With the announcement of an Agatha Harkness spinoff show, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are much abuzz about the possibilities of who might lead their own project next. The cackling witch became a fan-favorite on WandaVision, but she is not the only breakout character from Marvel Studios' new spat of Disney+ shows.
John Walker remains the most memorable part of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and in a lot of ways, was the standout of the series. As the all-American US Agent, the series ended with something of a question mark in how exactly he would serve his country next. Well, the real answer should be his own spinoff series.
Much of Falcon & Winter Soldier was about the concept of legacy and living up to legends, and toward the end, John Walker was a clear example of how you could do everything right and still end up completely wrong. As a highly-decorated veteran, Walker carried the government's full support when he decided to take up the mantle of Captain America in replacing Steve Rogers. He had his own doubts about the role but stepped up to fill the position as best he could.
But his best simply wasn't good enough. Constantly trying his hardest to keep up with his superheroic counterparts in the titular Falcon and Winter Soldier, Walker grew increasingly desperate as his frequent failures mounted. Eventually, he even resorted to exposing himself to the new Super Soldier Serum in the hopes it would help him better emulate the legend he was living up to. However, in the end, he disgraced himself by publicly murdering a Flag-Smasher. The series ended with Walker getting his second chance, and that's exactly where a spinoff could pick up.
Approached by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Walker eagerly adopted a new darker costume as he expressed his eagerness to get back to work redeeming his name. As of now, the nature of that work remains a mystery, and with Fontaine's appearance at the end of Black Widow, it seems that she is making her own efforts to form her own team. Whatever the case there may be, it would be a shame if Walker fell to the background without ever quite getting the spotlight. Much like Agatha Harkness, he proved to be a side character every bit as interesting as the title characters and seeing an MCU project with him as the lead would be a refreshing change of pace.
MCU protagonists are invariably charming, ultimately good and easy to root for. Walker is none of those things, and that's part of what makes him a great character. He feels like a real person, struggling with insecurity and failure and his own mistakes in ways far less glamorous than typical protagonists. There are occasional glimpses of that cool action hero he really wants to be, but that's blended with the unique flavorings of tragedy and comedy that go with seeing a man completely out of his depth. And that would be the US Agent show fans need to see.
Agatha's spinoff represents an exciting frontier in expanding the project of the MCU. Disney+ already offered shows to smaller characters who never quite had the space for their own feature films, but by focusing on an even smaller character, Marvel is proving that there are no characters too minor to headline a show if their story is worth telling.