The Falcon and The Winter Soldier may be the show that most Marvel fans are waiting to watch out of the whole Disney+ lineup, given that the title characters must carry on Captain America’s legacy following the bittersweet ending (for fans) when Chris Evans Captain America chose his destiny to reunite with his sweetheart Peggy Carter and grow old with her.
The first Marvel Studios series for Disney+ will cast Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who will team up in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame; the show has been described as part buddy-cop and part political-thriller. The series will have showrunner Malcolm Spellman and will be directed by Kari Skogland (The Handmaid’s Tale, The Punisher). Also joining the show will be supporting character Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and the devious Zemo (Daniel Bruhl).
Helmut Zemo will not be the show’s only antagonist given that Kevin Feige, the MCU head honcho, announced during D23 that Wyatt Russell (son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell) would join the cast as John Walker a.k.a U.S. Agent – in the comics he’s a right wing version of Captain America created during the Reagan era who takes up the shield when Steve Rogers is dismissed. He later becomes a staunch supporting cast member of Avengers and Captain America comic books since the late 80s. Given Steve Rogers is no longer around this could mean that he may stand a chance to carry the shield or be the next MCU villain.
A number of people have taken up the mantle of Captain America over the years when Steve Rogers was out of commission, but out of all of them only five made a serious impact. The first was Isaiah Bradley, the prototype for Captain America as told in the acclaimed Truth: Red, White, and Black. In the 50’s William Burnside took over as Captain America in response to Rogers’ disappearance after World War II. John Walker became the new Captain America after Steve Rogers was dismissed from the role in the 80’s. When Steve Rogers temporarily died, Bucky Barnes took up the shield until Rogers was brought back to life. Sam Wilson became Cap’s replacement when Rogers lost his super soldier powers and became physically elderly.
So who is John Walker a.k.a U.S. Agent?
John Walker first appeared in Captain America #323, by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary. In the original story, he was rendered as the “villain” Super-Patriot, a tough talking belligerent right winger. Walker grew up in the South and idolized his fallen soldier brother, but Walker himself was an army veteran who sought larger glory. Walker underwent an experiment through the mysterious Power Broker, gaining superhuman powers, surpassing Steve Rogers’ super-soldier serum skills and attributes. Super-Patriot went public, criticizing often Captain America’s outdated variant of patriotism. Steve Rogers represented the best of patriotism whereas John Walker’s version bordered on fascism. Walker took every moment he could to bash Steve and he’d even stage fights with goons in Captain America masks called “The Buckies.” His constant attempts to fight Captain America are typically rebuffed, though their one eventual fight ends in a tentative draw
Steve Rogers is practically forced to give up the mantle of Captain America after refusing to answer to the Commission on Superhuman Activities. His beliefs did now allow him to be caught in the political wranglings the United States was going through and believed he could better serve the country without a flag on his chest. The Commission went thru a short search for replacement candidates, passes over Falcon because the U.S. was not ready for an African-American Cap and Nick Fury was deemed to old. Eventually the position landed on Walker, who is persuaded to become the new Captain America by Dr. Valerie Cooper.
Marvel at the time was in full gear, changing the characteristics of its traditional heroes by replacing them with new characters, even Thor and Iron Man fell under the ax. Walker was a relative success, and received training from the Taskmaster allowing him to be Captain America for a year and a half. As Cap he eventually becomes more heroic and becomes more like Steve Rogers. Although more brutal and violent he never reaches the Punisher’s level, although he does use his superior strength to kill enemies. It turns out the Red Skull is pulling the strings leading to Rogers dismissal and Steve & Walker fight him out together. John eventually returns the Captain America title back to Steve Rogers, and becomes U.S. Agent.
Now dressed in a black version of the Captain America outfit, Walker gets a shield of his own. Captain America and US Agent never truly become friends but manage to co-exist as politically-opposite counterparts with a mutual respect for each other. US Agent received a couple miniseries to his name, but never got a full fledged solo series, spending the next couple of decades jumping from one team to another. He starts of with the West Coast Avengers (later Forceworks) arguing often with Hawkeye. He later leads the Jury, a team of armored soldiers tasked to take down Venom.
He joins the Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad (STARS), and a modern version of the Invaders. Afterwards he becomes the American liaison to Omega Flight a role he hates because they are Canadians. He then joins Hank Pym’s version of the Mighty Avengers during the Dark Reign story line. He eventually fights Nuke, a deranged ultra right super soldier, losing an arm and leg in the process. He ends up in a wheelchair and becomes a prison warden. Eventually he regains his appendages thanks to a symbiote bond, and spends most of the time tossed around by Marvel where it suits them best.
Not much of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s plot has been revealed, or what role Walker will have in it. Given Steve Rogers is out of the picture, they MCU may seek to replace him like they did in the comics. Since the comic book John Walker wanted to be an icon that replaced the outdated Steve Rogers, the MCU version may follow a similar path.
If given the same origin of having a fallen military brother, MCU Walker may also resent Captain America for all of the attention that he takes from other soldiers. This would be a twisted variant of Steve’s own origin, truly making Walker a dark reflection of him. This desire to be worshiped as his country’s symbol may even be used by Zemo, who’s returning in the series. All of these factors could make Walker’s Captain America a villain to be taken down, not a paragon to look up to.
Anthony Mackie has recently gone on record that Sam Wilson will not take the Captain America mantle in the series. This ironically resembles Walker’s becoming Captain America in the comics. There, Sam Wilson turned down the offer, thinking that the country was not ready for a black Captain America. Winter Soldier may also be used in place of Nick Fury in the replacement short list in the MCU. With neither of Steve’s closest friends taking up his legacy, the government, may choose Walker in as a last resort. This would also confirm early plot rumors involving the government not wanting Wilson to take over from Rogers.
Should John Walker exhibit the characteristics from the comic book we’ll have a violent, louder and more selfish version of Captain America, damaging Steve’s legacy. But like the comics he may eventually become more like Steve with the help of the Falcon. Falcon may have to step in if Walker is not reigned in, causing John to relinquish the shield. By defeating this false Captain America, Sam Wilson could prove that he was always the one worthy to wield the shield.
What we do know is we do not know much where MCU Phase 4 will take us, but the iconic heroes which brought us here so far, Captain America and Iron Man are gone, and their replacements are needed.
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