How The MCU Can Fix Its Sharon Carter/Power Broker Twist

The Falcon & the Winter Soldier revealed Sharon Carter is now a crime boss who calls herself the "Power Broker" - an unsatisfying twist that the MCU needs to fix carefully. One of the problems facing comic book adaptations is the fact that anybody familiar with the source material can often see a twist coming a million miles away. As a result, many of the character arcs in Falcon & Winter Soldier were unfortunately fairly predictable; everybody knew Sam Wilson was destined to become Captain America, and nobody was surprised when John Walker was dubbed the US Agent.

Marvel did take one character in a direction that differs to the comics, however. Falcon & Winter Soldier revealed that Sharon Carter, traditionally an ally of Captain America in the comics, has chosen to live a life of crime. Sharon went on the run from the authorities after she broke the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War, and unlike the rest of Steve Rogers' allies she was never given a pardon. Instead, she settled on the fictional island of Madripoor, where she became a major figure in that country's criminal underworld. It was an interesting direction for Marvel to take the character, although it was frankly over-signposted.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier post-credits scene left Sharon in an interesting place, having finally received her pardon due to Sam Wilson's intervention. Given this is a shared universe, it's safe to assume Sharon will return - and Marvel can use that to fix what is actually quite a problematic story.

Why Falcon & Winter Soldier's Sharon Carter Twist Didn't Work

Unfortunately, the Sharon Carter/Power Broker twist just doesn't work - and the core problem is that Falcon & Winter Soldier never spent any real time exploring Sharon's motives. At first Sharon's principal goal appears to be simply survival, and she arguably became the Power Broker out of necessity; but the finale's post-credits scene debunks that idea, because she seems almost joyful about the opportunity to betray the United States government and sell its greatest secrets on the black market. The idea seems to be that Sharon has simply become bitter and twisted, furious because she feels the U.S. government - and, of course, the Avengers - let her down. General viewers don't appear convinced this works, and it's quite common to see speculation Sharon is actually a Skrull imposter who hasn't quite nailed the character.

When you look at specific scenes, Sharon's actions become frankly illogical. If the Power Broker was still intent on synthesizing super-soldier serum, why would she take Sam and Bucky to the scientist who had managed to duplicate that serum, aware they were working with Zemo? Even more confusingly, why would she conspire with Batroc in the hopes of having Sam Wilson killed off, when she was in fact manipulating him in order to obtain her pardon? Sharon's actions are contradictory, and the lack of time spent exploring her motives and character means these contradictions are glaring.

The MCU Needs To Better Explore Sharon Carter's Motivations

Sharon Carter pointing her gun at someone in Falcon and Winter Soldier.

There's only one way to resolve this issue. In order to make the Sharon Carter/Power Broker twist work, Marvel will need to commit more time to Sharon. It's not enough to simply say she has become a crime boss; viewers need to be able to understand why she became the Power Broker, how she operates, and why she has made the contradictory decisions we've seen. Right now, Sharon's motives are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, unfathomable and difficult to understand. That needs to change, and it can only be done by spending time inside Sharon's head, presenting her as a fully-rounded character.

There's a sense in which Falcon & Winter Soldier was trying to have its cake and eat it with Sharon. The show wanted to use her as a background character, to get people excited about her return, while at the same time building a sense of mystery around her and making people feel she wasn't what she seemed to be. Unfortunately the need to keep her enigmatic meant the show failed to spend any time developing her as an actual person, while the signposting was over-done meaning there wasn't really a sense of mystery at all. The result was the worst of both worlds, a plot twist that just doesn't quite work - as proven by the popularity of theories she's been replaced by a Skrull.

How & When The MCU Can Fix Its Sharon/Power Broker Twist

Sharon Carter on the phone in Falcon and Winter Soldier

Fortunately, because the MCU is a shared universe, a mistake made in one film or TV show can be rectified in another. It's tempting to assume Sharon Carter will return in Captain America 4, but that probably isn't the best place; a film script doesn't really have enough time to delve into such a confusing backstory. Instead, Marvel would be wiser to use Sharon as the main villain - or, perhaps, even as a secondary foe - in other Disney+ shows. The most logical choice is Armor Wars, because in thematic terms that series will be about War Machine attempting to clamp down on black market sales of experimental technology. The narrative throughline is pretty obvious.

Wherever Marvel use Sharon, though, the most important thing is that they spend time with her. Oddly enough, Marvel really need to take a tip from the old Marvel Television shows, particularly those which aired on Netflix; Daredevil's Kingpin was a force to be reckoned with simply because the show committed to developing him, and he had as much a character arc as the Man Without Fear himself. In contrast, so far, Marvel Studios' Disney+ villains haven't really had arcs; Agatha Harkness was spectacular in WandaVision but ultimately merely a spectator who wanted to steal Wanda's power for herself, while Falcon & Winter Soldier failed with both the Flag-Smashers and Sharon Carter.

As an ally of the Avengers, someone who was granted a presidential pardon because of the intervention of the new Captain America himself, Sharon's betrayal has the potential to turn the superhero world on its head. But that kind of impact needs to be earned, and there's no short-cut to doing that. If Marvel's writers put in the time and the effort, they can make this stick, and so turn Sharon Carter into one of the MCU's best villains. Falcon & Winter Soldier has laid the groundwork, now it's time for it to be developed.

Next: Falcon & Winter Soldier Ending Explained & MCU Future Setup