Why John Walker is the best character?

Wyatt Russell is becoming a big name among MCU fans for his portrayal of the new Captain America, John Walker, in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

In addition to starring Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes and completing forgotten heroes and villains like Sharon Carter and Baron Zemo, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has introduced Marvel fans a ton of exciting new characters.

Flag-Smashers frontman Karli Morgenthau has proven to be a surprisingly understanding villain, while Super-Soldier Isaiah Bradley’s debut suggests that an MCU adaptation of Truth: red, white and black It is on the way. But possibly the most fascinating character on the show is its ethically complex new Captain America, John Walker, played by Wyatt Russell.

10 Has more conflict than Sam or Bucky

Although the title characters in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier They have a great exchange and Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan have plenty of on-screen chemistry, Sam’s characterization is still pretty smooth, and Bucky’s arc is treading on familiar ground again.

John Walker has a lot more conflict in his arc than Sam or Bucky. He feels insecure about having to live up to Steve Rogers’ legacy, he wants to work with Sam and Bucky, but the feeling is not mutual and he is clearly quite unhinged.

9 It gave episode 1 the perfect ending to the suspense

Sam and Bucky never shared the screen in the pilot episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but the end of the suspense unified the protagonists of the program in the same emotion at the same moment.

After Sam handed over Steve’s shield to be placed in a museum, the United States government took it upon himself to appoint his own new Captain America, and he winks at the camera.

8 Episode 2 made him a sympathetic character

Following Walker’s introduction at the end of The Falcon and the Winter SoldierIn the first episode, many Marvel fans hated him from the start because he is essentially an imposter to the throne.

But the show’s second episode wasted no time turning Walker into a sympathetic character, introducing fans to his best friend, his wife, and his uncertainty about his new job. Within a single scene, Walker was a rounded three-dimensional character.

7 Wyatt Russell’s performance is incredible

Although he has received backlash from fans who are unable to separate the actors from the roles they play, Wyatt Russell has been delivering an incredible performance as John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – possibly even the best performance of the show.

Walker’s villainous twist was subtle and gradual, and in his first appearances before revealing his sinister side, Russell brought a pleasant sincerity to the character’s attempts to work with Sam and Bucky.

6 It’s enigmatic

Since he was never characterized as a well-defined hero or villain, John Walker has been quite enigmatic throughout. The Falcon and the Winter Soldierruns.

Walker is a mystery to fans who miss WandaVisionelaborate puzzles. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier It’s been more of a straightforward action-adventure series, but the shadows of Walker’s dark side hinted that it would take a dark turn long before it actually happened.

5 The show’s writers have modernized the character of John Walker

Series creator Malcolm Spellman and his writing team have taken inspiration from, but modernized, the John Walker from the comics in his screen adaptation.

Everything he depicted in the comics is still there, but his specific characterization deviates from the comics to suit the modern world, as well as the poignant themes of the show.

4 He was not overtly a villain from the start

Under the nickname Agent USA, John Walker is a villain in the comics. Many Marvel fans expected him to characterize himself as such since scrolling in The Falcon and the Winter SoldierBut surprisingly, Walker was a pretty solid ally for Sam and Bucky for a couple of episodes before taking a dark turn.

It would have been easy for the writers to telegraph from the beginning that Walker was the bad guy, but the approach they took with the character is far more morally complex.

3 Marketing kept its role a secret

After more than a decade of producing popular entertainment, Marvel Studios has a pretty good idea of ​​what to include in its trailers and what to keep in mind to preserve the surprise.

The trailers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier hinted at a new government-appointed Captain America, but there was nothing too specific to give away Walker’s role in the story.

two The Shield Smackdown is possibly the MCU’s darkest moment to date

The fourth episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier It ended with the show’s most jaw-dropping moment yet, and possibly the darkest moment in the entire MCU to date. Following Battlestar’s death, an enraged Walker chases the Flag-Smashers into the street, beating one of them to death with the shield in front of a stunned crowd of onlookers.

It’s unclear where the show – or, more specifically, Walker’s arc – will go after this bombshell, but it has certainly taken its place as the most fascinating storyline going forward.

1 He’s the anti-Steve Rogers

Walker has done a few things as Captain America that align with the way Steve Rogers performed the role, like when he slid his shield under Battlestar to catch his downfall, but for the most part, he’s basically the anti-Steve Rogers he exemplifies. what he did. Steve is a great Cap at doing the opposite. He is impulsive and brutal.

The scene of the beating of the shield dates back to when Steve almost did the same to Tony in Civil war but it ended up breaking the Arc Reactor instead. Unlike Steve, Walker didn’t hesitate.

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About the Author

As The Falcon and The Winter Soldier heads into its back half, one thing has become obvious: John Walker, also known as the new Captain America, is the best character of 2021 so far — and, perhaps, the ideal lead for Marvel’s post-Endgame status quo.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Walker isn’t exactly the same as his comic book inspiration. Wyatt Russell’s square-jawed soldier didn’t start off as a superpowered rival for Captain America, nor was he placed into patriotic duty by a shadowy commission of men in power suits headed by the Red Skull — well, not that we know of, anyway.

Instead, this Walker is a hyper-capable, highly decorated soldier with his heart in the right place, who seems to know the weight of what he’s getting into. “Everybody in the world expects me to be something, and I don’t wanna fail them,” he says in Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 2, making it clear for everyone: he’s a good guy under near-impossible pressure.

That, at least, is in keeping with the comic book version of Walker. Character co-creator Mark Gruenwald wrote in a 1993 editorial that he intended the character to be a “tortured, introspective, Cap-respecting soldier-patriot,” and sympathetic for readers; all of that comes across onscreen during the first half of Falcon and the Winter Soldier… for some of us at least, at least.

“Captain America” and Battlestar march off toward war.Marvel Studios

Judging by social media, however, there’s a section of fandom — exemplified by tweets arguing that “the villains are more likable than John Walker” or “At least Zemo is cultured. John Walker is just a dick” — that can’t get over the idea that John Walker isn’t Steve Rogers, and can’t forgive him for it either.

Walker being an imperfect hero has become all the more reason to dislike him. But that’s what makes Walker so interesting: the vitriol towards him has turned this Captain America into a lightning rod, arguably more complex and interesting than either of the show’s bickering leads or its primary antagonists.

Part of the reason for this may be that Walker is a metaphor for the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Endgame ending the stories of some of the franchise’s most popular characters, Marvel is faced with having to fill the voids they leave behind and struggling with a fandom that might not be willing to give any replacements a fair shake. This happens to be exactly the problem facing John Walker, both inside and outside the MCU.

Intentionally or otherwise, Walker the ideal stand-in for where the studio is right now — he literally is a replacement for Captain America — and could be used to comment on the uphill struggle it faces as it tries to build a new MCU through Phase 4 and beyond. That would suggest that Marvel has long-term plans for John Walker as Captain America, however, which might not be the case.

After all, Walker didn’t keep the shield for long in comics, adopting the identity of U.S. Agent less than two years after he’d become Captain America. More importantly, there are clues that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is setting Walker up for failure before the end of the series, whether it’s the use of the Power Broker as the series’ mysterious villain (the comic book Walker had ties to the Power Broker) or the simple fact that Walker is, you know, working in opposition to the heroes the show is named after, and therefore pretty much guaranteed not to come out on top in the long term.

Captain America’s past, present, and future, all in one truck.Marvel Studios

To keep Walker as Captain America may be a bolder move than Marvel wants right now, especially given the reaction the character has enjoyed so far. (“Endured” could be a better word.) There’s something about having a flawed character represent America that could push fans’ buttons in the wrong way, or slip toward making the kinds of political statements the Disney-owned studio has carefully avoided for over a decade.

Despite that, there’s real value in allowing Captain America to make mistakes, not to mention being outright wrong, as the MCU continues to evolve — not least in shifting away from the traditionally America-centric focus of Marvel Studios’ brand ahead of the release of a more international slate of movies, from Shang-Chi to Eternals. It also allows Captain America to participate in the core Marvel idea of heroes that are as human as everyone else for the first time, creating more conflict with other heroes who dislike him in the process.

With John Walker wearing the red, white, and blue, Marvel has the opportunity to transform Captain America from an icon into a divisive and thought-provoking character. It could be just what Marvel needs… but are the studio and the fans ready for it?

Falcon and Winter Soldier is streaming now on Disney+.