If Sam Wilson’s inheritance of the Captain America mantle were the spark of division amongst fans, then John Walker’s introduction would ignite the fire. After Sam gave Steve’s shield to the Smithsonian, the rising threat of the Flag-Smashers prompted the government to respond by choosing a new Captain America, and John Walker was their prime candidate. Despite the admirable service he performed for his country, John quickly proved unworthy of the mantle. Primarily acting out of pride and aggression, John devolved until he publicly killed a man he presumed killed his partner, prompting Sam and Bucky to take back the shield and the government to discharge him. This wouldn’t be the end of John’s career, as Valentina Allegra De Fontaine would recruit him as a dark ops until he joined Yelena’s New Avengers.
Origins
While the MCU wouldn’t fully elaborate on their version of John’s origin story, his comic book counterpart would make up for it. However, compared to the tragic and complex portrayal in the MCU, John’s story comes across as a bit simplistic and even unsympathetic at times.
John’s life humbly began on his family’s Georgia farm, but he would have his eyes fixed on bigger things: in this case, the army. This would come from a deep admiration and respect for his dad—who served in the army—and his older brother—who was killed in combat while serving as a military pilot. After following in their footsteps and joining the army, John would befriend Lamar Hoskins, Hector Lennox, and Jerome Johnson, while also engaging in a brief romance with former rival Kali Vries (who soon joined S.H.I.E.L.D.). But John would soon find army life unfulfilling, spending the next two years mostly on the bench, prompting him and his friends to quit the army. But the four friends would find a new opportunity to become more active and prominent fighters when Curtiss Jackson—the comics version of the Power Broker—approached them with an offer to undergo experiments that would amplify their strength and bodies. Of course, there was a catch to such a treatment: money. Therefore, to cover the operations’ expenses, John and his friends became costumed heroic figures (John as the Super-Patriot and his friends as the Buckies—Bold Urban Commandos) and offered services as opening acts or special guests for touring rock groups (marvel.com).
Over time, Walker and his Buckies toured the country and gained popularity. However, a dark secret that led to this success—prompted by their manager—resulted from the group (mainly the Buckies) staging violent scenarios and even leading “anti-terrorist” campaigns against foreigners, all to make the Super-Patriot a more beloved hero. However, this would lead to a couple of confrontations with Steve Rogers, even resulting in a brawl (which Walker essentially won). Eventually, after stopping a supervillain and pro-war terrorist, the government chose Walker as the new Captain America after manipulating Rogers into resigning from the role. Hoskins would also be recruited to join him as his sidekick, Battlestar. Although this new responsibility would force Walker to respect Rogers, he soon proved unworthy of the mantle by brutally killing his parents’ murderers and severely beating and burning his now-rogue Buckies.
But the major turning point in Walker’s career occurred when Red Skull manipulated the new Captain America to fight Steve Rogers once again. While Rogers would win this time, the pair reconciled and teamed up to stop the Skull. After that, Walker convinced Rogers to take back his mantle of Captain America. However, the government wasn’t about to let such a valuable asset go so easily. Therefore, they made him go through plastic surgery and even brainwashed him into assuming a whole new identity (Jack Daniels), reforging him into the U.S.Agent. The government would also force the West Coast Avengers to accept him as a member, but he would finally break free from his handlers’ control after regaining his memories. Walker would continue to serve alongside his teammates, join multiple other hero teams, become the warden of the Raft at one point, and even join the fight against Hydra Captain America. Overall, Walker may not be Captain America, but despite his past struggles, he proved to be a hero in his own right.
Powers, Abilities, and Weaknesses
While Walker may not be a super-soldier like his MCU counterpart, the Power Broker’s procedure made him just as strong as one, perhaps even stronger. Super-soldiers, by definition, are enhanced to the highest level of human physicality and potential, which greatly enhances their strength and agility, but not to a ridiculously high degree. John, on the other hand, had his strength enhanced to that degree. According to marvel.com, Walker is strong enough to lift over 11 tons and jump about 20 feet, making him physically stronger than Steve Rogers in many stories. The experiment also enhanced his durability, stamina, agility, and reflexes; not to the same level as Rogers, but still to an impressive level. Either way, these enhancements make him an unstoppable force on the battlefield, overwhelming Captain America or other enhanced individuals with brute strength and determination.
However, what makes this terrifying is combining that level of strength with his pre-existing combat knowledge. As brief as it was, his time in the military drilled into his skull training in unarmed combat. And of course, he would also receive extensive training in many firearms, including pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons. This would all make him an already formidable fighter before the Power Broker, but serving as the government’s Super-Patriot expanded on that potential. Thanks to the near-limitless resources provided to him, John was able to study Steve Rogers’ fighting style enough to develop a similar one for himself. In addition, John obtained his own shield and even received many other shields over the years (some of which were made of Vibranium, others out of strong metal alloys), but he still trained to fight with them as efficiently as Steve. If that weren’t enough, John is also equipped with his most powerful weapon: the energy truncheon. Basically, a club made of pure energy, it can either discharge blasts or knock down vault doors with one blow. Again, Walker’s super strength can already overwhelm opponents, but aggressively using it alongside his arsenal could be considered overkill, especially when he will not hold back until his opponent is either down or out.
But most of the time, that itself is the problem. Unlike Captain America or the Red Guardian, who embody and fight for the pride of their respective countries, the U.S.Agent is blinded by pride in himself. Much like the MCU version of him, Walker possesses an insecure superiority complex, where he consistently needs to prove himself. This often causes him to go above and beyond in many missions, landing him in trouble. Aside from that, Walker severely lacks any kind of restraint: mental, emotional, and even physical. If anyone makes Walker angry, even by offending him mildly, he will immediately start a fight in retaliation. After all, Walker picked a fight with Steve Rogers when he initially confronted him about the Buckies’ crimes. Walker didn’t finish Rogers off in that moment because of a previous engagement at a concert he participated in, but other scenarios don’t end as peacefully. John is not above using excessive force, as he’s known to brutally beat his enemies to near-death, just like he burned and almost killed his former Buckies. Further, after the deaths of his parents and suffering under the weight of expectations, it continued to damage his mind to the point of near-insanity. The U.S.Agent may have turned his life around in the end, but overall, he’s a massive train wreck. Personally, it’s crazy how Bucky—a mentally broken but ruthless killing machine—makes more sense as a candidate for Captain America than the unstable tank of a human being that is John Walker.
Greatest Feats
Especially when, as previously mentioned, John tarnished one of America’s greatest symbols shortly after receiving it. Everything unraveled when a government press conference announced Steve Rogers’s replacement and revealed Battlestar’s identity to the world, prompting John’s former Buckies to attack the event and publicly reveal John’s identity. This further prompted the extremist vigilante group known as the Watchdogs to exact their revenge on John, since he had beaten and arrested several members before. And like many other villains or villain groups before them, they decided the best way to get their revenge was to abduct the hero’s parents. When John attempted to rescue them, they were unfortunately killed during the chaos. Completely consumed by grief and rage, he brutally slaughtered many of the Watchdogs with his bare hands. According to marvel.com, John’s warpath left ten confirmed deaths and twice as many injuries, but he didn’t stop there. Tracking down the Buckies who leaked his identity to the world, he beat both of them within an inch of their lives, tied them to an oil tank, and left them at the mercy of a lit torch, but still gave them a fighting chance at escape. In a dark and twisted way, this is what makes this moment an iconic part of John’s history. Not only does it set him apart from Steve Rogers, but it tragically defines the core of his character: a ticking time bomb. Despite his best efforts to be a better hero, this consistent trait proves he could never be worthy of such a noble symbol and responsibility.
Even after he relinquished the mantle back to Steve, John’s pride and lack of self-control still hold him back in many ways. After the government transformed him into the U.S.Agent, they had him join the West Coast Avengers, which at the time consisted of: Hawkeye (the team leader), Mockingbird, Wonder Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Tigra, and even Moon Knight for a brief time. Right off the bat, tensions began rising between the tight-knit group and their newest member. Since the government forced the WCA to accept Walker as a member, everyone perceived John as a representation of government intervention and oversight. But even after ignoring that, John’s militaristic personality and brash, emotional side made it difficult to get along with him. Soon, tensions escalated to the point where Clint finally called John out, which, of course, resulted in a brawl. Despite the clear disadvantage against John’s super-strength, Clint refused to surrender to an arrogant jerk like him, so he pushed forward anyway. Unfortunately, though, John easily overpowered and defeated the archer. Ironically, despite the outcome, John didn’t assert dominance over the group, and Clint kept him on the team. Perhaps it would be this decision that began tearing down John’s walls, because over time, John finally saw the WCA as a strong group of heroes rather than an undisciplined rabble. And in return, while the group never fully learned to cooperate with him, they at least grew to respect and accept him more. In the end, Walker proves that people can grow in their own way: not to completely change who they are, but to learn how to work with the differences between themselves and others to become stronger.
And in this last feat, John demonstrates how much he has truly grown. Years after the WCA disbanded, the Earth itself would be at risk of a war with the Agardians when Norman Osborn led his Dark Avengers on an assault against the Realm Eternal. Greatly opposed to this course of action, Walker intercepts the villainous group, but instead struggles against the hero Nuke. Ironically, John was the one at a disadvantage against someone stronger than him, but he still pressed forward anyway. However, this decision would prove costly as Nuke tore off John’s arm and leg, which would’ve crippled him if the government once again interfered with John’s destiny. Refitting him with cybernetic prosthetics, John then retired and became the warden of the Raft super-prison. However, this would not be the end of his story. While transporting the by-now-arrested Dark Avengers to the Raft, the group was somehow thrust out of their reality and into an alternate version of New York. Once there, John was bonded with that version of Venom and had his limbs restored. After that, the group learned that A.I.M. was behind the bizarre event because of an experiment they had performed. Regardless, despite the new environment, filled with wild and unpredictable factors, John led the group through unknown territory until they finally found a way back to their world. Unfortunately, the Dark Avengers manipulated Walker into letting them go free, but one thing cannot be understated: John took charge, but not in the way he initially would have. Instead, he led responsibly as Steve would: by cooperating with his team and ensuring their survival. Of course, John would remain his typical reckless self afterward. But the fact that he united a group of antiheroes and villains in an alternate world is a noteworthy step forward for his character.
Conclusion
Unlike the previous other characters, the MCU and comic versions of John Walker are very similar. Both of them have extremely short fuses, failed as replacement Captain Americas, but somewhat redeemed themselves as the U.S. Agent. However, the comic iteration is hard to sympathize with, which is why I personally prefer the MCU version. Despite how awful he is, just watching Wyatt Russell’s compelling performance as the character spirals out of control and ultimately drives his wife and son away tugs at my heartstrings. Seeing him become part of a new family in the New Avengers is hopeful, but I still worry that his brash, reckless nature will get everyone in trouble when they have to fight Dr. Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday.”
