The MCU Can Repeat A Controversial Villain Twist To Finally Solve An Awkward Phase 4 Cliffhanger

One of the weirdest cliffhangers from Phase 4 of the MCU can be easily solved if Captain America: Brave New World repeats an eight-year-old villain storyline. Marvel Studios’ expansion of the MCU in the wake of the Infinity Saga’s conclusion meant that more stingers and cliffhangers were used than ever before. Some of these, including Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings beacon, Doctor Strange leaving with Clea and Jake Lockley killing Arthur Harrow, have set up exciting storylines for the MCU’s future. Conversely, some of Phase 4’s loose ends would rather be forgotten, but Marvel Studios has already given one an easy fix.

The season finale of Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “One World, One People,” premiered on April 23, 2021, and saw Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson finally suit up as the MCU’s new Captain America. While bringing down the dangerous Flag Smashers, however, another villain presented herself, as Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter was revealed as the mysterious Power Broker, a figure of immense influence in Madripoor. Sharon Carter being outed as the Power Broker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a controversial and confusing twist, but Marvel Studios has the perfect opportunity to rectify this strange story.

Sharon Carter’s Power Broker Could Get The Crossbones Treatment In Captain America 4

Marvel Studios’ reveal that Sharon Carter is the Power Broker was an unusual choice that seemed completely out of the ordinary for her character. VanCamp debuted as Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter’s niece, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and quickly became a staunch ally to Chris Evans’ Captain America, helping him to bring down HYDRA, and later helping him prepare for the Avengers’ battle in Captain America: Civil War. While she was thought dead after Thanos’ Infinity War snap, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed that Sharon Carter had survived, and had built her own criminal empire in Madripoor.

Since this evolution didn’t make sense, and saw Marvel Studios receive criticism for transforming the otherwise-liked Sharon Carter into a confusing villain, the Power Broker could go the way of Crossbones in the MCU. Captain America: Brave New World could connect to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s mid-credits scene and open with Sam Wilson’s Captain America fighting Sharon Carter’s Power Broker, with this battle perhaps ending in her death. This fate befell Frank Grillo’s Brock Rumlow in Civil War after being teased for a lengthy villainous future in The Winter Soldier, so could be repeated for the Power Broker.

Why Removing The Power Broker Quickly Is A Good Idea

While removing Sharon Carter from the MCU completely would be a shame, the fact that she has become a villain means that she needs to be eliminated. Killing her off in the opening of Captain America: Brave New World would get Sam Wilson’s Captain America off to a strong start, while also creating a void that a more honest-to-goodness Power Broker successor could fill, perhaps Curtiss Jackson and the Corporation from Marvel Comics. This would also allow Captain America: Brave New World and future MCU projects to better explore Madripoor, now released from beneath the clutches of the Power Broker.