Also known as Sarah’s Captain America article trilogy. All my friends hate John Walker. 

Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*” (2025), or as it’s been rebranded to “The New Avengers” or “The New Avengerz” for those who stuck around until the end-credit scene earlier in May, has been met with well-deserved praise and applause for its themes on mental health, characterization arcs and acting. 

Fans have clamoured for this unlikely ragtag team featuring Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Yelena Belova/White Widow (Florence Pugh) as the team’s coleaders, with the dysfunctional misfits of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and what can be described as one of the most gray characters Marvel has ever seen — John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell). He was the United States government’s attempt at controlling Captain America post Steve Rogers’ death (Chris Evans) in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021). They are all joined by Bob/Sentry/Void (Lewis Pullman). And they’re absolutely right to.

The film brought about many conversations for Marvel fans: How did Bucky Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, get elected into Congress? How did Valentina recruit Ghost? How did Valentina buy the Avengers Tower without raising a single red flag? More interestingly, many fans have discussed John Walker’s characterization in the film post his debut years ago, with some saying that he’s had true growth in this film, with some even coining a “goaded glow up;” this has led the extremists of the John Walker fanclub to say that all along he should’ve been Captain America.

Classic reminder that all Marvel fans shouldn’t sleep on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Once dismissed as a mere street-level MCU in phases of the crumbling multiverse, it’s become one of the most integral pieces of the Disney+ TV show line.

I’ve already given my two cents about why Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is the rightful inheritor of the Captain America mantle, but given my immense dislike for John Walker and some fans’ criticism that he did nothing wrong and deserves to be Captain America, it’s borderline ragebait to anyone who understood the problem with his candidacy of being Captain America. As someone who watched the nine episodes of the Disney+ show live and witnessed in real time the collective fandom embrace Sam Wilson as Captain America and John Walker as, essentially, a power-hungry piece of trash (in the words of Yelena herself), it’s frustrating to be a Captain America fan and have to explain what Steve Rogers stood for when he did it so masterfully in seven movies.

But fine, I’ll keep going and bite. 

Simply put, John Walker was a soldier the government intended to manipulate to finally have the Captain America they wanted. A white, blue-eyed, blonde-haired man loyal to only his country, no matter how dirty or squeaky clean the agenda was. In every way, John Walker is the perfect example of a U.S. Agent.

In “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” the premiere episode reveals that off-screen, Sam was asked by the government to surrender the shield so they could pick a new Captain America. Despite Steve telling Sam that he believed him to be a worthwhile successor, Sam does so because he believes that he is undeserving of the shield. He also confides to Bucky and the audience later on that he also did it because of the root of the government’s insistence that he give them the shield: Sam Wilson is a Black man. The American people would not be able to stomach a Black Captain America; this idea is tackled from different perspectives throughout the show.

John Walker’s first appearance is irritating. Like Bucky, I rolled my eyes at his mention of calling Steve Rogers a friend and was waiting for either Sam or Bucky to clock his chauvinist self. The show tackles the rise of terrorism in the form of people taking a synthetic super soldier serum to combat diplomatic problems of homelessness and poverty, post the Blip following “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). I was able to give John leniency as he isn’t privy to the inner workings of the Big Three (“androids, aliens and wizards,” as quoted by Sam Wilson). His refusal to work with Sam and Bucky and outright dismissing them despite their expertise in super soldiers was frustrating. Mid-season, John’s close friend, Lemar, is killed by one of the super soldiers. In a rage, John snaps; he uses Steve’s Captain America shield to brutally kill the soldier who cost him his friend. 

In the show, this brutal execution goes viral and is the shifting point of the story. Sam and Bucky realize that all John Walker will do is taint Steve’s legacy, especially when they find out he took the super soldier serum because he kept losing in combat. The government also seizes the shield and strips him of his title. 

In the Marvel fandom, this moment went viral and sparked controversy over whether John Walker’s brutal murder makes him unfit to be Captain America. I say so 100%.

It’s not about John killing the guy. Steve Rogers has killed plenty. The Avengers never had a no-kill policy. Even Spider-Man went into instant kill mode. It’s relatable and understandable, whether a major character’s death or a minor side piece that’s never given any attention or consideration after. To quote Yelena from “Thunderbolts*”: “there’s always collateral.” 

What makes him a jerk, or “America’s a******” as quoted by Russell himself, is unfortunately who John Walker is and what he does.

Infatuated with being Captain America, John goes rogue. His goal is simply to stop Karli, even if it means killing her. He refuses to accept responsibility or reality for any of the events that contribute to her gaining power and attempts to steal Zemo from Sam and Bucky. When Sam and Bucky decide to do the right thing and finally honor Steve’s legacy by getting Sam back the shield, John aims to kill them both in the fight. There’s never an apology or effort to genuinely team up with our Avengers; his second-to-last scene is him making the heroic choice to save hostages instead of going after the terrorists, and his last scene is him standing in front of Valentina in the U.S. Agent suit. The scene’s dark theme implied that one, she is clearly using his emotional vulnerability, and two, John will only spiral further down the morally gray scale. 

There are even a bunch of edits on TikTok and Instagram with sad music and a rain filter from a scene in the pilot episode where Bucky doesn’t play nice with John because he doesn’t like that Sam and the government didn’t honor Steve’s wish. He’s not a baby; John is grown and never took on the accountability of what his image would be perceived in attempting to balance Steve’s reputation, and what his country implanted in his mind was the right thing to do.

Like other Marvel enthusiasts, I 100% stand by the fact that John Walker is a victim of American governmental exploitation and prioritization of capitalism. The government, on several occasions, attempted to control Evans’ Captain America and did not hesitate to invoke punishing measures when they could not do it. It’s why the Sokovia Accords were ratified, why everything in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) happened and led to the Avengers breakup mid/post “Captain America: Civil War” (2016). 

However, the choices he makes after losing Captain America primarily define his character. His descent into depicting the ugly side of being a super soldier or Captain America makes him a compelling villain and antihero; it also allows him to fit in with a world without the Avengers in need of a successor, and fits into the whole point of the film: “There aren’t good guys. There are bad guys and even worse guys.”

John Walker is the physical representation of the ugly side of being a super soldier as your everyday man; not everyone can rise to the challenge of Captain America, and that’s okay. There’s no shame or villainy in that. Rather, it’s what Captain America does in the face of or brink of defeat that sets them apart from the others.

Some may argue that John was isolated in the show and therefore contributed to his descent into the darkness. His best friend died — of course, he’d be distraught. Need I remind you that Steve Rogers lost Bucky Barnes time and time again? Sure, he broke a few laws, but he never pushed his moral compass aside. Steve Rogers stood for freedom and justice pre-serum and died believing in those ideas. He refused to make himself, or the Avengers, a victim of the system; being Captain America comes with a cost, and those expenses are not limited to the nation of America, but rather the world, and more often than not, if you happen to be an alien or a resident of New York City or the multiverse. 

Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes both have military backgrounds. Sam knew Steve personally, and that plays a factor in attributing who deserves to carry the legacy; in fact, that’s the whole point. Steve didn’t want the military or the American government involved in Captain America. Steve wanted someone who knew what it meant to be on the receiving end of an unjust system because only that type of person could understand the sacrifice and worth of the fight. Sam proves this countless times. 

“Thunderbolts*” reduced my loathing for John Walker, also known as “Dime Store Captain America,” to a serious dislike. He’s still a jerk, but he’s got some morals and a personality. Serious kudos to Russell for delivering such an antagonizing presence to a muted dislike. When I first watched this film pre-opening night, John was my least favorite character. And on my second watch, he still is, but I’ve found my stance on him as a character softening, as in every way he’s unsuitable for Captain America, he’s perfect to be a Thunderbolt and a new Avenger.

In the film, he has a few likeable moments aside from the final act, where he embraces the heroic role with the rest of the team to help Bob defeat the Void inside them, healing all of their inner demons along the way. However, his character is an incredibly arrogant jerk throughout the film. 

For starters, when Bob comes out of his pod and is confused about how he got there and everything that’s going on, John is quick to antagonize him. He insults him, and when he helps Yelena and Ghost out of the tower tunnel the four of them climbed up together, he quips: “You’re going to make it, Bobby? It seems like you missed a bunch of arm and leg days.” When Bob later panics about Valentina’s forces being outside the facility, ready to kill them and considers self-surrendering, John doesn’t hesitate: “Good. It’s every man for themself.”

He refuses to call Bob by his actual name, and is the least bit bothered by how his words make Bob feel (which, for the record, Bob is a literal cinnamon roll who I want to put in my pocket forever). In the fight sequence at Valentina’s warehouse where all these oddballs meet, he keeps mentioning that he was the “official Captain America,” much to everyone’s pleasure. Oh, wait, this was throughout the entire movie, very true to character.

I’m not sure whose reaction I loved more, Ghost’s “Dime Store Captain America,” Yelena’s “two second Captain America” or Valentina’s “junior varsity” comment which incited a new collection of memes as John instantly pulls the trigger on his gun, attempting to end the movie right then and there (hilarious, true to character, never change John). 

Oh, wait, I do have a favorite:

Those 35 likes get it.

At the same time, John has a few likeable arcs. He shows eagerness in being a team with the Thunderbolts: he thanks Ava not only once, but twice for coming back to save them, calls themselves the Thunderbolts (proof that he was listening to everything they shared, whether rhetoric or genuine) and exhibits genuine care for Bob. He also lives in regret as he tells his Thunderbolts team members that he has the perfect life with his wife and kid, to which Bucky reveals is not true. John was a neglectful father who was so consumed by his public embarrassment of losing Captain America that he got divorced and lost custody of his child. 

We actually don’t know what he does about this last bit, but he does begin to accept who he is at heart. And that’s questionable progress. 

His character gets a halfway shot at redemption alongside these other morally gray characters of the MCU, with much to gain and lose now that he has a team. Yes, he’s a victim in numerous ways, but in no way does that make him qualified or competent to be Captain America, but perfect to be a Thunderbolt: rogue, messy and dysfunctional, but with a lot of heart. And we see this best in subtle ways throughout the film, namely in his fight sequences. 

When the Thunderbolts break into the Watchtower (the former Avengers Tower and current New Avengers/Avengerz tower), the team breaks up into brief solo fight scenes to showcase their abilities. There’s no leniency in the lines of life and death, but John’s scene is much more brutal than the others. Bucky, Yelena and Ava throw punches and bullets while Red Guardian uses a painful-but-quick neck snap-whip thing. John rams his makeshift Captain America-esque shield into a man’s face and neck and runs it alongside a van, all but neatly crushing the man’s windpipe, smearing blood all over the man, himself and the shield. He’s the only character to brutally kill any of these “nobodies” in the fight. And that’s what makes all the difference between him and Captain America. 

Steve Rogers was a vicious Captain America on several occasions. Check out the opening fight scene of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”: He throws his shield that could’ve decapitated a guy had he not ducked and threw a knife right into a man’s hand. The difference is the extent of the viciousness used. Steve’s Captain America was vicious, no doubt, but he was not brutal. He did not exaggerate inflicting pain more than needed, which is seldom rare if you reflect on the entire filmography of the MCU. 

The Captain America question isn’t about killing or not, but how and why Captain America kills. A brutal execution livestreamed, where a man raises his bloody hands and pummels the man to death with the blood reflected on the screen as we watch John’s eyes go dark, versus the general principles of conflict, is a tremendous boundary to cross. 

I believe John Walker is a good soldier, but not so much a good man — that is the heart of Captain America.

Even Sebastian Stan and Wyatt Russell agree.

John Walker/U.S. Agent is perfect to be a Thunderbolt because that’s what the world, post the original Avengers, needs. Sam Wilson is perfect to be Captain America because that’s the Captain America Steve Rogers wanted to entrust with the future. Let’s see how these characters cross paths in “Avengers: Doomsday” (2026). In the meantime, I’ll be continuing my “Thunderbolts*” obsession and rewatching “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”