OBVIOUSLY GIANT SPOILERS AHEAD.
Just like that, another Marvel project has come and gone, and similar to WandaVision, we got a villainous reveal, chart-topping theme song not included. For many, the reveal of the Power Broker is going to come at no surprise because [drumroll, please] Sharon Carter was suspicious from the start. We should’ve known the second she didn’t have an iPhone. (Thanks, Rian Johnson.) But before we get more into how it was Sharon Carter all along, let’s break down the reveal.
Midway through the finale, as all our heroes are split up, Sharon Carter finds her way to Karli Morgenthau and it’s revealed that, yes, Sharon is the Power Broker, which isn’t too surprising, but the fact that the two obviously have history is fairly interesting. Sharon even goes so far as to say that when Karli first arrived in Madripoor, she reminded Carter of a young version of herself, though Karli is unimpressed by Carter’s need to “control a world that hurt (her).†And hurt it has. Sharon Carter’s history in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been mentioned a couple of times throughout The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. To catch you up: She is the great-niece of Agent Peggy Carter, who was the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Steve Rodgers’s paramour, (Sharon also had a fling with Rodgers in Captain America: Civil War but we’d like to forget that.) So Sharon comes from an esteemed family. She even went into the family business and was known as Agent 13, both in the films and comics. That is, until Captain America: Civil War, when she aids Cap, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes by stealing their super-outfits from the CIA. Everyone got pardons! Even a former deadly HYDRA assassin! Except for Carter. For taking a shield and some wings. So, yeah, why not take a villainous turn?
Though, of course, that changes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s post-credits scene. Since the only person who knew Sharon’s true identity is no longer around (Sharon shoots Karli at the end of their confrontation), she finally gets her pardon from the United States government — plus, the chance to return to her old position at the CIA, and surprisingly, she takes it. But as she leaves the building, she picks up her Android to to call an unknown number (could it be the villainous Contessa?) “Start lining up our buyers,†Carter says. “Supersoldiers might be off the menu, but we’re about to have full access to government secrets, prototype weapons, you name it.â€
So it looks like we got a new Captain America baddie. Peggy Carter is probably rolling over in her grave, but if anyone is going to get revenge, it’s gotta be Emily VanCamp.