Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 3 – “Power Broker”
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier released its third episode previously on Friday on Disney+. The show has received positive responses from critics and viewers alike. It has also become the most-watched show in the entire world in its first week. That’s a big accolade to accommodate. The show focuses on Sam and Bucky dealing with many issues. These include the government, Flag-Smashers, new super-soldiers, Zemo, and the ultimate loss of losing their best friend, Steve Rogers (Captain America). Steve passed on the legacy to Sam in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame. Falcon & Winter Soldier sees Sam giving up the mantle. As a result, the government finds a new Captain America – John Walker (Wyatt Russell).
Episode 3 of Falcon & Winter Soldier, ‘Power-Broker’, had an interesting development. Sharon Carter was finally reunited with Sam and Bucky. The former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 13 helped Sam, Bucky, and Baron Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) locate the Super-Soldier Serum in Madripoor after she made a deal with Wilson, who promised her a pardon. But, a pardon from what? Let’s dive deeper into that.
Unlike the two superheroes (Sam and Bucky), Carter didn’t receive a pardon for her crimes in Captain America: Civil War. Sharon stole the Captain America shield and the Falcon’s flight suit to aid Rogers and Wilson as they rebelled against the Sokovia Accords to protect Bucky Barnes. Sharon then went on the run since she was declared an enemy of the state. Sharon Carter was first introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where Agent 13 was tasked by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to pose as a nurse and become the next-door neighbor of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). She became Steve’s ally and potential love interest.
Eventually, SHIELD was exposed to be a front for HYDRA and collapsed immediately. Following this, Sharon joined the CIA, and she was stationed with the Joint Counter-Terrorist Centre. When Sharon attended Peggy Carter (Co-founder of SHIELD), it was revealed that she was Peggy’s great-niece. But after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Endgame later revealed that Sharon was one of the billions killed by Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Snap, along with Sam and Bucky. She fleed the scene before this and started posing as an expensive art dealer in Madripoor. This made sense as the place had no extradition laws. It’s likely Sharon was dusted by the Snap while she was in Madripoor, which means she reappeared there after missing the last five years.
Carter is in exile living off the grid in Madripoor. But Sam, Bucky, and Zemo catch up with her. Bucky labeled Sharon as “awful now”, but her resentment can be justified if we look at her circumstances. She was not pardoned by the government after the Sokovian Accord. Carter fled to Madripoor because it’s an independent haven for criminals with no extradition laws. And, as she reminded them, “I didn’t have the Avengers to back me up.” But the Avengers were eventually welcomed back to The United States. But Carter wasn’t. What could be the reason for that?
It’s likely that the Sokovia Accords violators like Sam and Bucky were pardoned because they fought publicly against the reason for mass genocide, Thanos, and brought back half the universe that was wiped out. It would be terrible public relations to prosecute the superheroes who resurrected half the universe. By remaining a fugitive and not turning herself in, Sharon Carter isn’t making herself eligible to be shown mercy and receive a pardon. Even though Bucky, the Winter Soldier, has committed more severe crimes than Sharon, he was forgiven as well. But Sharon wasn’t.
Sharon also points out the double-standard of superhero worship in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Carter’s crime was that she stole government property, in order to aid and abet Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes. Sharon has no superpowers and she wasn’t an Avenger. As a result, Sharon wouldn’t have been sent to the Raft, but being a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative with the codename “Agent 13”. Hence, Sharon wouldn’t have lived the best of life anyway. But that doesn’t seem to bother her. Even though she is doing pretty good for herself in Madripoor, she still wishes to come back home, i.e, The States.
It will be fairly interesting to see if Sharon would be helped by Sam and Bucky or not. Maybe we will also get to see a potential love affair? But, we can never forget that Sharon Carter also ends up becoming the first female Captain America. We are not being far-fetched, we’re just mentioning a random fact, haha! The Falcon and The Winter Soldier currently stream on Disney+.
