WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Falcon & Winter Soldier #5 by Derek Landy, Federico Vicentini, Matt Milla, and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
In Falcon & Winter Soldier, the two title heroes have been stuck in the middle of an internal war between members of Hydra. As the duo came under attack by the Natural, one of the evil organization's newest recruits, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes learned that there were two figureheads trying to become the new leader of Hydra: their longtime enemy, Baron Zemo, and Bucky's former handler, Veronica Eden.
Both characters had different plans for Hydra: Veronica wanted to make the organization bigger and more destructive than ever before, while Zemo was content in keeping the regular status quo. Veronica pushed for a hostile takeover, and Sam and Bucky were both used as chess pieces in her war with Zemo. Now, with Falcon & Winter Soldier #5, the war comes to an end and Baron Zemo stands as the winner.
While Veronica Eden knew who she was facing in her fight for control of Hydra, Zemo had no idea who his opponent was. In Falcon & Winter Soldier #5, the two finally meet, and it isn't long before Zemo orders his goons to open fire on Veronica. However, she fights back, proving she's one step ahead as by giving the order, half of Zemo's goons turn on the others, showing that Veronica has her very own devout followers in Hydra.
After she gets the upper hand, Veronica engages Zemo in a brutal fight to determine which of them will lead Hydra. But while Veronica gives it her all in the fight, Zemo proves to be the superior fighter. He grabs her by the throat, ready to end this war, but he is interrupted by Sam, Bucky, and the Natural. The two superheroes, the Natural, Zemo, and Veronica are all locked in a stalemate which comes to an end only when Veronica gets shot in the shoulder. This creates a distraction that allows Zemo to strap a jetpack on and leave. As for Veronica, she gets arrested by Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which puts an end to her attempted takeover of Hydra.
With Veronica out of the running, Zemo is made the winner by default. Sure, his victory comes only because of the involvement of two of his enemies but even during his fight with Veronica, he proved to be the worthy ruler of Hydra. And while one of Sam and Bucky's worst enemies is now officially at the head of Hydra, that is actually a good thing because Veronica had plans to transform the organization into something even worse. With Zemo at the head of Hydra, it will remain the shadowy outfit it always was.
As for Veronica, the series may end with her capture, but that doesn't mean this is the last of the character. As a Hydra Supreme hopeful, she rapidly stood out as an interesting character in Falcon & Winter Soldier, and she could make for a fun recurring enemy for the two title characters.