One Shield, Two Captain Americas
Captain America’s shield stood as a symbol of truth, justice, hope, and righteousness. But every symbol loses its meaning without the man behind it. Steve Rogers’ personal pick to the successor of the Vibranium shield, Sam Wilson aka the Falcon believed that Steve Rogers made the symbol of Captain America what it was and without him, it meant nothing. In the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson chooses to forego the honor and donate the shield to the US government.
The first episode of the Disney Plus series culminates a gut-wrenching revelation in its very last moments. The government debuts a brand new Captain America, just days after Sam gives up the shield. It’s here where we are introduced to John Walker, the new Captain America, played by actor Wyatt Russell, who teased to Variety that what the fans see of John Walker in Falcon and The Winter Soldier could very well be the character putting on a front.
“In John’s world, he looks up to Steve Rogers and wants to embody that. When you are seeing him do his version of it, is it really who John actually is? Or is John trying to be someone that he is not. I think that what you are seeing now is him battling with ‘how do I be me and deal with this corporation that is the US government?’ It’s the only corporation he has ever worked for and it has worked very well for him and his life. Now he is in this different world where there is a PR aspect to it. He has just been working in a clandestine world most likely. Nobody really knows what he is doing but he is getting the job done and now it’s like ‘Okay, go do that as Captain America’ and sometimes his version of getting the job done is a little bit not the same.”
Hence, once this new version of Captain America was revealed, Marvel fans didn’t hesitate to share their thoughts on him, enticing reactions ranging from slightly positive to downright offensive in nature. Although, it takes time for comic book fans to warm up to a new version of their successful interpretation of the character, especially when it seems like he is stealing the mantle from under the nose of its rightful owner.
In spite of the hate surrounding his character, Wyatt Russell is keeping his spirits up and is having a blast, being filled in what fans have to say about his portrayal of John Walker; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Though it’s fun to hear the thoughts of Marvelites on the new Captain America, Wyatt Russell knows that enjoining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Steve Roger’s government-appointed replacement, he has big shoes to fill. Wyatt Russell revealed that the difference between Steve Rogers and John Walker stems from the different eras they belong to.
“They are both soldiers from different eras and the era of John is very different from the era of Steve. There is a much different way of fighting now. You go in guns blazing first and ask questions later. John is the type of guy who is like, ‘Look, you want me to do the job? I will finish the job for you. Sometimes, that might require things in the grey area where you are not comfortable but I’m and I need to be able to do my job.’”
What he means that John Walker is ready to do the dirty work of the government including war crimes. Steve Rogers would never follow an order that would go against human rights even if it meant compromising his own position as Captain America. In spirit, John Walker and Steve Rogers are two very different characters in the comics, where he goes by the name of US Agent and his actions are supposed to infuriate the fans of Captain America. The trajectory of his character in the MCU is headed to a similar path. Because of these dissimilarities, non-comic book readers are not sold on the new Captain America.
Wyatt Russell mentioned that he initially asked Marvel to give him an old suit of Steve Rogers. Instead, they provided him with an entirely new suit in which the star had been fused with the letter ‘A’ which proves that John Walker is a propaganda tool representing America. The red stripes are in line with his persona in the comics i.e. US Agent. As for his weapons, he uses the new shield that Steve Rogers handed over to Sam Wilson, with extra added lines and patterns. He equally depends on firearms. Although Steve Rogers did use a gun back in World War 2 but didn’t rely on it after waking up in modern times. His constant reliance on guns proves that John Walker much more brutal in his ways. He isn’t afraid to go for the kill.
While Steve Rogers always opted for non-lethal methods to subdue his foes without any display of arrogance, Walker, on the other hand, tries to display his authority with every opportunity he gets. He comes off extremely arrogant and egotistical; he goes on to call himself the government, refers to Sam as ‘Steve’s wingman’, and absolutely loses his cool after being spat upon. Even when he freed Bucky Barnes from the government’s therapy program, he did it to use him in the field instead of lending a hand to a troubled war veteran. Steve Rogers maintained a lawfully good moral compass even when he was branded as a criminal. John Walker comes off as a person whose morality shifts from lawfully neutral to lawfully evil.
If you took everything away from them, at the core of these characters, Steve Rogers is a good man while John Walker is a good soldier. We are now three episodes into the Falcon and The Winter Soldier, halfway through the mini-series full run. It’s still too soon to tell whether John Walker is a friend or a foe. Fans will have to keep tuning to new episodes to find out.
