The John Walker that fans know today from the Marvel Cinematic Universe may be similar to the comic book in that his version of Captain America is up to no good, but the way he got to this place in his life is way different.
According to Screenrant.com, though Wyatt Russell’ John Walker originally wanted to be a positive influence on the country, in the fourth episode of the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he took things way too far.
John Walker took the Power Broker’s super soldier serum and realized that he could match up to the Flag-Smashers, and once Battlestar (Clé Bennett) was killed, he hunted down a Flag-Smasher horrifically executed him with his shield. And considering his deed was seen by plenty of eyes, Captain America is no longer the hero that he once stood for.
In the comics, John Walker did show a similar sort of rage, and accidentally killed villain Professor Power. But it wasn’t on purpose and that’s a big change in the MCU.
Additionally, unlike in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Walker’s evil transformation occurred because of the death of his parents. What happened in the story was supervillains Left-Winger and Right-Winger learned Walker’s real name and exposed it to the public, and his parents were targeted by terrorist organization who called themselves the Watchdogs. Walker retaliated by killing nine of the Watchdogs in a heated battle.
So, in both versions of his change, Steve Rogers’ replacement succumbed to his aggressive tendencies and set Captain America on a dark path. The fact that the pressures of being the “hero” were a little too much as well, played into his transformation as well.
That’s not the only major difference between the comic and Disney+ show. For one, Battlestar is alive in the source material and tried to be supportive of the new Captain. An even bigger difference is that John Walker received his super strength even before becoming Captain America, unlike the events of the MCU.
For those not familiar, in the comic, Walker went by the codename of “U.S. Agent” and became a member of the West Coast Avengers, cooling off a bit and becoming somewhat of a respectable superhero. It’s unclear if the Walker we’ve come to know in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be able to share that redemption arc.
