Warning: contains spoilers for Devil's Reign: Villains for Hire #1!
U.S.Agent, aka former Captain America John Walker, is continuing the worrying legacy he began with the Dark Avengers with a new team of Thunderbolts. This ragtag Thunderbolts team is assembled by the Kingpin in Devil's Reign: Villains for Hire #1. The series is part of the Devil’s Reign event, and is written by Clay McLeod Chapman and penciled by Manuel Garcia.
Of all of Marvel's heroes, John Walker might have one of the most dubious histories. After a failed stint as Captain America when Steve Rogers abandoned the role, he became U.S.Agent - one of few superheroes directly answerable to the government. Bouncing around between teams such as the West Coast Avengers, the Invaders, the Thunderbolts, and the Dark Avengers, Walker ultimately endeavors to protect the lives and freedom of his fellow Americans, and has frequently taken on the task of leading less than heroic teams he believes can still do some good.
It's therefore no surprise that - in the first issue - he shows up to Mayor Wilson Fisk's office by surprise to join his new team of Thunderbolts. Walker has an intimate history with the group. Following Norman Osborn's siege of Asgard, Walker was granted the role of warden of the Raft and designated commander of its Thunderbolts and later the Dark Avengers. With Walker’s ego, it was inevitable for him to show up once he learned there was a new team of Thunderbolts in town without proper leadership, but just because he wants another shot at the team doesn't mean he's a good choice.
Walker is by no means the best man for the job. During his time as Thunderbolts leader, his severe injuries led to feelings of inadequacy, and he took every opportunity to take it out on his charges, only kept in line by Luke Cage's decency. Once he became the team leader of Norman Osborn's former Dark Avengers, Walker accepted the help of Dr. June Covington, the evil Scarlet Witch aka Toxie Doxie, which allowed her to influence his mind and therefore the villainous team's freedom to pursue their own agendas.
While U.S.Agent's government connections may make him uniquely qualified to keep the evil team in line now costumed vigilantism is being stamped out in New York, John has a track record of failing to curtail the darker excesses of his supervillain teams in the past, and Fisk's Thunderbolts are unlikely to offer a path to redemption. Wilson Fisk may not want a genuine superhero like U.S.Agent getting in his way, but if Walker's history is anything to go, he doesn't need to worry.
There is one man, however, with a much better track record of wrangling various villains into an effective Thunderbolts team. Believing he had shed his Green Goblin persona, Norman Osborn was given control over the Thunderbolts and led them so efficiently that he was eventually made the United States' top cop, ultimately creating the Dark Avengers. Of course, Wilson Fisk and Norman Osborn aren't exactly on the best of terms right now, so it's likely that despite him being the ideal leader for Kingpin's new Thunderbolts, the Green Goblin is perhaps the one person Fisk wants on the job less than John Walker.