Marvel’s official entry into the television world has been exciting. With its big blockbuster ideas, wrapped up in a blanket of rich character development, mythology, and world-building, each entry has left a lasting impact on the fanbase, for better, or for worse. With the anticipation of Loki coming to Disney+ in June, fans are still reeling from the events of Falcon and The Winter Soldier. While fans are mostly cheering for the real new Captain America, others are still feeling shook by the man who carried the shield between Steve and Sam.
John Walker (portrayed by Wyatt Russell) is a divisive character, to say the least. From killing a member of the Flag-Smashers with the iconic shield, to publically claiming that he is “Captain America,” Walker made it to the top of the list of most detested MCU characters ever. However, underneath all the screaming, ego, and killing, there is a broken man who is far more sympathetic than we know.
10 He’ll Do What’s Right For The American People
John Walker is and will always be a member of the United States Armed Services. His duty is to protect the lives of American citizens and to help uphold the freedoms they have been given. Like Steve, Walker won’t allow bullies to come and mess with those that he loves with his entire heart.
While terrified of carrying the shield himself, he sees the honor bestowed in that: the legacy that Steve left behind. A legacy of laying down one’s life for the country they love. Unlike Steve, however, Walker is brasher and less contemplative before making his next move, which tends to rub people the wrong way.
9 He has Pretty Big Shoes To Fill
When viewers are first introduced to Walker, he’s sitting in the locker room of his high school alma mater, racked with nerves as he prepares to go out onto the field for the first time as Captain America. The weight of Steve Roger’s legacy looms large over Walker’s head. The standard he has to live up to seems insurmountable.
And yet, there are similarities Walker sees between himself and Roger. Both are veterans, both have seen the darkest sides of war and experienced loss behind enemy lines. At his core, Walker feels for his fellow servicemen and women and wants to do right by them, but with such an idolized predecessor, it’s hard not to feel a bit like a small man in front of a mountain.
8 Walker Loses Lemar
Grief can be a terrible thing. While some see grief as “love persevering,” others take it to their core and are shattered. For Walker, to witness his friend Lemar, aka Battlestar, die was all too much to bear.
Some might see his reaction as over the top and not befitting for a man in the stars and stripes suit, but underneath the suit is a man whose heart is broken watching his best friend take his final breath. To simplify Lemar as just a best friend is to undercut the depth of their relationship, Lemar was his brother and his anchor when Walker was straying too far from the line. He was what kept Walker grounded, to lose that truly is to lose a part of Walker’s self.
7 He Didn’t Expect the Outcome of Taking the Serum
As Dr. Erskine once said: “The serum amplifies everything that is inside, so good becomes great; bad becomes worse.” Walker has been characterized as a man who tries to do the right thing. He’s not malicious or spiteful, but merely a man wanting to help.
So when he decides to take the serum, he does it with the idea that in a world where super soldiers are everywhere, if he is to protect and serve, he has to be able to go toe-to-toe with them in the ring. Yet he’s not emotionally ready to carry that burden. With the weight of wanting to do right by Steve and be the best that he can be, this pressure is amplified and, unfortunately, he buckles under it.
6 His Methods Are Affective
You don’t get three Medal’s of Honor by being bad at your job. Walker led, somewhat, effective tours in Afghanistan, as well as running hostage rescue operations that caught the eye of the US Government when the mantle of Captain America opened up.
How does this make him sympathetic? In a post-blip world, where the world has been introduced to androids, aliens, and wizards the perspective of how to effectively protect the Earth sort of shifts. America is clamoring for a new Captain America that is willing to adapt to the changing landscape of the world. As citizens of the nation, they also need someone to believe in when the one person they had believed in decides to retire.
5 He is Dismissed by Bucky & Sam
Walker doesn’t start out being ornery or combative. In fact, he’s just the opposite. At the start of the series, John Walker extends a hand to Sam and Bucky; acknowledging that it’s different to see him carry the shield, but still emphasizing that they are fighting on the same side. What does Walker get in return? Dismissive attitudes and distrust.
Sam and Bucky are still grieving the loss of their friend, as well as carrying their own emotional baggage; but in their grief they take this out on Walker unnecessarily. Their actions help push Walker in the direction he finds himself in when all he wanted was a helping hand.
4 He’s Trying To Do Right By His Wife
High school sweethearts, John and Olivia, met young and grew up together. They’ve seen and known each other through the angsty teen years and have grown together to be well-established adults, as established as one can be in a post-blip world.
When Walker is sitting in the locker room, his moment with his wife isn’t just about taking on his next mission, but it’s about what that means for them as a couple. Sure, Walker’s duty as a soldier is to protect the American people, but his duty as a husband is to ensure the safety of his wife.
3 Trying To Do Right By Himself
When Lemar and Walker have a moment together, they begin to discuss what having the Super Solider Serum in Afghanistan would have meant. Walker takes a moment to consider this and in that, the weight of those he lost behind enemy lines flashes across his face.
Walker is a born leader, and he lead a battalion into battle, but some of his teammates never returned. Walker carries those survivor guilt scars, as any veteran would, with a constant game of “What If” swarming in his head, wondering if the outcome could be changed if he’d changed a footstep or glance. For Walker, being Captain America means being able to save the lives he failed to save overseas, a way to quiet the voices in his head.
2 The Government Dealt Him a Bad Hand
Let’s be frank, the government wanted a soldier when Walker wanted to be a hero. The landscape of the world has changed since The Chitauri entered a wormhole and it morphed again when half the Universe was snapped from existence. Scrambling to make sense of it all, the US Government, much like Tony Stark, was looking for a “suit of armor around the world.”
When Walker agreed to take the shield, he unwittingly became a pawn for the US Government, forced to work within their confines; the Sokovia Accords, articles of war, and, as Steve Rogers once predicted, agendas that have a tendency to change. Walker was set up for failure when he was looking to just be a beacon of good.
1 Wants To Redeem Himself
John Walker’s entire arc can be summed up as: he wants to redeem himself. He wants to redeem his failures in war, he wants to redeem himself for not being strong enough to fight the Flag-Smashers and he wants to redeem himself for killing a man with the iconic shield.
The US Government has no intention of allowing him to do that, but now as the US Agent, he’s seeking redemption from the world and those that he’s wronged. Where he goes from here is still unclear, but as a man once said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
About The Author
