One of the most memorable scenes in Avengers: Endgame was Captain America using Mjolnir during the Battle of Earth, and this moment was made even more special in Phase 4 thanks to John Walker. The Marvel Cinematic Universe reached its peak with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which saw this universe’s heroes joining forces to fight against Thanos and his armies after he acquired the Infinity Stones. Endgame saw the biggest battle the MCU has seen so far, and during it, a couple of unforgettable moments took place, and some of them paid off past teases.
Such was the case of Captain America’s biggest Endgame moment: using Thor’s legendary hammer, Mjolnir. Captain America being worthy of Mjolnir was teased years prior in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where during a party, he was the only one who managed to slightly move the hammer. This finally paid off in Avengers: Endgame, allowing Captain America and Thor to team up during the Battle of Earth to go against Thanos with the help of Mjolnir and Stormbreaker. Captain America holding Mjolnir will remain one of the most memorable scenes in the MCU’s history, and Phase 4 has only made this moment even more special.
Avengers: Endgame also marked the end of the arcs of most of the original Avengers, with Black Widow and Iron Man sacrificing themselves and Captain America retiring at the end of the movie, but not before passing the shield and mantle of “Captain America” to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Sam’s transformation into Captain America was explored in the TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which also introduced John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the government’s choice to become Captain America but who quickly proved to be unworthy – and it was Walker’s actions that ended up making Captain America using Mjolnir more special, as he showed how easy it would have been for Steve Rogers to become unworthy of it and more.
John Walker is a decorated Captain of the U.S. Army Rangers and believed himself to be a better embodiment of American values than Steve Rogers was, but he quickly proved that he wasn’t worthy of being Captain America. Walker fell into temptation and took a version of the Super Soldier Serum that later drove him to brutally kill a member of the Flag Smashers, which led to him being stripped of his mantle. Walker’s journey shows how easy it would have been for Rogers to slip and become unworthy not only of Mjolnir but of being Captain America, but throughout his MCU journey, Rogers stayed true to his values. Captain America went through a lot since his MCU debut in Captain America: The First Avenger and lost pretty much everyone close to him, yet he never faltered and proved that, despite everything, he was truly worthy, which is quite impressive in hindsight after watching how it could have gone wrong through John Walker.
Although Walker is no longer Captain America and that title finally belongs to Sam Wilson, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine recruited Walker and turned him into U.S. Agent, and it’s to be seen what his role in the MCU will be. Walker’s presence in the MCU is not only to bring balance to Sam’s current story, but also to show that not only is it not easy to be Captain America, but that Steve Rogers was truly the best option for the role and he excelled at it – and he was truly worthy of Mjolnir, the shield, and more.
