The most recent two episodes of The falcon and the winter Soldier Have been troubling for John Walker, the government-chosen replacement for Steve Rogers of Captain America’s mantle. In “The Whole World Is Watching,” Walker dosed himself with super soldier serum and then publicly murdered one of the Flag-Smashers in a rage-fueled bid for revenge after Battlestar’s death. In the series finale, “Truth,” Walker was stripped of Captain America title and military rank. But he is still convinced that he is Captain America and that Karli Morganthau will have to pay for Lemar Hoskin’s death. In the post credit scene, he builds a new Captain America shield to replace the shield taken from him.
The arc follows Walker’s story from the comics quite closely, although with some changes and hints towards a similar fate. How does it all happen in the Marvel Comics universe? For one thing, it’s not Battlestar’s death that triggers Walker in the comics. Here’s how Walker’s time as Captain America ended and what came next, although this may spoil some of what will come in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
In the comics, Walker got his serum straight from the Power Broker and only started acting like a superhero. Lemar Hoskins and two more of Walker’s fellow soldiers were also given the serum. After a brief career as a Super-Patriot, Walker was called up to become Captain America. Lemar became Battlestar, but the other two super soldiers couldn’t pass the background check. Embittered, they collapsed the press conference, which is said to have made the new Captain America public, revealing the identity of John Walker, who had been kept secret.
Exposing his identity was terrible news to Walker, especially since his first mission as Captain America was to infiltrate his hometown and exterminate a terrorist group called the Watchdogs. After learning that Walker was Cap, the Watchdogs took his parents as hostages to get him out. Walker went against the order to try to save his parents, but as soon as he made his move, the Watchdogs opened fire and killed his mother and father. Walker snapped, killed the entire group of guard dogs, then hunted down and set fire to his old friends who had crashed his press conference.
The government could hope to cover up Walker’s violent behavior. They would have stripped him of his role had Flag-Smasher (the one and only Karl Morganthau in the comics) not demanded a meeting with Captain America. The government sent Walker, but Flag-Smasher acknowledged that it was not Steve Rogers who spoke to and defeated Walker in combat. To save his friend, Battlestar went against Walker’s wishes and found Steve Rogers and brought him to save him.
Then Walker got into a fight with Hoskins. He discovered that the Red Skull was behind him and once became Captain America and eventually encouraged Steve Rogers to reclaim the title from Captain America. However, the government still had plans for John Walker. He couldn’t be a public symbol like Captain America, but he could serve them in other capacities.
Walker was given a new costume and shield (both discarded by Steve Rogers after returning to Captain America) and a new code name, US Agent. They then sent him to join the West Coast Avengers, working as a government representative, which caused a conflict between him and his teammates, but he ultimately earned their respect. Still, the philosophical differences between him and the other Marvel heroes often put him at odds with the more popular Avengers. Walker spent time trying to redeem himself and step out of Captain America’s shadow and eventually recovered from Battlestar. He would later work with such teams as the Dark Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and Omega Flight.
Do you expect Walker to become a US Agent in the MCU? Could he participate in the Thunderbolts? Let us know what you think in the comments.