What Karli Was Holding When She Died

The finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw Sam Wilson officially becoming Captain America, Sharon Carter’s new identity, and the death of Karli Morgenthau – but what was the leader of the Flag Smashers holding when she died? Now that the Infinity Saga came to an end, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally moving forward with its Phase 4, which in addition to movies will also cover TV shows set to stream on Disney+. Kickstarting this new phase was WandaVision, and now that it’s over, fans continued getting their dose of Marvel content with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Set approximately six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, where old Steve Rogers passed on the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier followed Sam as he decided whether or not to fulfill Rogers’ plans, and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who continued to struggle with his past as the Winter Soldier and the consequences of it. Sam and Bucky teamed up to bring down a radical group known as the Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), and who were causing chaos around the world. After various encounters that didn’t end well, one of those causing the death of Lemar Hoskins/Battlestar (Clé Bennett), Karli and the rest were stopped, but that didn’t go well either.

Towards the end of the first season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Karli and the Flag Smashers planned an attack on a conference of the Global Repatriation Council (GRC) in New York City, for which they were joined by Batroc (Georges St-Pierre). Sam – now wearing his new Captain America suit, courtesy of Wakanda – and Bucky flew to New York to stop the Flag Smashers, with Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) arriving to help. However, Sharon had different plans as she was revealed to be the mysterious Power Broker, and she separated Karli from the rest of her group, who were arrested. After a confrontation between Sharon, Karli, and Batroc, the latter was shot to death by Sharon after he threatened to expose her, and when Sam arrived, Karli pointed her gun at him. Sharon proceeded to shoot Karli, who died in Sam’s arms, and held on to something until her final breath.

The object Karli was holding when she died was her hand pendant, which had a hand (similar to the Hamsa or Hand of Fatima) with a sun and the Earth over it. This is most likely what the Flag Smashers’ logo was based on, as they wore black masks with a red handprint over them where the palm forms the silhouette of the Earth. The Flag Smashers was an anti-nationalist group who believed the world was much better after Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War, as when the blip was reversed five years later and half of life in the universe returned, billions of people around the world were affected and left broke and homeless. The GRC was formed to help those who had been displaced, but Karli and company believed it only cared about the ones who were snapped. The group’s motto was “one world, one people”, and the pendant Karli wore is a good representation of that mentality, with the hand holding the Earth representing unification.

Karli remained loyal to the Flag Smashers’ cause until her very last second of life, as seen in how she held her pendant as she died in Sam's arms. It’s to be seen what the impact of Karli’s actions will be in the MCU beyond the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and if the Flag Smashers, like HYDRA, have secret allies scattered and hiding in plain sight.

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