The following contains spoilers for episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
In its first two episodes, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has captured the attention of audiences with not only its action, but its large and interesting cast. Alongside the titular pair, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier features an array of fascinating supporting characters, including a few antagonists.
The first antagonists introduced in the series are the members of the anarchist group, the Flagsmashers. Led by Karli Morgenthau, the Flagsmashers want life to go back to how it was during the blip, and are resorting to destructive means to make it happen. John Walker, the new government-sanctioned Captain America, has also been presented as a character antagonistic to Sam and Bucky. Despite his positive attributes, there are hints that a darker side could lie underneath, especially when considering the ruthlessness of his character in the comics.
These characters present very different types of conflict for Sam and Bucky to face. However, it’s possible that neither the Flagsmashers or John Walker are the true major villains of the series. The second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduces Power Broker by name. Taking a look at the Marvel comics, it is possible that it is him who could be the major villain of the show.
In episode two of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “The Star-Spangled Man,” the name Power Broker is mentioned for the first time. The Flagsmashers have been hiding out in Bratislava in Slovakia, and are loading up their plane, getting ready to leave. One of them gets a message and calls out to the others, panicked, “We’ve got to move out now, they found us.” Karli asks how much time they have and the other Flagsmasher responds “None. It’s the Power Broker’s men.”
Upon hearing this, one of the other Flagsmashers says that he will hold them off, essentially sacrificing himself to let the others escape. He manages to block the group of cars heading towards the plane and the Flagsmashers are able to escape, although he gets gunned down for his efforts. One of the Power Broker’s men is seen making a call, telling whoever is on the other end, “They got away.”
In the Marvel comics, the Power Broker’s real name is Curtiss Jackson. A businessman, he founds the company “Power Broker Inc,” which tries to recreate the super-soldier serum. With technology, he is able to give individuals superpowers–for a price. The power augmentation process is very risky, and causes damage to some of the subjects, including Jackson himself. It is the Power Broker and his augmentation device that is responsible for the strength augmentation of John Walker and Battlestar in the comics.
Later in the comics, after the death of Curtiss Jackson, a new Power Broker takes over Power Broker Inc as well as the name. Little is known about him, but he wears a battle suit and is capable of generating bolts of energy from his hands. He invests in the Hench app, which allows people in power to hire the service of reliable henchmen and later, super-villains. This version of Power Broker is most known for his association with Ant-Man and his daughter, Cassie Lang.
Little is known about the Power Broker in the MCU so far, but it is clear that he’s after the Flagsmashers, and that they are scared of him. It was revealed in episode two that the main Flagsmashers are all enhanced with super strength, and Sam and Bucky wonder where they could have procured the super-soldier serum. If the Power Broker is in the business of power augmentation, as he is in the comics, it’s possible that the Flagsmashers stole his supply of serum. If this is the case, it makes sense that he would want it back and that they would want to keep it from him.
If the Power Broker is indeed giving people powers, this could cause a major problem in the MCU. Anyone can get superpowers from the Power Broker as long as they have the means to pay for it. These powers could be used for any kind of evil or criminal activity. Searching for the source of the Flagsmashers’ serum could lead Sam and Bucky to the Power Broker and therefore to the discovery of this operation. They would be forced to confront the fact that there could be any number of augmented humans out there.
Additionally, the show’s versions of John Walker (Captain America/US Agent) and Lemar Hoskins (Battlestar) are not superpowered individuals. While physically gifted, neither of them has been injected with super-soldier serum or have any kind of enhanced abilities. It is Power Broker who is responsible for their super strength augmentation in the comics, and he or his technology could do the same for them in the show. With four more episodes to go, audiences must wait and see what could be on the way for these characters.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now streaming on Disney Plus.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply