John Walker Is the Center of 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'
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The following story contains spoilers for the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Episode 1.
The first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that in the aftermath of his Avengers: Endgame conversation with Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson turned Captain America's shield in to the government.
A "New Captain America"—John Walker—is introduced to the American people, and his story rapidly evolves over the next few episodes of the show.
Walker, also known as U.S. Agent in the wider Marvel canon, has a long and detailed history.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, the path of Captain America succession seemed clear: Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) time was up, and he'd chosen his good friend Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as next man up. As Steve told Sam the news, their third amigo, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) looked on approvingly. Everyone was on board, and things are all good to ride off into the next chapter in the sunset. Except this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and things are never that easy. Disney+'s new series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which is now streaming and will run for six weeks total) picks up a few months after that moment, and the path of Cap succession has never been messier—and that includes a "New Captain America," John Walker—who will eventually be known as U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell)—introduced at the end of the show's first episode.
Early on in the episode, we find out what Sam did with the shield following his talk with Steve in Endgame: turned it in. We heard Sam say at the time that the shield felt like it "belongs to someone else," but it appears that he really wasn't feeling up to it, apparently. In an early episode scene, Sam is seen paying tribute to Steve—who has either actually died or they are telling people that he died—as Cap's shield goes into government hands and onto display.
A conversation with James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) lets us know that Sam just didn't feel right taking over for the legend who he knew for years as a friend. But that feeling looks instead to be one of conflict at the end of the episode, when Sam, watching on TV, sees the same government official he handed the shield over to introducing "The New Captain America." Sam knows that this wasn't Steve's choice. He feels off. And viewers everywhere surely feel how Sam felt when this new guy, who we soon learn is John Walker, does some Captain America cosplay and winks into the camera. Groan.
This "New Captain America" is not a new character to Marvel Comics fans; John F. Walker, the "New Captain America" is eventually called "U.S. Agent," and has a significant history in the comics, and as we see developing in the show as well.
Walker could be a villain, and he could be a hero.
After Episode 4, it sure seems to be pointing in the direction of the latter, though. As we'll get to in a little bit, Walker's origin in the Marvel Comics is fairly close to what happens in the show; long story short, in both cases he winds up taking the Power Broker's super soldier serum. But the path towards Walker taking the serum—and his eventual descent—has been maybe the best part of the series so far.
After his winking first episode cameo, Walker has gone from confident, charming three-time Medal of Honor-winning charmer on Good Morning America, to guy yelling at civilians about his ever-so-important stature, to man-in-uniform murdering someone in cold blood for the whole world to see. That arc is enunciated by the nervous, impatient Walker becoming more and more obsessed with stopping Karli Morgenthau and the Flag-Smashers; when the group's fighting results in his best friend and confidant Lemar Hoskins breaking his neck and dying, Walker snaps. He beats one of Karli's men to death, and only afterwards, when the Cap Vibranium shield is bloodied does he realize that all the people around him have been watching.
And oh yeah—Walker gets the serum in Episode 4. Feeling weak compared to Karli's crew, Walker keeps the one remaining serum—Zemo, hating superheroes as he always does, crushed the rest with his stylish shoes. And after a conversation with Lemar, we clearly see that Walker has taken the serum. His super strength in kicking a guy about a hundred feet in the air, and then, uh, bending a metal pipe with his bare hands make that pretty evident.
By the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Walker has officially taken on the identity of U.S. Agent, a character in the comics who's been both an anti-hero and a villain; kind of in the same way we've seen Walker thus far in the show. He's got the right motivation, but his execution is simply wrong—and in no way following Steve Rogers' legacy. Walker is a brute, as the man tells him in Episode 3, but U.S. Agent he has been both a viable friend and a formidable foe to the heroes in the comics.
His transformation into U.S. Agent is complete.
Now that Walker has been stripped of his Captain America title, lost his friend Lemar/Battlestar (RIP), and seems to be, well, full of both vengeance and super soldier serum, it seems like he's ready to take on his new anti-hero/vigilante title. The post-credits scene from Episode 5 showed him pulling together a new suit and shield, which should certainly reflect his new identity.
The finale showed Walker with his new costume—all black—and receiving his new named from Val: U.S. Agent. The finale made it clear through his actions at the climactic final battle with Karli and the Flag-Smashers that Waker does have good intentions, though it's clear that our sinister new friend played by a comedy legend probably does not have the best of intentions.
So what's next for John Walker in the MCU?
That remains to be seen. We'll almost certainly see Wyatt Russell as Walker again, as the MCU does not really do big character build-ups and introductions without following through on it. (Though Marvel did hint at the appearance of Tim Blake Nelson as villain The Leader in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, that seems to be an isolated incident.)
Some have speculated that Walker could show up in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings as a way to tie that film to the larger MCU. Walker showing up in that movie could also be a good way to continue to hint at whatever team of rogues Val is pulling together, whether they're becoming the MCU version of the Thunderbolts, or the Dark Avengers, or whatever else.
And on that same note: that does seem like what's happening. Val has a sinister Nick Fury vibe about her (and her character was his lover in the comics!), and we expect that Walker will wind up being the Walker of her team. Could this mean a Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers movie? Or will this team just be the antagonists in an upcoming MCU phase? That much remains to be seen. But if Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were one generation's version of a rich guy and a super soldier, couldn't this new version have their own in Baron Helmut Zemo and John Walker? We'll simply have to wait and see.
Walker was a different Captain America than Steve Rogers ever was.
It took a bit of an intro to get there, but the John Walker Captain America of the MCU is already resembling the insecure, self-important John Walker Captain America of the Marvel Comics. While he had a cool demeanor when being interviewed on Good Morning America, Episode 3 showed Walker to be someone easily frustrated. When a Munich business owner spit in his face, Walker completely snapped. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" he yelled in the man's face. Obviously, this isn't something Steve Rogers would ever have done, and we don't need to wonder whether it's something Sam or Bucky would do either—they just wouldn't. Walker punched the defenseless man in the gut, too—he's more concerned with his power over others than carrying the shield with pride.
That being said, Walker did show a little bit of Steve Rogers spirit later in the episode, when he began to suspect that Sam and Bucky helped Zemo escape the prison. Now, obviously, he's pitting himself against our heroes, so that's going to be a problem. But working on an "off the books" mission is something we've seen Steve do in both Winter Soldier and Civil War. Walker is coming from the wrong place, but his motivation is right.
The idea that Walker is of good intentions, but going about it in entirely the wrong way is what ultimately makes him such a compelling character.
What is John Walker/U.S. Agent's backstory in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier?
While we haven't seen much of Walker's origin story yet we did get a bit of a behind the scenes look at him in the opening moments of Episode 2, in the moments just before he became the new Captain America. And those moments did a nice job to show a bit of character nuance. While the Walker throughout the rest of the episode had almost a larger than life, overconfident persona, the Walker in the locker room in the episode's opening was quiet, subdued, and seemed a bit skittish to even try to step into Steve's shoes .
The remainder of Episode 2, though, showed Walker going big. His "humble" personality gave way to big moments in the fight on top of the truck and riding in the Humvee with Bucky and Sam. Walker isn't like Steve, who was more than willing to oppose the government when the government was doing something he didn't agree with—hell, think his own movies Winter Soldier or Civil War. The Walker version of Captain America is the opposite; he considers himself the government without flinching.
Even chatting with Sam and Bucky after Bucky got out of jail showed Walker wanting to collaborate with them, but being somewhat scornful and bitter when Sam refused. We'll see where things go from here, but it seems like the New Captain America and Captain America's old friends are already setting themselves up on opposite sides of the same coin.
Who is U.S. Agent in the Marvel and Captain America comics?
The story of U.S. Agent/John Walker in the Marvel Comics can give us a fairly decent idea of where the story is going in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. In a nutshell, the character Walker first appeared in Captain America #323 back in 1986; his initial arc found him gaining super powers from someone called The Power Broker, and he then took on the superhero mantle of "Super-Patriot." He was sharply critical of Steve Rogers/Captain America, publicly ranted against him, and even staged an attack (by fake Captain America fans called "buckies") which he would win in public. Eventually, he would fight and defeat Captain America. (U.S. Agent/John Walker doesn't super closely tie in with Sam/Bucky comic arcs, but as with most MCU properties, it does seem like they'll be able to pick and choose pieces of stories from here and there)
But the arc we might really be interested in, apparently, comes in Captain America #333 after Steve Rogers abandoned the Captain America mantle due to not believing in what's basically the comics version of the Sokovia Accords (government oversight on superheroes). The government then, familiar with Walker's obsession and dislike for Rogers as Super-Patriot, ask him to take on the mantle, which he accepts wholeheartedly.
With Walker as a government-controlled (at least initially) version of Captain America, he tries to match Steve's ethical, cool-headed ways, but his impulsive personality makes him more brutal and violent. During Walker's time as Captain America, he at one point gets captured by Flag-Smasher (a villain who will appear in the Disney+) series and saved by Steve Rogers, among others. Perhaps this could be a spot for Sam in the show?
Walker's time as Captain America comes to a close in the comics when a storyline with a lot of body switching (Red Skull in a cloned version of Steve's body, for one) ends with Steve and Walker coming to an understanding, and Walker eventually convincing Steve to take the mantle back as Cap, while the Government fakes his death and sets him up with his new identity as, yes, U.S. Agent. We're not sure how it'll play out in the series, but this would seem to be a reasonable kind of arc for Sam to finally become the Captain America that Steve wanted him to be in the MCU.
So, basically, as you can see in the image above, John Walker/U.S. Agent does eventually settle into a sort of good guy anti-hero type character (and one with his own solo adventure series). He's more violent than Steve, and a brutal, loose cannon, but he means well. Think Homelander from The Boys, but, like, way less evil. He's also always kind of compromised. In the famous West Coast Avengers comics, U.S. Agent is assigned to join the team to essentially spy on the other heroes for the government. Come on, man.
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