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Fans of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series were given glimpses of John Walker’s life before he was handed Captain America’s shield. His high school football career, his medals of honor, his friendship with Lemar and his wife, Olivia, were all shown to be part of his journey as Captain America, but those snippets didn’t tell the whole story.
U.S. Agent’s backstory in the comics shares a few traits with his MCU counterpart, and some of the story can be gleaned from that history and how that history foreshadowed his fall from grace.
10 His military history differs considerably universe to universe
In the MCU, John Walker is a decorated war hero, though he regrets the events that led to those medals of honor, as he confesses to Lemar. He was not quite so impressive in the comics. Though he did serve, he was never deployed and eventually finished his time in the service with an honorable discharge.
Walker’s impressive history in the military in the MCU though, foreshadows his inability to be like Steve Rogers. Rogers was never the perfect soldier, as Dr. Erskine pointed out in Captain America: The First Avenger, and the traits that made Walker a good soldier backfired in the face of Cap’s legacy.
9 John Walker was trained by Taskmaster to use the shield
In the comics, during Walker’s training to be the new Captain America, he was shown the ropes by Taskmaster. Uniquely qualified, if a little morally questionable, Tasky was important in making sure John lived up to the Captain America image, at least where the shield was involved.
While Taskmaster in the MCU has a distinctly different story than Tony Masters from the comics, it’s not impossible to imagine Taskmaster taking up this role for U.S. Agent as well.
8 He married his high school sweetheart
Olivia Walker has been shown, so far, as not only a steadfast wife to U.S. Agent but important enough to him to be let in on some of Valentina de Fontaine’s machinations. Olivia doesn’t have a comics counterpart but there seems to be more to this woman than just being supportive of her husband.
It has yet to be seen if she will play a role other than John’s wife in the future, but she could take up some kind of backup role to Val in the running of the team.
7 The U.S. is important above all else for Walker
During his early days as Captain America in Captain America #335, he makes his views clear as a right-leaning Christian American. John Walker’s values are traditional and conservative. He is a patriot, first and foremost, and anything he does that seems to challenge those beliefs are worth it because it’s what the U.S. needs.
The MCU version seems to have a softer view on things, and never really gets directly political, but he does fit the poster boy image of what many think the U.S. should look like.
6 John Walker’s parents were murdered by terrorists
During his early days as Captain America, Walker fought a group called the Watchdogs. The Watchdogs were a group focused on returning the U.S. to what they saw as a morally pure way of life, and they attacked anyone or anything they saw as obscene. Walker fought them a few times before his identity was revealed and they were able to target his family.
This group appeared in Agents of SHIELD season 3, organized by former SHIELD agent Felix Blake, and funded in part by Hydra. They targeted Inhumans instead of obscenity, but it is possible that they could come up against Walker in the future.
5 Professional wrestling is on his résumé
After receiving his powers, John Walker worked to pay off that procedure as a professional wrestler. That was how Lemar Hoskins became his version of Bucky, and he used a lot of the PR and stagecraft he learned in that job when he campaigned to be the new Captain America.
Ironically, John Walker and his wife joked about him failing drama class in high school in the MCU, so it’s unlikely this version of U.S. Agent has that same level of showmanship, but Valentina de Fontaine might be able to work something out.
4 His powers came directly from the Power Broker
This is true in both universes. The serum that gives him that super soldier boost comes from the Power Broker, but in the comics, John actively sought out any means to get himself juiced up. He had to work off the bill for those procedures in the Power Broker’s professional, super-powered wrestling league, but it seemed like a small price to pay to be a superhero.
While it’s unclear if Sharon Carter has this kind of system running—perhaps with payment for treatments coming in the form of muscle for her operations rather than entertainment—it isn’t completely out of the question.
3 He did the one thing Captain America is most known for—he fought the Red Skull
Granted it didn’t go well for John overall, and the Red Skull swarmed him with his other villains to weaken him up first, but he did face off against Marvel’s preeminent Nazi. While he didn’t beat him on his own—Steve Rogers had to step in—he did get off a great shot with Cap’s shield and exposed Johann Schmidt to his own toxic chemicals, scarring the Red Skull’s face once again.
It’s incredibly unlikely that Walker will do this in the MCU’s main continuity, as the fate of the Red Skull is up in the air, but there are still many classic Cap villains for the U.S. Agent to prove himself against.
2 He’s got beef with several Avengers
John’s personality has not made him popular with other superheroes, and his tactics have done even more damage. In particular, a few of his West Coast Avengers teammates have been rubbed the wrong way, and even come to blows with U.S. Agent. While they can usually put aside their differences for the greater good, he does seem to tick people off.
With Walker’s new teammate, Yelena Belova, appearing in the Hawkeye series on Disney+, it’s possible Walker and Clint Barton could show some animosity toward each other in the future, perhaps having worked together through SHIELD in the old days instead of having shared space on an Avengers line-up.
1 He joined the military & wanted powers to honor his brother’s memory
John Walker grew up idolizing his brother Mike, who was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. Mike was believed to be killed in his service to his country, and John joined the Army to honor that sacrifice. His time in the military was less glorious in the comics than in the MCU, but the comics version always felt he hadn’t done enough to live up to Mike’s example.
While there has been no mention of John’s family beyond his wife so far, it’s possible Mike could come into the story as fans learn more about John and his reasons for what he does.
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