Well after watching Thunderbolts last night, I feel he finally deserves a proposal of his own
From one of my most hated to one of my favorite characters
What's the work?[]
Falcon and the Winter Soldier and later Thunderbolts are both productions of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In them, we get to meet the character known as John F. Walker.
Who is John Walker? What has he done?[]
John Walker is a military soldier and an exceptional one at that, who initially seems like he's going to be the new Captain America. However, throughout the show, we learn he's not really cut out for Cap and eventually, he becomes U.S. Agent instead. This leads him to joining the Thunderbolts, or rather, the New Avengers.
What makes him admirable?[]
- Performed many acts of heroism in the United States military, so much that he even shook the hands of TWO US presidents.
- Lead RS One missions in counterterrorism and hostage rescue, saving in his own words "God knows how many hostages".
- In Afghanistan, he did enough to be awarded THREE medals of honor; to let you know how crazy this is, nobody in HISTORY has ever gotten more than two. And before you go "this is offscreen", it more than has onscreen effects seeing as he becomes freaking Captain America thanks to all his admirable deeds.
- Saved Sam and Bucky from the Flag-smashers.
- Saved his partner Battlestar (Lemar Hoskins) when Karli kicked him off the truck during the fight.
- Bailed Bucky out of jail when he got arrested.
- Despite suspecting Sam and Bucky broke Zemo out of jail, he didn't expose them.
- Was willing to work Sam, Bucky and Zemo to catch Karli.
- Initially tried to let Sam reason with Karli, only changing his mind because he was worried Sam would die.
- Took the super soldier serum due to Lemar pointing out how they could've saved more people if they had in the past.
- Worked alongside Sam to rescue Lemar.
- Lied to Lemar's parents to give them a sense of peace/closure for his death.
- When given the choice between saving GRC hostages or revenge on Karli during the final battle, he chooses to try and save the hostages by pulling the van back up, dropping the shield to do so.
- Worked alongside Bucky to capture the remaining Flag-smashers, choosing to let go of his revenge and let the police capture them ("mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice").
- Accepted Sam as Captain America with a respectful nod.
- In Thunderbolts, he helped Ghost, Yelena and Bob escape from Valentina's trap.
- Helped Yelena and Bob escape the building by taking out the soldiers after them.
- When they were being chased by Val's men, he protected everyone from the bullets with his shield.
- Saved Ghost from falling out the vehicle.
- Saved Bucky from being killed by Sentry during their fight.
- Carried an unconscious Bucky out the building with Alexei.
- When the Void start causing destruction in the city, he risked his life to save civilians from being crushed by concrete.
- Alongside the other's, entered the Void to help Yelena. What's worth nothing is the other's thought she might be dead, but HE told them about how he escaped from it, which encouraged them to go back and save her.
- Encouraged Bob during his fight with his darker self.
- Hugged Bob alongside everyone else, allowing him to surpress the Void and saving the world from being entirely covered by it, which would trap them all in "And I Must Scream" fates.
- Become a member of the New Avengers.
What makes him Inconsistent?[]
Walker's the definition of an anti-hero. I mean ALL of the Thunderbolts are. Although he's one of the tamer members in terms of horrible deeds.
His brutal killing of Nico is a divisive moment but even if he deserved it, he did brutally execute him in public as he begged for his life. Then he tried to kill Sam and Bucky afterwards. Although he let go of his desire for revenge against the Flag-smashers and worked with the heroes, he never exactly showed remorse.
For starters, he has a massive temper and does develop something of an ego too, being a bit of a jerk. He barges in as Sam is trying to talk down Karli, making it worse. He almost fights Sam for not turning Zemo over. He was shown to neglect his kid in Thunderbolts which lead to his wife leaving him eventually. He also almost attacks Bob for calling him out for being an "a--hole".
Final verdict?[]
Yes for being heroic enough to get 3 medals of honor, choosing to save the hostages over revenge and helping save the entire world from falling into an "And I Must Scream" fate, including being the one who told the other heroes how to escape it.