Who Is The Power Broker? Theories on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s Biggest Question.
So it’s been a minute. Work got busy, I took more naps, and COVID fatigue really started to get to me.
I missed being able to write about the end of WandaVision and its ramifications (I wept, I won’t lie). I’ve also been notoriously flakey when it comes to writing.
But we have said “goodbye” before, and I am here to say “hello” again with some theories about what’s going on through three episodes of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
(This should go without saying, but SPOILERS from here on out for all 3 episodes and generally just all things Marvel. If you are here and you aren’t caught up honestly what are you doing?
Just to catch up, I love this series through 3 episodes. I also loved the end of WandaVision despite pretty much all of my theories from a couple posts ago being wrong. So far, there have been movie quality action set pieces, the chemistry between Bucky and Sam is so easy, and holy shit… I never knew I needed to see Baron Zemo dance.
Anyways, let’s get to the reason I’m actually here. The Power Broker. The shadowy figure we have learned is responsible for the bootleg Super Soldier serum that is out in the world. I, along with every other Marvel fan in the world have theories on who this could be. Right now I have them separated into two categories.
The Obvious Picks
These are the people the show is leaning into right now. They are who the show WANTS you to think are the Power Broker. They are the front runners right now, and they are plausible, but I can see these being pure misdirection.
Sharon Carter
The internets absolutely LOVE this one. Personally, I just don’t see it, but you can make a very compelling case that Sharon is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
She has obviously become very well connected in Madripoor. She is dealing priceless works of art on the black market, hosting huge party/rave/art shows(?), and has a freaking chauffeur to drive her away after gun fights.
She also has an axe to grind. Apparently Steve Rogers couldn’t arrange a pardon for his side-piece/great niece who risked it all to get him and his friends their gear before he went back in time to be with the member of the Carter family he really wanted.
So now she is stuck in a lawless foreign country when any of the Avengers could have vouched for her and had her back in the States working for the CIA in no time. Very plausible that Sharon could have used her reach/wealth in Madripoor to fund the creation of more serum in an attempt to get revenge on the heroes that wronged her.
Baron Zemo
Another theory I’m seeing all over the place. However, this one doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to me.
Zemo’s whole thing is that he wants to rid the world of super heroes. In Civil War he kills 5 super soldiers in their sleep to prevent more enhanced individuals from being out in the world. HE SHOT THE SCIENTIST RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NEW SERUM.
However, he has absolutely used super soldiers as bait to achieve his goals in the past. He could definitely have been pulling strings on a larger operation from inside a jail cell. He was even reading Machiavelli in his cell. Could he be creating more super soldiers now in some galaxy brain ass scheme to eventually rid the world of super heroes? Sure! Do I think he is? No!
Plus the Dora Milaje is coming for that ass. He has enough to worry about right now.
The Fun Ones/The Longshots
All of these are people we haven’t seen in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier yet, but for the most part the have appeared in the MCU. If my WandaVision theories are any indication, I will be asking way too much of a six episode series, and all of these will be wrong. Whatever, that’s why these are the fun theories.
MEPHISTO!
Sorry… Sorry… force of habit. On to my real theories…
Thunderbolt Ross
This fucking guy. It wouldn’t even be the first time he has tried to recreate the Super Soldier Serum in the MCU!
I know we don’t really talk about the Edward Norton Hulk movie around company, but we just can’t overlook that it happened.
Since he has already failed at this once, it makes sense that maybe he had to take the operation to Madripoor. He might even still have some under the table government funding to quietly develop the serum overseas. Who do you think was experimenting on Isaiah Bradley? It was the Frankenstein’s monster of SHIELD/HYDRA/The US Government pre-Winter Soldier. The whole plan could absolutely be to get John Walker on the juice to make him a better Captain America.
Also maybe he becomes Red Hulk with some of this new bootleg serum and form the Thunderbolts. Baron Zemo is already here, and Deadpool and Punisher are apparently coming and they’ve both been team members! Plus Tim Roth is already confirmed to be reprising his role as Blonsky/Abomination in the She-Hulk role. This would go a long way to sowing these seeds for future projects.
Justin Hammer
This is one of my favorite theories. Mainly because I haven’t seen it all over Twitter already.
In Justin Hammer we have a known scumbag, who is willing to work with the shadiest of the shady, and has already been shown to want to upstage and/or discredit the big heroes on the block.
I think it’s entirely possible that he has punted on trying make the next Iron Man suit and has moved on to just trying to create actual Super Heroes.
The last time we saw him was in the Marvel One Shot “All Hail the King” in prison with Trevor Slattery aka Fake Mandarin. It stands to reason that either he broke out or that he eventually got out and absconded to Madripoor to operate outside the law after what happened in Iron Man 2.
I think that Hammer is exactly the kind of guy who absolutely thinks he is smart enough to pull of something like this, and let’s be honest… this is an MCU villain that could absolutely use a comeback. It’s possible that maybe we only get a taste of him here, and he plays a much bigger part in the upcoming Armor Wars series.
Bucky Barnes
I don’t actually think that our guy Buck is the Power Broker, but can we all agree that he’s on some shady shit through three episodes? Are we sure Bucky is on the up and up?
I feel like the only person he has been 100% nice to is his sushi buddy Yori in the first episode, and that’s because of the overwhelming guilt he feels for murdering his son during one of this HYDRA induced killing sprees.
Here is a non comprehensive list of red flags presented by James Buchanan Barnes:
- Absolutely shitty to his therapist. Not cool, even if she seems to be giving that energy right back.
- Doesn’t answer Sam’s texts
- Only shows up when Sam gives up The Shield. Doesn’t say “Hi” just immediately lays into him.
- Implies that he would take Sam out instead of letting The Shield get destroyed.
- Has kept the secret about the experiments done on Isaiah Bradley from Steve and Sam
- Breaks Baron Zemo out of jail without even consulting with Sam fully knowing that it would piss everyone in Wakanda right the hell off.
- Fell back into the Winter Soldier schtick a little too easily in that Madripoor bar.
Now… Like I said… I don’t think he’s the Power Broker, but I do think there is something up with him.
I have probably just wasted over 1000 words on theories that are 100% wrong, but this is the fun of these weekly Marvel shows. I’m looking forward to whatever gets served up in the last 3 episodes of Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and I promise to be back in this space more often as we get more details.
