With Falcon And The Winter Soldier no longer planning to be released before the end of the year, we are still looking forward to the MCU's rendition of U.S. Agent. Marvel Studios cast Wyatt Russell, a relatively unknown actor, to play John Walker. This is exciting because when Marvel casts lesser-known actors in bigger parts it is usually an indication of long-term plans.
When they do cast huge actors in roles, like Michael Douglas as Hank Pym (original Ant-Man) or Lawrence Fishburne as Bill Foster (Black Goliath), they usually serve very limited roles. I, for one, am glad they do this. Imagine if they cast Matt Damon as Captain America or Leonardo DiCaprio as Doctor Strange. You would never be able to suspend your belief and take in the character because the actor is so familiar. Therefore, if I were to guess, I would say that U.S. Agent will have an MCU presence well beyond Falcon And The Winter Soldier.
Many points to explore for stories
This character has so much potential to explore. John Walker starts off as a villain, the Super Patriot. He was trained in using his shield by Taskmaster. He was a member of the West Coast Avengers and often bumped heads with Hawkeye. At one point he teamed up with other famous superhero derivatives War Machine and Thunderstrike, who were all manipulated into fighting Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. He deals with an internal struggle of balancing what the government he has sworn to serve wants him to do, and what he feels is the right thing to do. He is stronger than Captain America but lacks emotional control and is not as morally pure. Additionally, Marvel is publishing a 5-part U.S. Agent miniseries set to come out in November, coinciding with the Falcon And The Winter Soldier release.
The creator's idea behind U.S. Agent
In Comics Interview #54 Mark Gruenwald spoke about writing on Captain America and his idea for U.S. Agent. He wanted to make a character "who embodied patriotism in a way that Captain America didn't—a patriotic villain. Basically, I just wanted to do the opposite of Steve Rogers. Okay, Steve Rogers is a poor northern urban boy. So I'll make a guy from rural middle-class south. Cap is now old, so this guy'll be a real young up-and-comer. Cap has lofty ideals, so I'll make Super-Patriot be more realistic and more pragmatic. So, I put together his background and character traits by playing the opposite game."
**Interesting (or disturbing) fact: when Mark Gruenwald died in 1996 his wife (at his request) had his ashes mixed in with the ink used for the first printing of the Squadron Supreme 1997 TPB. This collected Squadron Supreme 1-12 from 1985, one of his best-known works. This historical oddity is recorded on Ripley's (Believe It Or Not) website.
U.S. Agent Final Thoughts
It's cool that Sam Wilson takes up the moniker officially as Captain America. Sam is morally akin to Steve Rogers, and maybe he will be the conscience of the Disney+ show. Perhaps Sam's grounded perspective will be used to provide commentary on John Walker's more extreme methods. This could highlight their differences, and distinguish what the real Captain America would have done in such and such situation.
Sam Wilson, however, does not have the super-soldier serum. U.S. Agent is a much more comparable character to Steve Rogers as far as abilities go. I am super happy that with Cap's departure in End Game Marvel Studios can still continue on with a Captain America-like character. I am looking forward to how they draw out the contrast between the two characters. Steve Rogers was originally selected to receive the Super Soldier serum due to the character he had, whereas John Walker would have failed that test. The serum is supposed to amplify what is already inside a man, so Marvel Studios can explore what happens when someone who should not have gotten the serum is endowed with those powers.
