The ending scene of the fourth episode of The Falcon and Winter Soldier was striking as it showed John Walker(the new Captain America), beating an enemy, who had already surrendered to death, with his shield. This same episode also had a few other scenes which lead to the fans accusing Marvel of trying to whitewash Steve Rogers’ past and presenting him as a boy scout who never killed anyone directly. The criticism comes from the fact that this is not at all the case and any person who has been an avid Marvel fan knows that Steve Rogers has a relatively massive number of kills in his short-lived career.
The code against direct killings by Superheroes.
The Comics code Authority (CCA) of 1950 prohibited most of the superheroes from being the real reason of the death of villains in cinemas. This was allegedly done to make sure that the superheroes are able to maintain their righteous reputation with the audience. Although some big superheroes like Spiderman and Batman still follow this code of not directly killing people, other franchises have moved on from this and the CCA has also become less strict with time. Marvel cinematic universe is one where this code doesn’t apply at all, as most avengers hail from a military background. It is completely normal and acceptable in the military to kill an enemy in the line of duty. We shall have to keep in mind that before becoming Captain America, Steve Rogers was a soldier and it was unavoidable for him to kill enemy soldiers for the sake of a mission.
John Walker is an unsuitable successor of Steve Rogers.
The fourth episode named “the whole world is watching” puts forth the point of view that the world outside United States has towards Captain America. We witness an interaction between the Flag Smashers leader Karli Morgenthau and her follower Nico, where Nico compares Karli with Captain America and says how the world needed more heroes who “don’t have the luxury of keeping their hands clean”. Nico also claims himself to be a fan of The Captain as a child saying “he made me believe that there were decent people in this world.” What is ironic is that the new Captain America, who beat Nico to death in front of a crowd even after he surrendered, also shares the point of view of “not having the luxury to keeps ones hands clean.”
Time and again the entire storyline of The Falcon and Winter soldier has pointed at how unworthy of a successor John Walker is in carrying forward Steve Rogers’ legacy. Although there has been an image of Rogers as a bloodless symbol of American idealism, he was not one to be afraid of having blood on his hands when necessary. This includes a few instances including the time when Rogers killed a dozen of Nazi soldiers on camera or when he threw grenades and used guns on enemies on many occasions. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he also enables Maria Hill to crash the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarries which were controlled by Hyddra Loyalists.
The main point of difference between Rogers and Walker is that Rogers never indulged in pointless killings and tried to avoid unnecessary conflict as much as possible. Walker on the other side seems to almost thrive off bloodshed and violence. Rogers’ understanding of necessary force is what makes him a true superhero while Walker is mostly perceived as bloodthirsty and unworthy.
