Falcon and Winter Soldier: What Led Sharon Carter To Become The Power Broker?
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier dropped some clues so that Agent Carter’s ultimate goals can be extrapolated. Sharon Carter was pardoned by the U.S. Government in the final episode of the Disney+ series. But she instantly parlayed her status as a U.S. citizen in good standing to further her shadowy aims for stealing government secrets and technology. The character was at first introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Sharon was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and almost became Steve Rogers’ love interest. She stood with S.H.I.E.L.D. against HYDRA’s hostile takeover. But she quit and joined the CIA before the events of Captain America: Civil War. Sharon later violated the Sokovia Accords to help Steve and Team Cap by illegally procuring Captain America’s shield and Falcon’s costume. Sharon was then seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, eight years after the events of Civil War.
The Disney+ series revealed that Sharon was now based in Madripoor as a high-end art dealer. She was working for the island nation’s mysterious ruler, the Power Broker. But surely Sharon was hiding the truth from Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Baron Zemo. It was easy to deduce that she was actually the Power Broker. But the question here is, why exactly did she take on this persona?
The conversation Sharon had at gunpoint with her one-time protégé, Karli Morgenthau holds a few answers. When Sharon asked Karli to come back and work for her, Karli refused:
“Because you wanted to control a world that hurt you… I’m not interested in power or an empire.”
In this small interaction before Sharon before Sam’s interference, it was clear that Carter and Morgenthau were working together. The young super-soldier understood what drives the Power Broker. Sharon felt heavily betrayed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. Government for making her an international fugitive. Becoming the Power Broker allowed her to assert control over Madripoor and build a secure base for herself.
Karli accepted that she wished to change the world. But Sharon also shared the same dream, just in a completely different way. As the Power Broker, Sharon financed the development of the new Super Soldier Serum. She had the intention of selling super-soldiers to the highest bidder. Therefore, the accumulation of wealth is an aspect of Sharon Carter’s goals, and her pending access to the United States’ secrets and technology offers her a new avenue to profit from the global back market.
But what Karli said about Carter wanting an empire is the actual tip-off. Sharon might be masterminding the shadow government that only answers to her. It is something that will ensure that she never becomes a victim of fickle global politics or the interference of superheroes again. If Carter is actually building her own empire, the MCU could be en route to adapt the Marvel Comics event about HYDRA gaining control over the government with their own Captain America.
This can also tie into why Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine recruited John Walker as the U.S. Agent. This plot might go far beyond Sharon getting back at Steve Rogers for abandoning her after Captain America: Civil War. As the Power Broker, Sharon might create her own empire to run the world from the shadows.
Sharon is the niece of Peggy Carter. Peggy was the legendary founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sharon has professed to love and admire Peggy. But inside she must be seething that the organization her aunt built hung her out to dry, along with the heroes she gave up everything to help. As the Power Broker, Sharon is on the verge of creating something bigger and more powerful in comparison to S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA. Also, the new Agent Carter is confirmed to become a global threat in Captain America 4 and to MCU Phase 4.
All the six episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Solider are now available on Disney+. Directed by Kari Skogland, it features Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Georges St-Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Emily VanCamp, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Here is the official synopsis of Episode 6 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:
Wearing a new Captain America uniform and flight suit from the Wakandans, Wilson flies to New York to stop the Flag Smashers’ attack with the help of Barnes, Carter, and Walker. Carter accidentally reveals that she is the Power Broker to Batroc and kills him while Wilson attempts to reason with Morgenthau before Carter kills her as well. Wilson convinces the GRC to postpone the forced relocation of displaced people that Morgenthau died fighting for and instead make efforts to help them.
The remaining serum-enhanced Flag Smashers are caught by Barnes and Walker and sent to the Raft, but they are killed by Zemo’s butler en route. De Fontaine gives Walker a new uniform and codename, U.S. Agent. Barnes makes amends with everyone he hurt or enabled as the Winter Soldier while Wilson has a memorial dedicated to Bradley added to the Captain America museum exhibit. In a mid-credits scene, after receiving a full pardon, Carter rejoins the CIA and intends to use this access to sell government secrets and resources.
