniel seems to be oblivious to Jack and Sam's feelings for each other. On many occasions, Teal'c has pointed out the fact that Sam seems to worry about Jack as much as he worries about her to Jack, but Daniel remains unknowing, and Jack doesn't express these feelings to Sam. Jack has also stopped her from stating her feelings to him when he was thought to be dying. It is thought that they are now seeing each other, as their relationship is no longer against regulations now that they are no longer in direct chain of command. This speculation is furthered by the portrait of Jack seen amongst Samantha's luggage as she unpacks upon her arrival in Atlantis, though she has other pictures of friends. Additionally, during a conversation with Dr. Jennifer Keller in a deleted scene, she cryptically mentions a "complicated" long-distance relationship with someone about to retire in D.C.

Joseph Mallozzi stated in his blog: "Still, despite the lack of official confirmation, it was only natural that [she and O'Neill] should get together after the events of "Threads" and, in my mind, they have been together ever since."

Rodney McKay
On first glance there is not much of a relationship with Dr. Rodney McKay, but listening to him gives the clear impression that at least he was-and is-very interested in Carter, the one person he considers brilliant and possibly smarter or at least wiser than he is. In the Stargate: Atlantis episode "Grace Under Pressure", they even make out with each other, although this was actually only a hallucination of Carter McKay's subconscious mind had created. "The Pegasus Project" brings them closer together and Carter is responsible for introducing a second McKay, his sister Jeannie Miller, into the Stargate universe. The future, as both actors have hinted at, holds more in store for this (non-)couple as a team. They work closely together during Sam's time on Atlantis, as well as collaborating on the McKay/Carter Intergalactic Gate Bridge. On her arrival and appointment as the new leader of Atlantis after the apparent death of Elizabeth Weir during the raid on Asuras, McKay informs her that they won't be able to do anything about their "unrequited lust," as he is currently seeing Katie Brown. However, the thought had obviously never entered her mind. In an alternate universe, they had been married, but were currently divorced and not friendly; he was obviously deeply disturbed by news of that Sam's death. McKay is currently (and presumably will permanently be) involved with Jennifer Keller.

Daniel Jackson
Carmen Argenziano, who plays Jacob Carter, once noted in an interview that he favoured the idea of a relationship between Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson; given their mutual intellects, coupled with Daniel's own notoriety for dying and coming back to life- thus 'negating' Carter's "Black Widow Curse"-, the idea of a relationship between them is not as implausible as it might be. Even without a romantic relationship, Sam and Daniel continue to be close friends, the two often collaborating to solve some of the scientific mysteries they come across on their missions, Sam determining how their discoveries work after Daniel determines their mythological origin or translates their instructions.

Hobbies
During her off hours, Sam likes to work on her motorcycle (sometimes helped by MSgt. Sylvester Siler), work on her Naquadah generators, play chess with Cassandra Fraiser on Saturdays (when she is on Earth), and has lately discovered that she does, indeed, like fishing. She also talks to her plants.

Service Awards and Decorations
Over the course of her military career, Samantha Carter has received a number of awards and decorations for her service in the United States Air Force. .


 * (with bronze service star)
 * (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)
 * (with bronze service star)
 * (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)
 * (with bronze service star)
 * (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)
 * (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)



Other versions

 * Replicator Carter, the Human-Form Replicator version of Carter who like unlike the original is a power-hungry psychopath hellbent on universal domination.
 * Samantha Carter (android)

Behind the Scenes

 * Though she appears in fewer episodes of Stargate SG-1 than Teal'c, her starring role during Season 4 of Stargate: Atlantis and her two appearances in Stargate Universe puts her total number of appearances at 228, more than that of any other character in the Stargate universe.
 * Along with Walter Harriman, she is only one of two SG-1 characters to appear in all five seasons of Stargate: Atlantis.
 * Sam is one of only eight characters (and the only female character) to appear in all three series, the others being Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Rodney McKay, Richard Woolsey, Bill Lee, Walter Harriman and Kevin Marks.
 * Along with Walter Harriman and Kevin Marks, she is one of only three characters to appear in the final episodes of both Stargate SG-1 ("Unending") and Stargate: Atlantis ("Enemy at the Gate"). All three characters went on to appear in the Stargate Universe pilot "Air, Part 1".
 * Amanda Tapping stated in a December 2005 interview that the dog tags Carter wears throughout the series state that she is Roman Catholic. In the same interview, Tapping stated that, in her mind at least, Carter is religious, but that she probably doesn't follow organized religion. However, the writing on her dog tags is not legible in any episode, so none of this is conclusive.
 * Along with Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, George S. Hammond, Walter Harriman and Sylvester Siler, she is one of only seven characters to appear in all ten seasons of Stargate SG-1 and the only female character to do so.
 * Along with John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir, Teyla Emmagan, Radek Zelenka, Chuck and Walter Harriman, she is one of only eight characters to appear in all five seasons of Stargate: Atlantis, although her appearance in Season Two was merely a hallucination. However, Carson Beckett appears in Season One to Three while his clone appears in Seasons Four and Five.