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United States of Captain America #4 sees the Falcon and the Winter Soldier reunite with their biggest MCU rival to face a common enemy.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for United States of Captain America #4, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
While Steve Rogers may have been Captain America the longest and most prominently, there have been several interim heroes to step in and claim the mantle over the years, with Steve openly disagreeing with how some handled his superhero legacy. The miniseries United States of Captain America has Steve meditate on his legacy and the influence he has had on those he has inspired, including a new generation of Captains America, that have since followed in his footsteps as he tracks down a cadre of supervillains on a cross-country odyssey. While many of the heroes that Steve has since met and teamed up with have been figures he agrees with, desperate measures mean one of the more controversial antiheroes to wear the mantle of Captain America is back for a team-up: John Walker.
After the iconic Captain America shield is stolen from his home in New York City, Steve rallied Sam Wilson to join him, with Sam reviving his mantle as Captain America for the adventure. Along the way, the two heroes encountered different heroes from a wide range of backgrounds that were inspired by Steve and Sam’s superhero careers to create their own take on the Captain America legacy. As the Captains America tracked down the villains to the American Southwest, Bucky Barnes joined them to foil the bad guys’ latest plot but the shield thieves remained one step ahead, eluding capture. And in United States of Captain America #4 (by Christopher Cantwell, Ron Lim, Cam Smith, Scott Hanna, Matt Milla and VC’s Joe Caramagna), the heroes decide to recruit John Walker to join them.
John Walker was first selected by the American military to replace Steve Rogers as the new Captain America when Steve disagreed with the orders he was being given by the federal government during the 1980s. As Steve initiated a new superhero identity as the Captain, the jingoistic Walker was seen by military brass as the hero they wanted all along. Given Walker’s more violent nature and blind following of orders, this eventually led to Rogers and Walker coming to blows before Steve reclaimed the mantle of Captain America while John received a new superhero identity as U.S. Agent, often toeing the moral line as he struggles to keep his more violent impulses under control.
Lately, Walker has been seen as something as a complete pariah, both by the superhero community and the American military. After stepping in to quell protests in Puerto Rico, the situation became violent as the authorities brutally moved to drive away the opposition, despite Walker’s reservations. This development led to Walker being stripped of his rank and association with the federal government while he uncovered a secret government program to replicate the Super Soldier serum that led to disastrous results for all parties involved.
By the time Steve and Bucky catch up with Walker, the once and future U.S. Agent is drinking away his troubles in a dingy dive bar in the Southwest. Though Steve, Bucky and Sam aren’t particularly happy to see Walker and work with him again, the threat is too great for them not to ignore the support he brings to the table, leading to an awkward recruitment to save the day.
With the gruff, rough-and-tumble Walker now inducted into their ranks, the Captains America might just have the edge they need to definitively beat the bad guys this time.
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