The two most recent episodes of The hawk and winter Soldier They have been full of trouble for John Walker, Steve Rogers ’replacement for the America-chosen mantle of Captain America. In “The Whole World is Watching,” Walker administered super-soldier serum and then murdered one of the Flag-Smashers in public view in a rage-driven revenge bet after Battlestar’s death. The last episode, “Truth,” saw Walker stripping himself of the title and military rank of Captain America. But he is still convinced that he is Captain America and Karli Morganthau must pay for the death of Lemar Hoskin. In the post-credits scene, he is building a new Captain America shield to replace what was taken from him.
The arc closely follows Walker’s story of the comics, albeit with some alterations and clues about a similar fate. How does it all go in the Marvel Comics universe? On the one hand, it’s not Battlestar’s death that marks Walker in the comics. Here’s how Walker’s time as Captain America ended and what came next, though that may ruin some of what’s to come. The hawk and the winter soldier.
In the comics, Walker obtained his serum directly from the Power Broker and until then did not start acting as a superhero. Lemar Hoskins and two other Walker teammates also got the serum. After a short career as a Super-Patriot, Walker received the call to become Captain America. Lemar became Battlestar, but the other two super-soldiers were unable to pass a background check. Pregnant, they crashed the press conference about what the new Captain America would have made public and revealed the identity of John Walker, who had been kept secret.
Having his identity uncovered 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 Chief, the Watchdogs took his parents hostage to get him out. Walker went against orders to try to rescue his parents, but as soon as he made his move, the Watchdogs opened fire and killed his mother and father. Walker exploded, killing the entire watchdog group, and then hunted down his old friends who crashed his press conference and set them on fire.
The government could hope to cover up Walker’s violent behavior. He would have been stripped of his role had it not been for Flag-Smasher (the only Karl Morganthau of comics) demanding a meeting with Captain America. The government sent Walker, but Flag-Smasher acknowledged that Steve Rogers did not know how to speak and defeated him in combat. To rescue his friend, Battlestar went against Walker’s wishes and found Steve Rogers and took him to his rescue.
After that, Walker fell with Hoskins. He learned that the Red Skull was behind him to become Captain America and finally encouraged Steve Rogers to regain the title of Captain America. However, the government still had plans for John Walker. He could not be a public symbol like Captain America, but he could serve them in other functions.
Walker got a new suit and shield (both discarded by Steve Rogers after returning to being Captain America) and a new code name, Agent of the United States. He was then sent to the West Coast Avengers, working as a liaison for the government, which caused conflicts between him and his teammates, but eventually earned his respect. Still, the philosophical differences between him and the other Marvel heroes often put him at odds with the most popular avengers. Walker spent some time trying to redeem himself and get out of the shadow of Captain America and finally fixed things up with Battlestar. He would later work with teams such as the Dark Avengers, the Thunderbolts and the Omega Flight.
Do you expect Walker to become a U.S. agent on the MCU? Could you join the Thunderbolts? Let us know what you think in the comments.