First appearances can be deceiving and perhaps that applies to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. After the deep dive into post-traumatic stress disorder and grief that was WandaVision, early looks at Disney Plus’ new Marvel series had The Falcon and the Winter Soldier looking like a routine action affair to pick a new Captain America, yet the show's already proving it might be leaning into more serious subjects.
Aside from Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, the show introduces another man vying for Steve Rogers's shield, John Walker (played by Wyatt Russell). As was seen in the first episode's final shot, John Walker represents a wholly different Captain America than what either of the two main characters would bring to the table, backed by an incredibly interesting comic book origin story that explains the new Cap’s snarky grin and what he'd represent in the new MCU.
John Walker is eventually destined to assume the identity of U.S. Agent, but it’s his path as Captain America stand-in that's most interesting and could be partially used to drive the plot of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the comic books, John Walker also comes from a military background, enlisting after the death of his brother during the Vietnam War, but after being discharged from the army his dream of heroic greatness leads him to become a test subject for a man known as the Power Broker, who grants Walker superhuman abilities and strength even exceeding that of Steve Rogers.
Here things already take an interesting turn as the Power Broker, aka Curtis Jackson, is noted for giving superpowers to normal individuals including the group known as the Thunderbolts. Considering the re-worked Flag-Smashers group have already shown their might in the first episode, the Power Broker could eventually jump into the fold over the next five episodes, even in a different incarnation, that somehow ties Baron Zemo, the Flag-Smashers, and John Walker all together, since there ought to be an explanation to what kind of powers Walker has and where he got them from.
However, if that’s not the case, John Walker can still be connected to the story in several ways, as his first official identity in Marvel Comics is that of the Super Patriot. The Super Patriot is an antagonist to Captain America, who basically embodies the opposite of Steve Rogers's views on patriotism and markets himself as a conservative hardliner “superhero” capable of beating Captain America due to his superior power, he’s basically the Yang to Rogers’s Ying.
For these reasons, when Steve Rogers decides to return the Captain America shield and suit to the U.S. government, the military officials at the Commission on Superhuman Activities choose John Walker/Super Patriot as their next Cap. Basically, the government sees in John Walker a Captain America that would be fully willing to do its bidding, unlike the more principle-based Rogers whose own moral compass causes him to honorably give up the shield.
In John Walker, the U.S. government does get a more compliant Captain America. Nevertheless, while John Walker is by no means a bad guy in the traditional sense he is essentially a very hot-tempered and aggressive Cap who’s not fully in control of his power. Through the course of many traumatic events, John Walker’s mental state deteriorates, turning him into an even bigger liability that’s eventually stopped by a returning Steve Rogers.
It’s not clear if this the course Marvel Studios will be taking with this John Walker, yet just judging from his presentation press conference and Sam Wilson’s reaction, fans are almost guaranteed to get a duel between the Falcon and Walker at some point. This lopsided battle between the superpowered Walker and the very human Wilson does take place in the comics, albeit it being later on after Walker has already assumed his next identity as U.S. Agent.
U.S. Agent
It’s pretty hard to miss that while John Walker does indeed carry Steve Rogers’ shield, he’s actually wearing a very different suit that’s more similar to that of the U.S. Agent. Though this is in fact a suit that Steve Rogers dons at some point, a revamped and slightly brainwashed John Walker gets a black and red costume variant when he’s recruited as a new government field operative under the codename U.S. Agent.
Though Walker’s volatility again causes a falling out between the U.S. Agent and government officials, this time Walker finds himself in the same shoes Steve Rogers once did when he fails to abide by the will of his superiors in favor of his new mindset. That doesn’t mean U.S. Agent is any less of a hothead, as even though he becomes a mainstay in the Avengers’ universe his reputation continues to be very similar and he’s quite a headache to work with.
So all things considered, chances are The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will handle Walker eventual concession of Cap’s shield in a way that allows him to return to the MCU in future Captain America installments as U.S. Agent, or maybe even Super Patriot, as there would appear to be too much potential use cases for him in the franchise.
A Black Captain America?
Though many already have Anthony Mackie locked down as future Captain America, in comic book lore Sam Wilson wasn’t the first African-American to wield the shield. In the first episode’s end credits The Falcon and the Winter Soldier leaves many easter eggs, but one cast member stands out as his role is still unknown.
Carl Lumbly was added to the series and many are suggesting he could be playing Isaiah Bradley, the first ever black Captain America. Despite the actor’s age probably ruling him out from active duty, he could still fit in as a version of Captain America who is denied the shield by U.S. officials mostly due to his skin color.
With the first episode already hinting that Disney is not afraid to shine a light upon real-life social issues that might even befall black superheroes like Sam Wilson, Isaiah Bradley could become a mentor of sorts for the Falcon who briefs him on just maybe why the government didn’t want him as their new Captain America in the first place.
All this would fall in line with the Captain America franchise being the more political superhero storyline within the MCU, something Marvel Studios already toyed with in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where the usually compliant Steve Rogers basically fires up the debate between national security vs. surveillance.
Adding John Walker’s initial purpose as conservative government puppet would only boost the chances of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier becoming the most political MCU production up to date. And that’s all without accounting for Baron Zemo’s relationship with anarchy-leaning Flag-Smashers online group, who seemingly got their hands on some of that coveted super soldier serum maybe suggesting both parties are working with a mole inside the United States. So yes, the buddy cop action comedy could have a more serious side to it.