WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, directed by Kari Skogland and starring Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. New episodes debut on Fridays on Disney+.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has introduced a new generation of patriotic heroes to the Marvel Universe, and from where the titular duo is sitting, nobody seems to like them very much. John Walker, the new Captain America, has been just as polarizing to his superpowered acquaintances in the series as he has been to fans on the other side of the silver screen. If nothing else, there is at least one person who has Walker's back no matter what, his partner and confidant Lemar Hoskins, Battlestar, portrayed on-screen by Cle Bennet.
Much like his comic book counterpart, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduces viewers to a Lemar Hoskins who served alongside John Walker in the United States Army. Now that his closest friend has been made the new Captain America, Hoskins has been brought on as his official sidekick. For the most part, that's about where the similarities end between the two, though there are certainly more on the way soon. As unlikely as it is that the comic book beginnings of Battlestar's career will be directly translated to the screen, they still inform his character in the series to no small degree and potentially tease a climactic MCU crossover.
First appearing in 1986's Captain America #323 by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary, Lemar Hoskins was introduced as the unnamed leader of the Bold Urban Commandos, or Buckies for short. These three agents were ultimately at the command of John Walker as the Super-Patriot, all of them working together to discredit Captain America as being out of touch with the country's ideals. When Walker was given the chance to become Captain America, Hoskins was still right by his side so long as the name Bucky could be changed to something devoid of any racial connotations, and Battlestar was born.
As skilled as both Walker and Hoskins were, they could always be made better, and their backers knew just who to turn to. Tony Masters, aka Taskmaster, was at the time running his own academy for mercenaries and assassins. Anyone who could afford the cost could learn from the best, and Taskmaster lent his more skills to molding America's newest champions.
When Steve Rogers returned to the role of Captain America, Walker and Hoskins moved on to other ventures, with the latter joining Silver Sable's Wild Pack for a time. During the events of Civil War, Hoskins fought alongside the Anti-Registration freedom fighters, often working directly under Typeface and his particular band of resistors. This underdog role is one that Battlestar would take on once again when HYDRA was in control of the United States.
During Secret Empire, Battlestar joined the Underground led by Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. Most recently in U.S.Agent #4 by Priest and Georges Jeanty, Battlestar has been seen still fighting alongside John Walker. There's a new U.S.Agent in town who has come for John's former mantle, and Hoskins is nearly killed by them while trying to intervene. Unfortunately, Battlestar suffered a grave injury in the latest episode of the Disney + show, making his future in the MCU an uncertainty, at best.