‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier': Who Is the Power Broker?

*(This article contains spoilers for the second episode of the Marvel Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”)*

It was interesting to realize that at the end of the second episode “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” it’s still extremely unclear what the overall plot is. That’s not a bad thing — Sam and Bucky have a mystery they’re trying to solve. And that mystery expanded greatly this week with the introduction of a new player: The Power Broker.

The gist of the main story thread thus far on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is that there’s an anarchist-style group called the Flag Smashers who are up to no good — they want to return the world to the way it was after Thanos snapped half the universe out of existence. How they mean to accomplish that is unknown, but it will presumably involve mass murder.

The Flag Smashers are also full of folks who have taken the super soldier serum and can beat up just about anyone. And they’ve got somebody else on their tale as well: Somebody they call the Power Broker, whose identity is unknown as of now.

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This is an interesting dynamic, particularly with regards to the Power Broker since we have no idea if this person is good or bad. We really just know one thing about them, in fact — that they are the source of the Flag Smasher’s powers.

So in the Marvel Comics, the Power Broker is a guy named Curtiss Jackson, and he’s a dude who basically sells superpowers to people. That trait is by far his most relevant to “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” It seems obvious then, that the Power Broker on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is the one handing out the super soldier serum in the present. But who could it be?

There’s really no reason to assume that the Power Broker is going to be the same person on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” that he is in the comics. This is a pretty obscure character, and he’s actually been dead in the comics for a while and hasn’t had a meaningful role to play in any stories in decades. So the Power Broker could be anyone, and not necessarily Curtiss Jackson.

Beyond the comics, there aren’t many clues to go on. The name first comes up as the Flag Smashers are loading their latest haul of medical supplies onto a small plane, and one of them gets a call that the Power Broker’s people are there. They scramble to load up as much as they can but are forced to leave some behind as they take off, barely escaping.

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Though one of them doesn’t, with the Power Broker’s men shooting him as he stalled for time. But they didn’t shoot until this superpowered terrorist charged at them. So the Power Broker may not be feeling overtly murderous. Either way, the dynamic between these two groups is unclear.

So there aren’t a lot of good candidates. Zemo would have been the most obvious candidate before we learned at the end of the episode that he was still locked up for the havoc he wreaked in “Captain America: Civil War.” So with him out of the way, there are two main candidates as I see it.

The first, and less likely I think, is Batroc the Leaper. He’s the guy who was leading the crew that Sam fought on the airplane in the opening sequence of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” premiere last week, and a returning minor character from “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” His whole deal in that aerial mission last week is still unclear, so he’s a prime candidate for the Power Broker.

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But I think it’s more likely that he just works for the Power Broker. I think the real Power Broker is somebody we know better than we know Batroc, but who hasn’t yet shown up on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”: Sharon Carter.

While there was definitely a bit of a villainous air when that name came up this week, it’s important to remember that it was the Flag Smashers who were afraid of them. The Power Broker is definitely an independent third party, and might not actually be a bad guy — and I don’t think Sharon, when she eventually shows up on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” will be a bad guy.

Sharon as the Power Broker makes sense to me in light of a comment Sam made about how, in the aftermath of the events of “Civil War,” Sharon was “branded an enemy of the state” for helping Bucky escape. This would, presumably, mean she lost any official status she had. And it would follow that a character like Sharon, who is without any doubt a woman of action, might strike out on her own.

And the show’s lead writer has promised that Sharon isn’t really going to be the same person you remember.

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Before you go asking questions like “why would Sharon hand out super soldier serum to terrorists?” — I don’t think she did. It’s more likely the Flag Smashers stole the serum, or had previously worked for her and went rogue with this stuff about returning to the time when half the world was dead.

It’s hard to speculate any deeper though, because we don’t know anything more than what’s been discussed here. But if it’s Sharon, I wouldn’t expect this mystery to last much longer.

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