Is there a hidden villain working behind the scenes in Falcon and The Winter Soldier?

A number of villains and antagonists have been teased in the trailers and made an appearance in the opening episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. However, the main plot of the series is still not clear. Although the new Captain America (Wyatt Russell) has been unveiled it isn’t likely that a fight between Cap and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) will be the main storyline. This then leaves the question as to what the main threat will be and the introduction of the Flag Smashers may have opened the door to what truly is happening.

Our introduction to the Flag Smashers group came when Sam’s man on the ground Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) gives us a brief explanation to their beliefs. He says that they believe that the world should be unified without borders. We actually meet the group later in the episode and see them in action as they rob a Swiss bank. This is when the biggest question of the episode comes up. It is clear to see that in some shape or form that the man who robs the bank has been enhanced. The trailers suggest that these enhancements are not just confined to the one member. How have the Flag Smashers received their abilities?

This question escalates further when Torres calls Sam to tell him about his encounter with the group which ended with his face in the pavement. The pair then debate who they are and we get the tease by Sam when he is about to say what he thinks. Despite Torres poking for an answer, Sam doesn’t give his thoughts away and the question is left unanswered. In fact the conversation is interrupted by Sarah Wilson (Adepero Oduye) as he tells Sam to watch the news which is when the new Captain America John Walker is revealed.

John Walker whom has been confirmed to be the man under the mask could be the key to understanding what is happening. In the comics Walker was enhanced and given super strength through the Power Broker system. Now there is no evidence thus far in the series that Walker has been enhanced, but it has been highly speculated that the show will deal with problems of super soldier serums and the Flag Smashers having enhancements just adds to this theory. This is where the villain in the shadows begins to reveal himself and we think it will be the Power Broker or at the very least Power Broker, Inc.

Just to give a quick description of who the Power Broker is, he is a head of a criminal organisation known as Power Broker, Inc that tries and successfully replicates versions of the super soldier serums for paying customers. Of course there is much more history to the organisation but a key reason as to why they could be included within the show is because they enhanced John Walker in the comics. This is now when we can start to piece things together.

Also, just to avoid falling into the Mephisto problem which caused fans to be annoyed at WandaVision, we actually have a direct reference to the organisation from the show. Occurring in the credits we see a container which looks like some kind of serum with Powerbroker is watching on display. This appearing in the credits does have to be taken seriously and does allow for the speculation as to why the slogan was featured in the credits. Our speculation leads us to think that the Power Broker is involved and the reason for groups getting their hands on the serum.

Now, the actual extent of the Power Broker’s villainy is still up for debate especially because the show already as a wide array of villains. Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) hasn’t even been involved yet, so his role in the show could cause the plot to change to fit with his motivation. However, how we are seeing everything currently is that the question of the Flag Smashers needs to be explained and that the Power Broker could be the answer. Supplying versions of the super solider serum to paying customers could mean he supplied the anarchist group the powers they have put on display. Add on top of this the history in the comics with John Walker and everything begins to point towards the Power Broker.

Supplying super soldier serums to paying customers can cause a numerous number of problems as any villainous organisation could get a hold of it and cause chaos. This could be the mission of Sam and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) as they are worried of the serum falling into the wrong hands. Halting the Power Broker would achieve this.

Moreover, I would argue that stopping the Power Broker would be something Zemo agrees with and could be the reason why he gets involved. We know from Captain America: Civil War he didn’t want any more Winter Soldier as he shot them all and from the trailers makes it clear it’s his mission to eradicate superheroes. An organisation that supplies ‘superheroes’ would obviously perk the interest of Zemo and could be how he comes into the story. We haven’t met Zemo yet so this is still only speculation.

Ultimately, from what we know from the opening episode is that the Flag Smashers have been enhanced. This is a big question that the series has given us and one that needs to be answered. Then if we look at everything else from the series nothing other than the Power Broker reference in the credits gives any indication to how they got the powers. As such for now we think the that the Power Broker is working in the shadows and could be the cause for everything which sparks the fight in the show.

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