Power Broker (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)

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Not to be confused with the character Power Broker (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

"Power Broker"
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier "Power Broker" poster.jpeg
Third art series poster for the series
Episode no.Episode 3
Directed byKari Skogland
Written byDerek Kolstad
Produced byMalcolm Spellman
Cinematography byP.J. Dillon
Editing by
Original release dateApril 2, 2021 (2021-04-02)
Running time53 minutes
Cast
  • Clé Bennett as Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar
  • Desmond Chiam as Dovich
  • Dani Deetee as Gigi
  • Indya Bussey as DeeDee
  • Renes Rivera as Lennox
  • Tyler Dean Flores as Diego
  • Noah Mills as Nico
  • Veronica Falcón as Donya Madani
  • Neal Kodinsky as Rudy
  • Nicolas Pryor as Oeznik
  • Imelda Corcoran as Selby
  • Olli Haaskivi as Wilfred Nagel
Episode chronology
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"Power Broker" is the third episode of the American television miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. It follows the pair as they reluctantly work with Helmut Zemo to learn more about the creation of a new super-soldier serum. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Kari Skogland.

Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie reprise their respective roles as Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson from the film series, starring alongside Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Florence Kasumba, Danny Ramirez, Adepero Oduye, and Daniel Brühl as Zemo. Skogland joined the series in May 2019, with Kolstad hired that July. The episode visits the fictional country of Madripoor, which was previously controlled by 20th Century Fox and could not be introduced to the MCU until the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. Filming took place at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, with location filming in the Atlanta metropolitan area and in Prague.

"Power Broker" was released on Disney+ on April 2, 2021. Critics were more mixed on the episode overall than previous ones, criticizing its many story elements and use of existing tropes and ideas, though many critics praised Brühl's performance. A brief moment of Zemo dancing spawned various Internet memes, and led to the release of additional footage of Zemo dancing.

Plot[]

Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson travel to Berlin to talk to an imprisoned Helmut Zemo about the emergence of a terrorist group of Super Soldiers, the Flag Smashers. Behind Wilson's back, Barnes orchestrates a prison riot to help Zemo escape after the latter agrees to help the pair. Barnes, Zemo, and Wilson travel to Madripoor, a criminal sanctuary city-state run by the mysterious Power Broker. Zemo asks Barnes to act as the Winter Soldier while Wilson poses as a gangster who frequents Madripoor.

After Zemo uses Barnes to get the attention of high-ranking criminal Selby, the group meet with her and reveals that Hydra scientist Dr. Wilfred Nagel was hired by the Power Broker to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. Wilson's identity is exposed after his sister Sarah calls him in the middle of their meeting. In the ensuing firefight, Selby is killed and all of the bounty hunters in the city target the group. Sharon Carter, who has been living as a fugitive since the Sokovia Accords conflict,[a] saves them from the bounty hunters.

Carter uses her connections in Madripoor to find Nagel's lab and takes Wilson, Barnes, and Zemo there. Nagel explains that he recreated twenty doses of the serum and they were stolen by the Flag Smashers' leader Karli Morgenthau. Zemo unexpectedly kills Nagel, and the lab is destroyed when bounty hunters attack. Zemo finds a getaway vehicle, but Carter decides to stay behind in Madripoor and Wilson agrees to obtain a pardon for her so she can return to the U.S. Meanwhile, John Walker and Lemar Hoskins arrive in Berlin and deduce that Barnes and Wilson helped Zemo escape. The Flag Smashers raid a Global Repatriation Council (GRC) storage facility in Lithuania for supplies, and Morgenthau blows up the building with personnel inside to send a message.

Zemo, Barnes, and Wilson travel to Latvia in search of Morgenthau. Recognizing Wakandan tracking devices in the street, Barnes breaks off and confronts Ayo of the Dora Milaje, who demands that Barnes hand Zemo to her.

Production[]

Development[]

By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series starring Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films,[1][2] which was officially announced as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in April 2019.[3] Kari Skogland was hired to direct the miniseries a month later.[4] Derek Kolstad joined the series' writing team in July 2019,[5] and revealed in March 2021 that he had written the third episode of the series,[6] which is titled "Power Broker".[7] Skogland and head writer Malcolm Spellman executive produce alongside Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Nate Moore.[8]: 15  "Power Broker" was released on Disney+ on April 2, 2021.[9]

Writing[]

The episode visits the fictional country of Madripoor, which is one of the first X-Men-centric elements previously controlled by 20th Century Fox to be introduced to the MCU following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. The Princess Bar, which is frequented by Wolverine in the comics, is referenced with a neon sign, while the Brass Monkey Saloon appears. In the latter, Wilson, Barnes, and Helmut Zemo meet a character named Selby, which is the name of a mutant from the comics that understands binary code.[10] Spellman said the writers "geeked out" at being able to use Madripoor in the series, while co-executive producer Zoie Nagelhout felt it was incredible to introduce the country to the MCU and expand that world. Nagelhout said Madripoor was used to make Wilson and Barnes feel like "fish out of water", and also as a place to reintroduce Sharon Carter to the MCU.[11]

"Power Broker" also features Ayo, a member of the Dora Milaje from Wakanda. Matt Patches of Polygon felt including Ayo was satisfying for audiences and was a way to connect Wakanda to the series with "thematic resonance" beyond simply pulling from the MCU's lore because of Barnes' history with the nation, and because The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was dealing with racial issues in America and global class warfare which are themes that were addressed in Black Panther (2018).[12]

Casting[]

The episode stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / Captain America, Erin Kellyman as Karli Morgenthau, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Adepero Oduye as Sarah Wilson, and Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo.[13]: 47:36–48:10  Also appearing are Clé Bennett as Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar, Desmond Chiam, Dani Deetté, and Indya Bussey as the Flag Smashers Dovich, Gigi, and DeeDee, respectively, Renes Rivera as Lennox, Tyler Dean Flores as Diego, Noah Mills as Nico, Veronica Falcón as Donya Madani, Neal Kodinsky as Rudy, Nicolas Pryor as Oeznik, Imelda Corcoran as Selby, and Olli Haaskivi as Wilfred Nagel.[13]: 48:50  Haaskivi originally auditioned for a character simply called "Doctor", and did not find out his actual role until a few days before filming. He researched the comics once he knew the name, but did not find much information on the character and felt he was able to create his own interpretation instead.[14]

Filming and visual effects[]

Filming took place at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[15][16] with Skogland directing,[4] and P.J. Dillon serving as cinematographer.[8]: 15  Location filming took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area and in Prague.[17][18] Skogland wanted to created a signature look for Madripoor, something that she hoped would be "exotic and a bit familiar but off-grid; to have a real street feel but be quite colorful and eye-popping". Many different real-world locations were used as inspiration for the fictional country. As for the Brass Monkey bar, Skogland described it as being like a street bar that had a sense of it "emerging out of the bricks" from the starting bridge location.[11]

External video
video icon One Hour Dancing Zemo | Marvel Studios' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Disney+ presents the full dance sequence with Zemo as an hour-long loop, YouTube video from Marvel Entertainment's channel

A brief moment of Zemo dancing and fist pumping in the episode, which spawned various Internet memes after the episode's release, was improvised during filming by Brühl. The actor said he believed that since Zemo had been in prison for years, "he need[ed] to let off some steam and show his moves", and felt the moment would ultimately be cut from the episode. The moment was part of a larger Zemo dance sequence that was ultimately filmed,[19] equating to approximately 30 seconds of total footage. Marvel released the full sequence on social media on April 8, 2021, along with a looping hour-long version.[20] Disney's president of marketing Asad Ayaz noted the marketing team is always aware of fan reactions and trends on social media, and when they saw Zemo dancing was a trending topic, worked quickly to release the full footage. Ayaz felt this was "not traditional marketing and advertising, but... a sensation" that "just took off".[21]

Visual effects for the episode were created by Crafty Apes, Rodeo FX, Digital Frontier FX, QPPE, Stereo D, Tippett Studio, and Cantina Creative.[22][13]: 50:09–50:20 

Marketing[]

On March 19, 2021, Marvel announced a series of posters created by various artists to correspond with the episodes of the series. The posters released weekly ahead of each episode,[23][24][25] with the third poster revealed on March 21, designed by Bella Grace.[24] After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode centered on Sharon Carter and Zemo as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including apparel and Funko Pops, as well as a Marvel Legends figure of Zemo and Sharon Carter posters.[26] Marvel also created an in-universe tourism site for Madripoor, featuring Easter eggs such as wanted posters for the characters, clips of CCTV footage showing different angles of the action scenes in the episode, and downloadable phone and computer wallpapers. The Buccaneer Bay and Hightown Nightclub areas of the site had hidden content, with the Buccaneer Bay area listing ships with the names of X-Men characters such as Mystique, Daken, and the sentient island Krakoa, as well as Shang-Chi; these ship names were later removed from the site.[27]

Reception[]

Audience viewership[]

Nielsen Media Research, who measure the number of minutes watched by United States audiences on television sets, listed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the second most-watched original series across streaming services for the week of March 29 to April 4, 2021. Between the first three episodes, which were available at the time, the series had 628 million minutes viewed, which was identical to the previous week.[28]

Critical response[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 86% approval rating with an average score of 6.82/10 based on 35 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Falcon and the Winter Soldier is still spreading its wings when it should be soaring during this transitionary installment, but 'Power Broker' is still a lot of fun thanks to the return of Daniel Brühl and Emily VanCamp to the MCU."[29]

Sulagna Misra at The A.V. Club was critical of the episode, giving it a "C" grade, saying it "seems to be about gathering intel on the super-soldier serum and the Flag-Smashers, and even expanding Sam and Bucky's universe of associates. But it seems most interested in playing into action movie tropes more than anything else", and Misra felt it failed at that, elaborating, "The whole episode, I was just thinking of the times I've seen better versions of each of these scenes." She was also critical of the episode's characterizations, especially Sharon's which she described as a "failure of writing".[7] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone said the episode was "mostly just competent and not much more. We know Marvel Studios is capable of doing much better." Sepinwall compared the episode's action to Marvel Television's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since it felt "pretty utilitarian" and was "cobbled together from ideas that have been done to death elsewhere, in the hopes that the mere presence of familiar (or, in some cases, semi-familiar) faces from the MCU will make it seem brand new and thrilling". He did enjoy Brühl's performance as Zemo.[30] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Chancellor Agard was ambivalent on the episode, saying it moved the story forward but was not satisfying enough on its own, and indicated that the show's creators were trying to stretch a two-hour film across six episodes. Agard did find that the introduction of Zemo helped to complicate the Wilson/Barnes dynamic while avoiding hitting the same beats as the previous episode, and he enjoyed Zemo's assessment of Trouble Man along with Ayo's appearance. He had a "cold and unsatisfied" feeling with the Nagel scene, even though he felt the exposition was necessary, and ultimately gave the episode a "B–". His colleague Christian Holub added, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is definitely playing with some interesting ideas, but I don't yet have the sense that the show knows exactly what it wants to do or say with them", feeling a bit confused by the various story elements but intrigued by what their conclusions would be.[31]

Matt Purslow of IGN was more positive on the episode, calling it a "chunky chapter that efficiently unpacks many of the story's main plot threads" while also not sacrificing character development. He praised Brühl's performance, noting that his line delivery came with "a small smile and a dash of dry humor", and pointed out the similarities in the episode to the John Wick films which were created by this episode's writer Kolstad. Purslow concluded that after three episodes the series was "firing on all cylinders", and gave "Power Broker" a 9 out of 10.[32] Den of Geek's Gavin Jasper gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and felt it was a "breath of fresh air" and a true sequel to Captain America: Civil War (2016) since it was "a new spin on the same general concept". Jasper said Brühl's performance made Zemo "incredibly likeable and charismatic", likening it to Loki's role in Thor: The Dark World (2013), and was hopeful Marvel was planting the seeds to eventually introduce the Thunderbolts team from the comics to the MCU. Jasper did criticize the origins of the Flag Smashers, since it felt like "the status quo is the status quo and the MCU refuses to be changed too much by the developments of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier".[33]

Notes[]

  1. ^ As depicted in Captain America: Civil War (2016).

References[]

  1. ^ Kroll, Justin; Otterson, Joe (October 30, 2018). "Falcon-Winter Soldier Limited Series in the Works With 'Empire' Writer (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  2. ^ Boucher, Geoff; Hipes, Patrick (October 30, 2018). "Marvel Duo Falcon & Winter Soldier Teaming For Disney Streaming Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  3. ^ Dinh, Christine (April 12, 2019). "All of the Marvel Disney+ News Coming Out of The Walt Disney Company's Investor Day". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 20, 2019). "Kari Skogland To Direct 6-Part 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' Miniseries With Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Bruhl & Emily Van Camp". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  5. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (July 10, 2019). "'John Wick' Creator Derek Kolstad Boards Marvel's 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' Limited Series (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 19, 2021). "'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' Writer Derek Kolstad on Marvel's Secret "Parliament" and Planting Seeds for Future MCU Projects". Collider. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Misra, Sulagna (April 2, 2021). "Sharon Carter and Helmut Zemo join The Falcon And The Winter Soldier in its weakest episode yet". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Production Brief" (PDF). Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "(#103) "Power Broker"". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Romano, Nick (April 2, 2021). "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows how Marvel is weaving X-Men elements into the MCU". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Dinh, Christine (April 7, 2021). "'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Brings Madripoor to Life". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Patches, Matt (April 2, 2021). "Falcon and the Winter Soldier finds a clever connection to Black Panther". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c Kolstad, Derek (April 2, 2021). "Power Broker". The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Season 1. Episode 3. Disney+. End credits begin at 46:12.
  14. ^ Davis, Brandon (April 7, 2021). "Falcon And Winter Soldier: Dr. Nagel Actor Olli Haaskivi Details Marvelous Experience (Exclusive)". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Perine, Aaron (October 20, 2019). "Falcon and The Winter Soldier Starts Production on Monday". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  16. ^ Raftery, Brian (June 26, 2019). "Anthony Mackie is Your New Captain, America". Men's Health. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  17. ^ Sources for filming in Atlanta from November 2019 to February 2020:
  18. ^ Perine, Aaron (October 10, 2020). "Falcon and the Winter Soldier: New Set Photos Reveal Prague Filming After Coronavirus Shutdowns". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  19. ^ Romano, Nick (April 6, 2021). "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's Daniel Brühl on showing a new side of Zemo and his surprise adversary". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  20. ^ Coggan, Devan (April 8, 2021). "Please enjoy this extended cut of Zemo dancing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  21. ^ Couch, Aaron (June 18, 2021). "Disney Studios Marketing Head Asad Ayaz on Mischievous 'Loki' Campaign". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  22. ^ Frei, Vincent (March 16, 2021). "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". Art of VFX. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  23. ^ Marvel Studios [@MarvelStudios] (March 19, 2021). "☆ Honor the legacy ☆ Check out the first in a series of posters inspired by Marvel Studios' The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Artist credit to @SzarkaArt. Stream the first episode of the Original Series now on @DisneyPlus. #FalconAndWinterSoldier" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ a b Ridgely, Charlie (March 31, 2021). "New The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Poster Released". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  25. ^ Jennings, Collier (April 20, 2021). "Falcon and Winter Soldier Drops a Stunning Poster Before the Season Finale". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  26. ^ Paige, Rachel (April 5, 2021). "Shop Marvel Must Haves: 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Episode 3". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  27. ^ Skrebels, Joe (April 9, 2021). "Marvel Opens MCU Madripoor Website, Quickly Scrubs X-Men References". IGN. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  28. ^ Porter, Rich (April 29, 2021). "Netflix's 'Irregulars' Rises to No. 1 in Nielsen Streaming Rankings". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Power Broker". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  30. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (April 2, 2021). "'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier': The Man Behind the Mask". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  31. ^ Agard, Chancellor (April 2, 2021). "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier recap: A trip to Madripoor". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  32. ^ Purslow, Matt (April 2, 2021). "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Season 1, Episode 3 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  33. ^ Jasper, Gavin (April 2, 2021). "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Becomes the Captain America: Civil War Sequel We Needed". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.

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