

Falcon and Winter Soldier reveals Captain America accidentally created new MCU villain

Turns out America's Ass can be a real asshole.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6 spoilers follow.

Over the years, Marvel has had its fair share of predictable twists, and even surprising ones like the 'Fake Mandarin' reveal divided fans, but one twist we can all agree was bad is the Power Broker reveal in Falcon and Winter Soldier.

After not-so-subtly teasing the villain's true identity throughout the season, the last episode finally confirmed that, yes, Sharon Carter is indeed the Power Broker. Okay, we're going to give you a minute. It's a lot to take in.

Ready? Following Sharon's surprise arrival in NYC, the finale's one and only post-credits scene takes place in an American courthouse where Sharon is pardoned for her crimes. You know, the ones where she helped out national treasure Captain America during that whole Civil War fracas?

falcon and the winter soldier episode 6 finale
Marvel StudiosDisney

"Today we begin to set things right," says some old white guy before offering Sharon her old job back. We already knew that Ms Carter isn't the nice person she claims to be because she killed Karli just five minutes ago, but in case you missed that, the camera then lingers on her evil smirk. She got away with it! She's evil!

The scene ends with Sharon talking to a mystery caller about her plans to sell government secrets on the black market. There's "something for everyone" says the Power Broker, which means she must be pretty good at her job. And the reason she's so good at this job is because of all the years she spent working as an Agent of SHIELD before turning to the dark side.

We can hardly blame Sharon for that though. Karli tells her that she's "disappointed" by her actions, but the only thing we're disappointed by is how predictable this twist was. Still, at least it makes sense.

Prior to this series, the last time we saw Ms Carter was when she helped everyone's favourite fugitives by breaking Bucky out of jail and stealing superhero equipment back from the government. Sharon even managed to sneak in a quick kiss in with Steve Rogers before she then went on the run herself.

After that, Cap, Falcon, Black Widow and Wanda Maximoff all hid from the law, working as outlaws until their help was required in Avengers: Infinity War. Those who survived the Snap/Blip/Thanos' tantrum were then forgiven by the government because they saved the world. A lot.

But Sharon wasn't forgiven. Guess that's what happens when you fight crime without wearing spandex. Things might have been different though if perhaps one of the many "heroes" Sharon helped actually stood up for her, or at the very least, checked in on her after the dust had settled.

emily vancamp as sharon carter
Marvel Studios

Sam apologises in the new show, admitting that he and the others should have looked out for Sharon, but it's too late. While she does go on to help our faves, it's only to gain that eventual pardon. Agent Carter has lost all faith in heroes and what they stand for, which is totally understandable. How could a known killer like Winter Soldier get pardoned before a loyal agent who only did what she did to help Earth's Mightiest Heroes?

Although Sam and Bucky should have checked in on her, it's even more surprising that Steve Rogers didn't bother either given the connection they shared. In fact, Sharon could have easily joined the outlaw heroes on their mission long before she decided to go for broke, as it were. Sure, Agent Carter doesn't have any fancy powers, but neither do Natasha or Sam either.

Even after Cap discarded Sharon like a slinky, or whatever kids played with in the '40s, it's still surprising that he didn't seek her out before going back in time to smooch her aunt in the last scenes of Endgame. The Carters were clearly on his mind, at the very least.

Assuming that Cap didn't know where Sharon was after Civil War and that he also thought she got blipped, you would think still that Steve might remember the debt he owed her before peacing out.

Cap abandoning Sharon meant that she remained a fugitive from the law this whole time, unable to return home without facing arrest. It's because of his carelessness that she was on the run. When you combine her resentment of these so-called heroes and the lack of legal job opportunities available to her, it makes sense that Sharon would fall into a life of crime. What other options did she have?

It's often said that the very existence of heroes encourages villains to rise up against them, but what's not so common is the idea of someone going bad after their hero ex ditches them to go bang their aunt in the past.

the falcon and the winter soldier, episode 3
Marvel Studios

Although Steve didn't mean for any of this to happen, he should still shoulder some of the blame, along with Sam and Bucky. If only Sharon's Power Broker reveal had been more surprising. Then it might have all been worth it.

Unfortunately, the entire series was kind of predictable, except for that surprise Julia Louis-Dreyfus cameo. Let's just hope that Sharon's story takes some new twists and turns which help round her character out in season two and beyond. It's the least that Marvel could do after the way Cap treated her.


The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now available to watch on Disney+.



Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
More From Disney