MCU Theory: Sharon Carter Is War Machine's Villain In Armor Wars

The Falcon & the Winter Soldier transformed Sharon Carter into the villainous crime boss known as the Power Broker - and she could be the villain of War Machine's upcoming Armor Wars Disney+ TV series. In the comics, two individuals have gone by the codename "Power Broker"; the ruthless businessman Curtiss Jackson, and the brilliant scientist Karlin Malus. But the MCU has redesigned the Power Broker as a crime boss based in Madripoor, with the finale revealing their version is actually Sharon Carter, great-niece of Peggy Carter and previously best known for sharing a lip-lock with Steve Rogers.

Sharon was left on the run from the government after the events of Captain America: Civil War, when she became an outlaw after helping Team Cap reacquire their weapons and equipment. Apparently, the experience of becoming an outlaw left Sharon embittered, and when she arrived on Madripoor - a country that doesn't have any extradition agreements with other nations - she soon became an influential figure in the country's criminal underworld. The MCU's Sharon Carter twist doesn't quite work, largely because Falcon & Winter Soldier didn't develop enough time to exploring Sharon as an actual character, leaving her motivations feeling under-developed. Still, she's a villain now, and Falcon & Winter Soldier's post-credits scene teased she's about to become a much more significant threat. Sharon has been granted a full pardon for her previous breach of the Sokovia Accords, and she was offered her old post back - probably with the CIA, given SHIELD hasn't existed in the MCU since Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The post-credits scene ended with Sharon calling one of her operatives, looking forward to making the most of the new opportunities she's been handed on a plate. "Super soldiers might be off the menu," she observed, "but we're about to have full access to government secrets, prototype weapons, you name it. Should be something for everyone."

Most viewers have assumed Sharon Carter will turn up again in either Falcon & Winter Soldier season 2 or the recently-announced Captain America 4. They're forgetting, however, that the MCU is a shared universe - which means narratives can continue in different films and TV shows. Most narrative threads are focused on the heroes, but there's absolutely no reason Sharon's story couldn't continue elsewhere. In fact, one of Marvel's upcoming Disney+ shows sounds perfect for the Power Broker.

How The MCU's Armor Wars Has Been Set Up

In the comics, "Armor Wars" was a fan-favorite story in which Tony Stark realized his scientific secrets had been stolen by a classic villain called Spymaster, who had sold them to Stark's old nemesis Justin Hammer. Hammer, in turn, had kitted out heroes and villains alike in tech he had stolen from Iron Man. Furious that Stark tech had proliferated beyond his control, Tony suited up as Iron Man and began a campaign to strip allies and enemies of their powered armor. Although Iron Man began with a more calculated approach, his actions became increasingly reckless as he continued his campaign and even risked causing international incidents. Marvel is doing Iron Man's most famous story without Tony Stark, substituting him with War Machine, and it will be interesting to see how Marvel adapts the story.

Still, the potential for an Armor Wars story is obvious given the context of Iron Man 2. One key scene there saw Tony Stark summoned before the U.S. Senate, where politicians attempted to force him to hand over his proprietary technology. According to Stark, the rest of the world was years away from duplicating the Iron Man armor, hacking into a video feed to show how badly wrong attempts to duplicate Stark tech were going. "Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away," Tony observed. "Hammer Industries, twenty." Given the timespan between Iron Man 2 and the modern MCU, the current timeline is well past Tony's estimates. This in mind, Sharon Carter's excitement about selling "government secrets" and "prototype weapons" could well mean just this kind of technology - essentially meaning she has taken Spymaster's role, as the one who steals proprietary technology and experimental weapons.

Sharon Carter Could Be The Real Villain Of Armor Wars

War Machine may be substituting for Tony Stark in the MCU's version of Armor Wars, but it's important to stress he's a very different character. Where Tony remained an independent operative, James Rhodes is a high-ranking and decorated member of the USAF, and during the Blip he was given a major upgrade in what Marvel has dubbed the "Cosmic Iron Patriot" armor. If the U.S. government is indeed working on experimental armor, perhaps even integrating extraterrestrial technology they gained access to during the Blip courtesy of Rocket Raccoon and Captain Marvel, then you'd expect Rhodey to be involved. Consequently, if some of these secrets began to emerge on the black market, he'd be the one assigned to take down these new threats and figure out the source of the leaks.

There's a sense, then, in which the MCU's Armor Wars already feels like the spiritual successor of Falcon & Winter Soldier; a patriotic Black hero traveling the globe righting wrongs. Marvel may well have already pointed to that thematic similarity, given James Rhodes actually made a brief cameo in the first episode of Falcon & Winter Soldier, reminding viewers that Rhodey and Sam Wilson are operating in a similar context and dealing with similar opponents. It would, therefore, be so very fitting for the Power Broker's narrative to be launched in Falcon & Winter Soldier, and continue - if not necessarily conclude - in Armor Wars.

Hopefully, this approach would allow Marvel to develop its reinvented Sharon Carter a little more, exploring her motives in particular. All this doesn't necessarily preclude Marvel using other elements of the Armor Wars story from the comics, of course. They could include Spymaster as one of Sharon Carter's operatives, and Justin Hammer as her buyer; but the Power Broker would be the main villain, a worthy foe whose identity - if revealed - would force War Machine to ask some deep questions about the Avengers' history.

More: Sharon Carter's MCU Return Makes Her & Steve's Civil War Kiss Worse