Who’s The New Captain America in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier?
It was interesting to begin a series called The Falcon and The Winter Soldier without actually bringing together the eponymous duo. The trailers sold us a buddy action film told in six parts, but after a bombastic action sequence in the beginning, the show was more focused on showing us the lives of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Two men somewhat out of time, trying to return to some sense of normalcy after fighting a larger purple man and his alien army.
For Sam Wilson, part of this return involves giving up the shield he was gifted by Steve Rogers at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The mantle of Captain America is too big for any other man in Sam’s estimation, so he donates the shield with the understanding that it’ll sit in the Smithsonian’s Captain America exhibit. Unfortunately for Sam, the government is a liar, turning around and giving the shield to a new Captain America (played by Wyatt Russell), who appears at the end of the episode.
Who Is This New Captain America?
He hasn’t been named in the show, but this new Captain America is John Walker. The comics iteration has been Captain America in the past, but he’s more well-known as U.S. Agent. Think of him as a skewed mirror on the idea Captain America.
“Basically, I just wanted to do the opposite of Steve Rogers,” John Walker creator Mark Gruenwald told Comics Interview back in 1988 (issue #54). “Okay, Steve Rogers is a poor northern urban boy. So I’ll make a guy from rural middle class south. Cap is now old, so this guy’ll be a real young up-and-comer. Cap has lofty ideals, so I’ll make Super-Patriot be more realistic and more pragmatic. So, I put together his background and character traits by playing the opposite game.”
Super-Patriot later became Captain America, with his own version of Bucky, only to lose the mantle to Steve Rogers. At that point, he became U.S. Agent, sort of a Red State Captain America. U.S. Agent strays away from the ideal of Captain America: he’s a little rougher and more willing to follow orders. Walker is more about using his fists over using his words. That’s not to say he doesn’t have heroic moments, he just doesn’t come at them as easy as his fellow Avengers.
Where Did He Get His Powers?
In the comics, Walker always wanted to be a hero. He joined the Army to live up to the memory of his older brother Mike, who died in the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, in a time of relative peace, there was nowhere for Walker to really prove himself. (This storyline was in 1986, mind you.)
Walker and a few of his friends were approached by the Power Broker, a businessman who’d give people powers… for a price. Walker got powers akin to Captain America himself — actually, he’s a little stronger than Steve Rogers — and began calling himself Super-Patriot. He ran afoul of the real Cap, but when Steve Rogers resigned from the post, Walker was there to pick it up.
Eventually, Steve Rogers returned to the Captain America role, with Walker giving it up voluntarily. At the ceremony, Walker was assassinated, but it was all a dodge by the government, who brought him back, brainwashed him, and made him U.S. Agent. He later regained his memories and decided to become a proper hero.
He’s never quite reached those heights though.
If you’re interested in reading Walker’s original storyline, it can be found on Comixology. It begins in Captain America #323 and stretches to Captain America #354, where he becomes U.S. Agent.
You’ll find the whole storyline in these three collections:
- Captain America Epic Collection: Justice Is Served
- Captain America: The Captain
- Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt
Or they’re potentially on Marvel Unlimited as single issues.
How Will The TV Show Handle Him?
With a character like John Walker, there’s a decent spectrum between good and evil. On one end, he’s a decent guy who doesn’t go about things in the right manner. On the other, he’s a jackbooted soldier punching folks at the behest of the U.S. government. In the comics, he was the one sent by the government to retrieve the shield from the new Captain America, Sam Wilson.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier showrunner and head writer Malcolm Spellman does give a hint on Walker’s overall direction in the show. “”We wanted John Walker to be worthy of being Captain America if we were going to give him the shield,” Spellman told IGN. “You read the books, and he’s an awesome character in the books, but you can’t hand that guy the shield in the MCU. It wouldn’t work — to make him Cap would be violating some kind of logic that is indescribable, but you know it’s there.”
“So we started with the books, and as we saw that he was going to become Cap, we- I’m not going to say softened him, but we humanized him, and made him much more worthy. But he does have an intense journey, and he does have to earn it,” added Spellman.
I don’t think Walker is leaving this show still being Captain America, but I do see him on the road to being U.S. Agent. My guess is Walker will be a former soldier who wants to do the right thing. Either through his overzealous nature or some sort of PTSD, I could see Walker going too far and probably hurting someone real bad in a public fashion. Then he could ultimately give up the shield, forcing Sam Wilson to take it up once again. Hell, the new Captain America costume is already on its way towards looking like the U.S. Agent comic outfit.
The open question is where he’s getting his powers in the show. I’d expect that they’ll stick somewhat close to his comics origins, with his powers coming from the Power Broker, or at least the MCU’s version of the Power Broker. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this Power Broker is also fueling the super soldier-like Flag Smashers in this first episode. One man, or one corporation, making human weapons for the world. For a price. An arms race with people, not objects.
Alternatively, they could make Walker a recipient of the Weapon Plus program, with a new version of the Super Soldier Serum. In the comics, Weapon Plus is the government program aimed at creating human weapons, leading to the powers of Luke Cage and Wolverine.
For the time being though, there’s a new shield-slinger in town. One who will probably answer to the American government more than Steve Rogers ever would. And a stepping stone towards Sam Wilson (or Bucky Barnes) probably taking up the mantle of Captain America. We know we’re getting there, it’s just a matter of how bad things are going to get before it happens.
