Who Is The Power Broker? Falcon & Winter Soldier’s Secret Villain

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 2 invoked a classic Marvel villain, the Power Broker, who will likely play a major role in the story going forward. The series has already introduced several different layers of conflict, from the battle against Karli Morgenthau’s Flag Smashers to the tension with new Captain America John Walker, to the impending return of Captain America: Civil War villain Baron Zemo. In the midst of all that, however, the Power Broker has the potential to rise up as the show’s main villain.

“The Star-Spangled Man” features a scene late in the episode where Karli and the Flag Smashers are seen loading supplies onto an airplane. One of the crew suddenly informs the rest that they need to go immediately because they’ve been found, claiming that “the Power Broker’s men” are coming. A caravan of trucks approaches the runway, brutally shooting down one of the Flag Smashers who stays back to hold them off, and just missing Karli as her plane takes flight. In the final shot, one of the mysterious intruders is seen on the phone, explaining that the group managed to escape.

Since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier largely seems to be a story about super soldiers, it would make sense for the Power Broker to appear, especially since his comics story is closely tied to that of John Walker. Superpowers are running rampant in the new MCU series, and it looks like a lot of them could tie back to the same place. Here’s everything viewers need to know about the history of the Power Broker and what his presence could mean for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the new Captain America.

Who Is The Power Broker?

Falcon and the winter soldier real villain power broker

The Power Broker was created by Roger Stern and Sal Buscema and first appeared in Marvel’s Machine Man series in 1978. He became a frequent antagonist to many Marvel heroes, especially Captain America. The Power Broker has never appeared in the MCU, though a close associate of his from the comics – the mad scientist Karl Malus – appeared as a primary villain in Netflix’s Jessica Jones season 2. The Power Broker again rose to prominence in the comics in 2008.

What exactly the character’s role is in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is unclear after episode 2, but a few things are known. The Power Broker commands an impressive amount of resources, as they’re able to mobilize a fully-armed team to hunt down the Flag Smashers in a random corner of the world - and operate professionally. Plus, the Power Broker seems to have a vendetta against Karli Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers, which may have existed for some time given the groups familiarity with the villain. The most likely scenario is that the Flag Smashers’ powers were obtained via the Power Broker, and that the group is now grievously indebted. That would fit perfectly with the version of the character from the comics.

Power Broker's Comics Origin & Powers

In the comics, the Power Broker is a name used by a couple different characters. The original and longest-running version of the character was Curtiss Jackson, who rose up as a minor criminal and eventually became a major player in the evil Marvel crime syndicate the Corporation. From there, after attaining notoriety and resources, Jackson founded the Power Broker Corporation – a group that granted superhuman abilities to paying customers for high prices. The experiments that brought about these mutations were incredibly dangerous, and many of the Power Broker’s clients died in the process. Jackson also used highly addictive drugs in his experiments, which made his clients become reliant on him afterward.

Over the course of his tenure in Marvel comics, the Power Broker provided powers and soldiers to a number of supervillains. Eventually, the Curtiss Jackson version of the character administered his own superpower therapy on himself in an experiment that went horribly wrong, leaving him so engorged and disfigured that he could barely move. A second, unnamed Power Broker was introduced in a later comics plotline, continuing the same basic operations of the Power Broker Corporation. Both versions of the character were also very involved in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation – a sports league that only enlisted competitors with super strength.

What Power Broker Could Mean For Captain America

Falcon and Winter Soldier US Agent Captain America

Through his time in Marvel comics, the Power Broker granted abilities to many different villainous characters, but he also granted superhuman enhancement to John Walker. With Walker already playing a major role in the story of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the Power Broker now also officially in the picture, it's probable the MCU will follow that same storyline. It might not play out exactly the same, however, as showrunner Malcom Spellman has emphasized that the MCU’s John Walker is quite different from the comics version.

That difference is already apparent, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 2 shows a much more sympathetic John Walker than the one scene in the comics. He’s brash, braggadocios, and clearly undeserving of the shield over Sam, but he doesn’t seem to be a bad person. However, as he continues to do battle against super soldiers – a group he is woefully unprepared to deal with – he could turn to desperate methods to come out victorious. And if the MCU’s new Captain America is anything at all like his comics self, that may lead him straight to the Power Broker.

If John Walker goes to the Power Broker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to acquire true super strength, it could set off interesting complications in the overall story. Karli Morgenthau is already being built up as a more sympathetic and heroic character than it seemed in episode 1, so if the Power Broker begins to manipulate the new Captain America, Karli could possibly join forces with Bucky and Sam to battle against the conniving character. Of course, there’s a lot that’s still unknown about the MCU’s version of the Power Broker, so fans will have to wait to see exactly how the classic villain fits into the story of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

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