While leaked set photos from the upcoming Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, revealed new looks at Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, fans were shocked to see John F. Walker decked out in the red, white and blue as an all-new Captain America.
We knew Wyatt Russell would be donning a shield as U.S. Agent but like the comics, it seems he's starting off as a replacement Captain America, with Steve Rogers' shield in tow. Now, while details are scarce on how he'll be performing his duties as the Sentinel of Liberty or who exactly he'll be working for, if the series is indeed following the books, this Cap could be more dangerous than any MCU villain has been, damaging not just Steve's legacy but everything the Avengers fought for since Captain America: Civil War.
Walker's actions in the source material basically made him an extremist version of Cap, an antithesis to the point many do consider him evil, or warped at least. Debuting in 1986's Captain America #323, created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary, he was first Super-Patriot, and when Steve abandoned the identity to become Nomad, Walker corrupted everything the shield stood for. With John as a dark mirror version of Cap, Steve was left no choice but to reclaim the mantle, and it could be Walker's going to be working for "Thunderbolt" Ross and the government who fell out with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, a relationship we're not sure is repaired fully at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
Ultimately, Cap can be seen as the government's property stemming from the super-soldier program that brought him to life for America to win World War II. Walker, in that sense, might simply be acting as a G-Man, thinking he's following orders and doing what's right, not questioning anything at all. If this is the case, Cap's symbol, not just the shield, could certainly be reshaped in the public view. We've seen the likes of Red Skull and Baron Zemo time and time again deploying this tactic as well in the comics where rather than kill the man, they killed the ideal.
This is what a controlled Cap could do, damage the philosophy Steve aka the real Cap represented: truth, honesty, freedom, and well, the American way. We saw this in Secret Empire with HydraCap where his politics won over many, to the point even heroes such as the Punisher joined a crusade that many considered to be Nazi-esque. If Cap 2.0, for however long he wields the shield, speaks to the masses like this with a hidden agenda, it'll definitely shatter the paragon of virtue Steve stood for.
It's no secret Cap is most dangerous when he stands for something else and this is why even Tony Stark in Civil War wanted him reigned in. That Cap was still at least about the greater good so one can imagine if there's an extremist Cap running about like Walker, it'll be an irreparable disaster. Someone who's a nationalist, a pure believer in federal policies, possibly adopting a "Make America Great Again" mentality to act as a suit of armor around the country is a thought-provoking concept, admittedly, and would speak to real-world issues, after all. And whether or not we endorse those doctrines, they would feel organic in a character and story that's usually politically charged and laced with social commentary.
As this warped Cap goes about dividing everyone, people may even think he's actually the real one they deserve and Steve was just a pretender, stringing them all along on some naive pipe dream. That's the kind of villain you cannot beat as this infects people's minds, and such ideologies are indeed hard to remove. Cap, as an icon, really does change what people believe in and that's because they put their trust in him. They see themselves in him as he's the best reflection of the country, embodying hope and the way forward. So if Walker's pointing them in a certain direction, a lot of the gullible masses will follow and this will certainly undo everything Steve worked for.
In that sense, an evil Cap is worse than killing Steve. That would have made him a martyr, but by breaking down, erasing and reframing a 'better' Cap, that might be impossible to strike from the history books. Luckily, Falcon and Bucky won't sit quietly on the sidelines allowing this to happen, and what's intriguing is -- as of Endgame's time-travel finale -- there's a Steve hiding out in the MCU who might also take issue for Walker tainting the suit. The tricky thing is, though, would the public want to be saved? Now, that would be the greatest defeat any of these heroes could ever endure.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell and Daniel Brühl and will be available on Disney+ in Fall 2020.