Warning: The following contains spoilers for Captain America #16, by Ta Naheesi Coates, Bob Quinn, Matt Milla, and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Historically, fights between the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, and John Walker, his brief replacement and the hero known as U.S. Agent, usually don't go well for Walker. Rogers almost always comes out on top of their scuffles, but in Captain America #16 their fight doesn't go so well for the titular hero.
After hearing Misty Knight's gunshots off in the distance, Steve runs off to find out what the disturbance was only to get cold-cocked from behind. Shaking off the blow, Steve turns to find out that his attacker is none other than U.S. Agent, a man who openly idolizes Cap and briefly served as his successor. The two then square off, and U.S. Agent quickly gains the upper hand, nearly finishing a decisive victory before Misty comes to Steve's rescue.
The moment comes as a sudden turn in the history of fights between the two combatants. When John Walker was first introduced as the replacement for Captain America during a time Steve set aside the shield, much of his arc involved the difficulty in learning to fill such legendary boots. Taskmaster even tries to teach him to use the iconic shield, and John struggles to get the hang of it, failing to throw the shield correctly or save the any civilians in a training exercise.
Every time that U.S. Agent fought the original Cap to see who truly deserved to wear the star-spangled spandex has been a spectacle. Their fights recurred periodically throughout the years, and they usually haven't been friendly sparring matches. Although Walker has kept up with Cap for over 30 minutes throughout some fights, and Cap usually walks away with a win.
However, in this issue's fight, a big part of U.S. Agent's advantage is his superior strength. While he does not have the same Super Soldier Serum that Steve Rogers does, U.S. Agent's super-strength, which was give to him by a being known as the Power Broker, is even greater than Cap's own. While Cap is often confined to physical feats at the absolute maximum of what humans are capable, U.S. Agent's goes well above that as he busts through stone and metal walls with relative ease.
The development could be a means to boost U.S. Agent's status before introducing the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Steve Rogers now retired and Falcon set to carry on his mantle, Walker is set to make an appearance in the upcoming Falcon & Winter Soldier series.
Still, Steve Rogers had a distinct disadvantage in this fight. While the the majority of the fight was fairly even, there's no discounting the starting circumstances of the fight and that Walker landed a sucker punch to the head. That punch would've been enough to concuss any human, and it probably disoriented Captain America too.
However, Walker's greatest weakness was always his difficulty playing well with others, and Captain America's famous interpersonal skills helped save him there. When Misty Knight recovered from her own cold-cocking she managed to turn the defense systems on in the room and freeze U.S.Agent in place, possibly saving Steve's life. Even if he did get an unusually rough beatdown, Steve still walked away from the battle with a little help from his friends.