WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 3, "Power Broker," now streaming on Disney+.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has shown that the line between good and evil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't always black and white. Every character has a motive for their actions, whether it's Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) trying to prove to himself that he is more than a killer or Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) trying to decipher if he is the right person to carry Captain America's shield. These characters' ideals fuel their decisions, but sometimes those choices don't always lead to a positive outcome.
The Flag Smashers are one of Falcon and Winter Soldier's antagonists, a group of faceless terrorists who want the world to return to how it was during the Blip: unified without borders. To achieve this goal, they have been stealing supplies from the Global Repatriation Council, an organization that has helped reintegrate those who were blipped back into society. The group has also used a stolen Super Soldier Serum to strongarm their way around the world and commit terrorist acts to bring in more followers to their cause. This has led to innocents being injured and has left their group and its leader, Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), without a chance for redemption.
In Season 1, Episode 3, "Power Broker," Morgenthau and the other Flag Smashers delivered some stolen supplies to a GRC Resettlement Camp. The audience was shown why the group had been stealing and causing chaos, making a solid case for why they deserved a chance to be heard by seeing people struggling to survive. The camp's poor conditions even took the life of Morgenthau's mother figure, Donya Madani. Her death forced Karli to double down on her convictions, and rather than mourn, she chose to lash out at the organization that put her family there.
The Flag Smashers were seen next in Lithuania in a supply depot for the GRC. The group waited until nightfall to strike and steal more supplies for their people. As Morgenthau left, she reminded the employees that were tied up in the building that the supplies in the depot had been sitting there for six months when people still needed them. Unbeknownst to the other members, Morgenthau had one more phase of her plan to enact that cemented her on the side of wrong.
As they left the depot, a car bomb went off that set the building ablaze. Her partner reminded her that there were still civilians inside, but Karli coldly responded, "This is the only language these people understand." Her partner drove off, leaving the people in the building to die. Until this point, the Flag Smashers were focused primarily on stealing resources and building ranks, but this was the first time in the series that their actions cost innocent lives.
At first, the Flag Smashers tried to do what was best for the people in need. But after the events in the third episode, Morgenthau crossed a line into villainy that will put her on a collision course with Falcon and Winter Soldier's titular characters. With the new Captain America (Wyatt Russel) on her tail and Sam and Bucky tracing the Super Soldier Serum source, the Flag Smashers picked the wrong time to become true villains.
Created by Malcolm Spellman and directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. New episodes debut on Fridays on Disney+.