The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get a whole lot bigger. While there are only five movies slated for theatrical release in the MCU’s Phase 4 up to 2021, Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ will premiere a bunch of series based on Marvel characters that will tie into the movies. The first one, entitled The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, will be released in late 2020, and Wyatt Russell was recently cast to play John Walker in the series.
His superhero alter ego is U.S. Agent
While John Walker has taken on the “Captain America” mantle in the comics (and just might do that in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, if the government disagrees with Steve Rogers’ decision to pass his moniker on to Sam Wilson and chooses their own guy), his best-known alter ego is U.S. Agent. Walker has also used the all-American alias Jack Daniels and gone by the on-the-nose superhero name Super-Patriot, but U.S. Agent is easily his most famous alias – he’s appeared in five video games based on Marvel Comics, and all of them have depicted him with the name U.S. Agent.
He’s the opposite of Steve Rogers
John Walker was created by Mark Gruenwald to be the polar opposite of Steve Rogers. Both Rogers and Walker are symbols of American patriotism, but Walker is the dark flip-side of Rogers. Rogers is a patriotic hero, whereas Walker was conceived to be a patriotic villain. Rogers represents everything that’s great about patriotism; Walker represents everything that’s wrong with it.
Rogers always strives to do the right thing, and only works with the government when their ideologies line up, whereas Walker is happy to do anything that the government asks him to do, no matter what the moral considerations are.
He reflects Reagan-era politics
Since John Walker first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1986, at the height of the Ronald Reagan presidency, he reflects that era of politics. After the Nixon administration and the Vietnam War had inspired distrust in the U.S. government, Reagan’s election marked the return of nationalism and patriotism. John Walker is a by-product of this era and reflects this political climate (although the Disney+ version will have a new political climate to reflect). In a “What If...?” storyline where John Walker became Captain America and engaged in fisticuffs with Steve Rogers, it took the intervention of Reagan himself to bring the fight to an end.
He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army
John Walker grew up in the shadow of his older brother Mike in a small, fictional Georgia town named Custer’s Grove. Mike was a war hero and helicopter pilot who died while serving in Vietnam in 1974. Since John’s parents admired Mike greatly, John wanted to live up to his legacy, so he enlisted in the military. However, he served during peacetime, so he never got out to a warzone to become the hero like his brother that he wanted to be. Before too long, he received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army and had to think of a different way to honor his brother’s memory.
Walker got his superpowers from the Power Broker
After he received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, John Walker didn’t know what to do with his life. Then, a friend told him about a mysterious figure in the underworld called the Power Broker, who had been giving superpowers to people who wanted them. So, John and his friend visited the Power Broker in order to receive superhuman abilities. The Power Broker enhanced John’s strength, stamina, reflexes, and agility to superhuman levels, paving the way for him to become the superhero known as Super-Patriot, although this did leave him with a hefty debt to pay back to the Power Broker.
He declared himself “America’s future”
When John Walker became the superhero Super-Patriot, he thwarted a terrorist attack in Washington, D.C. A terrorist named Warhead was plotting to detonate a nuclear bomb on top of the Washington Monument. However, Walker showed up, disarmed him with a throwing star, and put a stop to the attack. The Washington Post reported on the incident, making Walker a celebrity overnight. With the spotlight on him, Walker decided to declare himself “America’s future.” There’s a good chance that this will be tweaked in the MCU, since there is already a memorable action set piece set atop the Washington Monument in the MCU.
This brought him to the attention of a Presidential advisor
The profile of John Walker in the Washington Post, as well as the coverage of the terrorist attack he stopped on national TV and his statement that he was “America’s future,” brought Walker to the attention of Valerie Cooper. Cooper, at the time, was an advisor to the U.S. President, so she had the power to make him a government-appointed hero, and in due time, that’s exactly what she would do. In the comics, Cooper is best known for her work as the liaison between the U.S. government and America’s mutant community, but she’s also integral to John Walker’s story.
After this, he was chosen as the new Captain America
In the comics, when Steve Rogers was ordered to answer directly to the Commission on Superhuman Activities and he decided to ditch the “Captain America” alter ego, feeling its symbolism had faded away, the U.S. government was left to decide who would be the next Captain America.
Their shortlist boiled down to Nick Fury and Sam Wilson, but the former didn’t want to give up his role as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the latter was dismissed because the government didn’t think America was ready for a black Captain America. When John Walker appeared on the news, the government chose him as the next Cap.
He had a mental breakdown
When John Walker became Captain America, his first mission was to take on the Watchdogs, a militia group. After the Watchdogs killed Walker’s parents and the Commission’s stranglehold on him prevented him from attending their funeral, he started on the path towards a mental breakdown. Following his breakdown, the title of Captain America was returned to Steve Rogers and the government faked Walker’s assassination. Then, Walker was hypnotized to think his parents were still alive and given the name “Jack Daniels.” The memory of his parents’ death wouldn’t come back until years later, when he had returned to his superhero career.
Then, he became U.S. Agent
Shortly after he was stripped of his title and his death was faked, John Walker resurfaced with the new name “U.S. Agent.” As U.S. Agent, he began working with the Commission again and was assigned to keep an eye on the West Coast Avengers and the Vision. There’s a chance that Wyatt Russell’s role as Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will lead him towards this, since WandaVision is about to bring the Vision back from the dead and Kevin Feige has teased a “very different” Avengers roster in the MCU’s future. There’s also every chance that the MCU’s Walker will be nothing like the source material.