In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, viewers saw new and old characters and observed their personalities and character development until the show's conclusion. Whether the characters were heroes or villains, there is no denying that possessing intelligence is pivotal for anyone to achieve a specific goal or mission.
Considering the series has ties to the Captain America trilogy, where espionage and surveillance are its forte, several characters are naturally smart. While many characters exhibited their intelligence to the greatest extent, some characters did not show this skill as strongly as others.
11 John Walker
John Walker made several poor choices during his short stint as Captain America. He was pretty slow in finding the Flag Smashers and rarely had justifiable planning in stopping them.
While he tried his best to reach the levels of Captain America, John's short-temper impacted his ability to think and react rationally to situations. Instead, he responded to things with hostility, even at one point not hesitating to kill Sam Wilson. Sadly, his shortcomings put him at the bottom of the list because he is too impulsive and hostile to make logical decisions.
10 Lemar Hoskins
Because Lemar Hoskin was more level-headed than John, he was more rational about the decisions and planning made while finding and stopping the Flag Smashers.
As John's best friend and wingman, Lemar was his voice of reason when they were on missions. For instance, he sided with Sam on his plan to talk to Karli instead of John's forceful approach in arresting her. He did not find brute force as the best option to handle situations and tries to deescalate an intense moment whenever John got too impulsive. Overall, fans didn't get too much time to really know Lemar in the show.
9 Joaquín Torres
While Joaquín Torres only made a few appearances, he was a pivotal character in discovering the Flag Smashers. Although he made a few mistakes, like not calling backup during the Flag Smashers' robbery of a bank, his ability to track things are exceptional. He pinpointed the Flag Smashers' final destination by observing their moves and finding anomalies.
The series also hinted at Joaquín's mechanical talent, especially when he tried to help Sam fix Redwing. While viewers wished to see more of what he could do, Joaquín seems to have a promising future and could display more of his intelligence in later projects.
8 Karli Morgenthau
As the main antagonist of the series, Karli Morgenthau led a group of Flag Smashers with the mission of a united and borderless world since several countries wanted borders back and were planning on displacing survivors of the Snap. Karli was a formidable leader, realizing the high stakes, and knew that having the super soldier powers gave them leverage in succeeding in their cause.
Early on, she made several clever and strategic moves, deceiving Sam and Bucky with her traps and having many hideout places to avoid being caught. Despite her cleverness, her ambitions and emotions soon got the best of her. She decided to take extreme measures, even resorting to killing people without hesitation. Therefore, her rational judgment calls declined and became the downfall for her and the organization.
7 Bucky Barnes
His history as a former HYDRA agent does give Bucky certain amounts of knowledge. While Bucky is trying to move on from his past as the Winter Soldier, he still exhibits exceptional skills like high intelligence. He made a few intellectual plays, like acting as backup for Sam Wilson in episode 2.
Considering the Flag Smashers were a threat, and they had limited knowledge about them, Bucky was the one who suggested potential contacts to find some leads about their whereabouts, ultimately leading to Zemo. Like any spy, he knows how to track people. He found Zemo at the Sokovian memorial and decided to work smarter than harder to find the Flag Smashers in the finale, thanks to the app on the phone that took him right to them. All that said, Bucky is seen to be impulsive and hard-headed at times, and given that he is a man out of time, he's still adjusting to some parts of the present.
6 Sam Wilson
Because he was in the military and always flies with his EXO-7 Falcon, he has proficient tactical and strategic intelligence, allowing him to make quick decisions on missions and execute and coordinate plans with his teammates. Sam also thinks more rationally about pursuing anyone with the least amount of force. Furthermore, Sam exhibits some talent in mechanics by fixing his suit and his family boat.
Sam is a natural leader who knows when to make the right moves and show compassion, but his heart sometimes makes him too hopeful and goes before his head. That said, emotional intelligence is an important factor to consider, and Sam has that in spades.
5 Isaiah Bradley
It is difficult to place Isaiah Bradley because he had a limited on-screen appearance. However, viewers know about Isaiah's heartbreaking story as an experimented and mistreated super-soldier that points out the double standard and racist history of the United States.
It is reasonable why Isaiah is pessimistic and has little faith in people and the country. In many ways, he is more aware of the truths of both the MCU and the real world than many of the other characters that exist, making his intelligence incredibly high, despite his still minimal screentime.
4 Sarah Wilson
Even though Sarah Wilson had a limited presence and displays no special abilities or skills, she is a smart civilian. As a widow, Sarah always considered what was best for her family financially, even if it meant giving up her family boat, while her brother was more stubborn about not giving it up.
Also, the series hinted at her mechanical skill as she helped to fix the boat. Though she knows little about her brother's mission, she knows where her brother stands on issues and values. She also seems aware of the truths of the world in a way many heroes aren't, and it's to her that Sam comes to with the important choices he has to make throughout the show. Sarah's character is one many viewers can relate to.
3 Sharon Carter
It makes sense why Sharon Carter is one of the most intelligent characters in the series. She built a whole career as a SHIELD and CIA agent, and she deceived Rogers into thinking she was his next-door neighbor, a nurse. Of course, her manipulation skills as an agent paid off to help her develop her persona as the Power Broker after becoming an enemy of the state and selling items from her Art Gallery to survive.
As the Power Broker, she covered any loose ends by killing Karli and Batroc to prevent her identity from being revealed. She is now using her new freedom and reinstated job to take advantage of government information and weaponry vital for her business.
2 Ayo
While Ayo was not one of the main characters, she had enough presence to be a significant player. With Zemo's escape from prison, Ayo displays her intelligence by figuring out that Bucky helped him escape and easily tracking them in Latvia.
She is also tactically intelligent and knows how to fight against all manner of foes. Though she fought against a super-serumed Bucky, she disarmed his vibranium arm with a simple failsafe. It explains why she is the number two of the Dora Milaje. Despite her more combat history, Ayo also contributed to fixing Bucky from his brainwash by HYDRA. Ayo has been well trained and well-taught and her presence is a completely authoritative one.
1 Baron Zemo
It is no surprise that Baron Zemo ranks as the smartest character in the series. He is the same person that broke up the Avengers by having them destroy themselves. His expertise in super-soldiers made him a valuable asset to locate the Flag Smashers. Also, he proved his argument that super soldiers are too consumed with their superiority. It explains why he was so keen on executing them.
Though he has no immense powers like most supervillains, his intelligence is his distinguishable power and allows him to be highly proficient as a tactician. He is always two steps ahead of everyone else, allowing him to break free from handcuffs or escaping the room unscathed as Sam, Bucky, John, and Lemar fought with the Dora Milaje. Since he knows Sam and Bucky too well that they would not consider killing Karli or the Flag Smashers, Zemo managed to plan out the assassination of the remaining Flag Smashers with Oeznik by bombing their vehicle.
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May 04, 2021 at 05:30AM
