Who Is US Agent: John Walker’s Marvel Comics History and MCU Future Explained

The final few episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier proved transformative for John Walker, the government-chosen heir to the Captain America mantle. In “The Whole World Is Watching,” Walker dosed himself with super-soldier serum and then murdered one of the Flag-Smashers in public view in a rage-induced attempt to avenge Battlestar’s death. In “Truth,” the government stripped Walker of his Captain America title and military rank. But Contessa Allegra Valentina de Fontaine has plans for John Walker’s future. She gave him a new costume and a new title, U.S. Agent., that hint at Walker’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe based on his Marvel Comics story.

The arc follows Walker’s story from the comics pretty closely, though with some alterations and hints at a similar fate. How does it all happen in the Marvel Comics Universe? For one thing, it isn’t Battlestar’s death that sets Walker off in the comics. Here’s how Walker’s time as Captain America ended and what came next, though this may spoil some of what’s to come in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

In the comics, Walker got his serum straight from the Power Broker and didn’t start acting as a superhero until then. Lemar Hoskins and two more of Walker’s fellow soldiers also got the serum. After a short career as Super-Patriot, Walker got the call up to become Captain America. Lemar became Battlestar, but the other two super-soldiers couldn’t pass a background check. Embittered, they crashed the press conference what the new Captain America would have been made public and revealed John Walker’s identity, which had been kept secret.

Having his identity exposed was terrible news for Walker, especially since his first mission as Captain America was to infiltrate his hometown and root out a terrorist group called the Watchdogs. After learning that Walker was Cap, the Watchdogs took his parents as hostages to draw him out. Walker went against orders to attempt to rescue his parents, but as soon as he made his move, the Watchdogs opened fire and killed his mother and father. Walker snapped, murdering the entire group of Watchdogs, then hunting down his old friends that crashed his press conference and setting them on fire.

The government could hope to cover up Walker’s violent behavior. They would have stripped him of his role if not for Flag-Smasher (the one and only Karl Morganthau in the comics) demanding a meeting with Captain America. The government sent Walker, but Flag-Smasher recognized it wasn’t Steve Rogers hew as talking to and defeated Walker in combat. To rescue his friend, Battlestar went against Walker’s wishes and found Steve Rogers and brought him to save him.

After that, Walker had a falling out with Hoskins. He learned that the Red Skull was behind him ever becoming Captain America and ultimately encouraged Steve Rogers to reclaim Captain America’s title. However, the government still had plans for John Walker. He couldn’t be a public symbol like Captain America, but he could serve them in other capacities.

Walker got a new costume and shield (both discard by Steve Rogers after returning to being Captain America) and a new codename, U.S. Agent. They then sent him to be a member of the West Coast Avengers, working as a government liaison, which caused conflict between him and his teammates, but he eventually earned their respect. Still, the philosophical differences between him and the other Marvel heroes often put him at odds with the more popular Avengers. Walker spent time trying to redeem himself and step out of Captain America’s shadow and eventually patched things up with Battlestar. He’d later work with teams like the Dark Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and Omega Flight.

What’s next for Walker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Given his new association with the Contessa and how The Falcon and the Winter Soldier seems to lay the groundwork for the Thunderbolts, it isn’t hard to imagine him leading the team of forcibly reformed supervillains. It’s also possible that if Marvel Studios decides to form a new Avengers squad, the government will try to force Walker onto the team to play a similar role to the one he took on in West Coast Avengers.

What do you think is in Walker’s MCU future? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+.

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