John Walker Just Became US Agent Not Captain America

WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Falcon & The Winter Soldier episode 5, "Truth."

As the Captain America door closes for John Walker, Falcon & The Winter Soldier opens the US Agent door instead. From the moment John Walker first sauntered onto stage for a public unveiling, his Captain America career was doomed to fail. With a shield acquired through deception and no prior experience in the wacky world of "aliens, androids and wizards," Walker was already facing an uphill battle. Throw in a pathological craving to be liked and the pressure of being Steve Rogers' replacement, and it's a miracle John lasted as long as he did before cracking his shield over a Flag-Smasher's head.

John's reckoning came in Falcon & The Winter Soldier episode 5, "The Truth." With footage of Captain America's brutal act spreading rapidly across the internet, the authorities came down hard on Walker, officially stripping away his superhero mantle. To say John took the news badly would be a gross understatement. Despite being Captain America for all of five minutes, Walker still sees himself as the all-American hero, refusing to accept any fault for his actions and twisting the truth to suit his purpose. Buoyed by the support of "Val," a mid-credits sequence sees Walker seizing the superhero mantle he believes is rightfully his. Walker forges his own shield out of scrap metal and spray paint (probably won't stand up against vibranium, that), and grafts his military medals onto the hand-made arrangement.

Watching John Walker assemble his Steve Rogers cosplay, it's only natural to assume that he's refusing to let go of being Captain America. Based on his current trajectory, however, Walker is heading for a transformation into US Agent, his more traditional comic book persona, instead. Falcon & The Winter Soldier's current storyline strongly resembles 2020's "American Zealot" arc. Rather than being fired from the Captain America gig, the government boots John out of the U.S. Agent role, leaving him to discover a new path as a rogue freelancer. Taking matters into his own hands, Walker goes DIY and hits the streets, hoping to redeem himself and prove the White House doubters wrong, all while fighting to reclaim his identity as US Agent.

John Walker forges his own Shield in The Falcon and Winter Soldier

Where Walker is already an established superhero in "American Zealot," he's a mere amateur in Falcon & The Winter Soldier, but the idea of a rejected John Walker desperately trying to prove his worth after being unceremoniously fired from official duties rings true in both. Parallels can also be drawn to Walker's US Agent debut in the 1980s. Here, the character was relinquished of the Captain America mantle after a battle with Steve Rogers, no longer deemed a worthy replacement. He soon sprang back into action as US Agent, a darker Captain America knock-off, but was working on behalf of an organization known as The Commission during this period, rather than striking out alone with a glorified trashcan lid as a shield. Falcon & The Winter Soldier is essentially taking the beginnings of US Agent's comic book run and melding them with the lonely path of self-discovery John Walker walked in the much more recent American Zealot.

Whatever comic arcs Falcon & The Winter Soldier is drawing its inspiration from, it seems inevitable that as Sam Wilson edges closer to honoring Steve's wish and becoming the true Captain America II, Walker steadily gravitates towards becoming US Agent. In terms of the MCU's future, the transformation is promising for John Walker's long term prospects. The wannabe was never going to replace Steve Rogers for any length of time, but US Agent could remain a presence in the MCU for years to come - effectively an unpredictable, renegade iteration of the original article who often tries to do the right thing, but falls woefully short. And similar to American Zealot, maybe Walker can find his new purpose after being dropped by his government. The title of Captain America carried too much pressure, but as US Agent, John Walker can build a legacy of his own, free from expectation... mostly.

More: Falcon & Winter Soldier Episode 5's Surprise Marvel Character Explained