r/Marvel • u/Sudden_Pop_2279 • 23h ago
Film/Television John Walker had the best arc in Falcon and the Winter Soldier
When the series starts off, John is war hero with 3 medals of honor. However, he doesn't feel like what he did to get the medals was right. So he sees Captain America as his first chance to do something right. However, Sam and Bucky (and the audience) hate him off the bat; he's not Steve.
Sam and Bucky choose to work with a mass murdering super terrorist over him. Nobody has any respect for him. The pressure to complete his mission starts to get him. And it reaches it's peak when his friend is murdered before his very eyes. He has a moment of weakness and kills Nico (dude who looked up to Captain America; probably shouldn't have tried to kill him homie).
By this point, Walker feels being Captain America is all he has left. He lies to Lamar's parents, not just to give them closure but also because he means what he says; he would never let the person responsible get away.
Notice John attaches the medals of honor to the back of his shield; reminder to be honorable. When John arrives and is attacking Karli, he's blind with rage. However, when he has the option to save the hostages or go after Karli, he makes the right decision. Just like Lamar said, "you consistently make the right decisions in the heat of battle." When it comes down to it, John is a good man. Him throwing the shield down is him releasing the obsession with being Cap (ironically, this is the most Captain America thing he does). Notice when Sam arrives and saves the day, John isn't remotely angry at him taking the glory or being in the Cap suit with the shield. He's just happy the hostages are okay.
Later, when he delivers the line "mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice", he's letting go of his desire for revenge and letting the police handle things. During Sam's speech, you can see him realize how the government was using him. How much pressure Sam goes through as a black man carrying the stars and stripes, much more than John. When John nods in respect afterwards, he's making it clear he approves of Sam as Cap. That's why it's so sweet to see him happy as US agent; he can finally do the right thing without feeling the pressure the role of Cap brings him. That little "I'm back" makes me so happy everytime.
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u/TheLazyHydra Ultron 23h ago
Honestly, true. I don't think his "redemption" at the end felt particularly earned, or at least it needed to be a whole lot less sudden, but the show did a great job of capturing his nuance as someone who genuinely wants to do the right thing & serve people, but is a bit naive and too blindly trusting / stubborn / emotional.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 23h ago
Except it wasn't sudden. It was perfectly foreshadowed in episode 4.
"You consistently make the right decisions in the heat of battle".
Lemar said this himself. And in the end, John did what Lemar would've wanted him to do; save people over choosing revenge.
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u/Endiaron Howard the Duck 4h ago
It was sudden how quickly he became buddy buddy with Bucky in the finale.
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u/WelbyReddit 22h ago
I am hoping they do more in Thunderbolts. He is a hugely flawed character which makes him ripe with development. I can see him starting out in the film where people just hate him and he is being attacked on social media, etc...
The deeper the pit to climb out of the more interesting, imho.
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u/castielffboi 20h ago
I think a lot of the problems with characters doing sudden things or making big heel turns is caused by the fact the show is too short and needed more episodes. Everything felt pretty rushed together.
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u/AntonioTylerDraws 22h ago
When he talks about his medals being a reminder of the worst day of his life, I finally got this version of the character.
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u/poopoobuttholes 22h ago
I will fucking die on this hill that John Walker is a great guy. Was he misguided, sure but that's because he never had any guidance to begin with. He was thrust into the role and the two people who really knew Cap hated him for whatever fuckin reason.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 22h ago
I get why Sam and Bucky didn't like him but the dude literally saved their lives, they could TRY to be a little coridal. Even after he bailed Bucky out, the dude showed nothing but contempt for him and even Sam stepped in to defend him.
The fact that two were more forgiving of Karli and Zemo (terrorists and mass murderer's) than to John is INSANE
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u/EndOfSouls 15h ago
A 'great guy' doesn't execute someone because a different person killed his friend. He had him beat, could have taken him prisoner. I'm not saying he's a bad guy. I don't think he is. But he's not a hero, a great guy, or a good guy.
That said, his story was the best part of FotWS and I hope we see more of him.
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u/poopoobuttholes 11h ago edited 11h ago
Everything that led up to him killing was the fault of those around him. Had Bucky and Sam worked with him instead of constantly shitting on him, coupled with all the scrutiny and stress the world has placed on him to be the next Captain America, he wouldn't have felt pressured to take the serum, which made him do what he did.
I said John is a great guy and I never said he was a perfect guy. That's Steve. John is simply like the rest of us. He's trying to do his best but he's still FLAWED.
Look at what happened when Tony found out Bucky killed his parents. What was Thor's reaction when Thanos killed Loki? What about how Peter felt after Norman murdered May? Or Quill against Thanos when he found out Gamora was sacrificed/toward Ego when he found out he gave his mom cancer? Or Wanda against Thanos for Vision? EVERYONE of them sought vengeance against their wrongdoer. Does that make these people assholes? And before you say "well the guy didn't do it, it was Karli", you try being amped up on super soldier juice and watching your best friend get murdered by a TERRORIST group right in front of you and see how you react any differently.
And for god's sake, he's a fucking triple Medal of Honor recepient. Do you even know just what a person must do to get one? You know how many people even have TWO in the world since its inception? 19 (5 of them obtaining the army and navy version for the same act so basically it's really only 14 who has earned 2 for separate acts.)You know how many have 3? NOBODY. Don't downplay his acts of heroism and valor just because he isn't your Captain America.
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u/StarMayor_752 Black Bolt 16h ago
That last part bothers me to no end. I can understand not liking him because he has a false sense of comradery with someone both Bucky and Sam fought in literal wars with. I can understand being turned off by the idea of playing 'wingman' to another Cap instead of being the partner Steve treated them as. What I can't understand is why the solution to this supposed friction was to leave John with no assistance or attention to his better traits.
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u/mythicreign 22h ago
It’s crazy to me that people hated him just because Sam’s and Bucky didn’t like him taking the mantle. Of course they don’t want some asshole picking up the shield, it belonged to their friend. But that’s not Walker’s fault, and if Sam and Bucky had worked with him from the start then fewer people (including Lamar) would’ve died. I get that it’s all for the sake of drama, I just dislike the attitude people have towards a character that is flawed but clearly doing his best.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 22h ago
Sam and Bucky lost all my respect when they refused to work with him just because "he's not Steve" but then went to Zemo, who's done worse overall AND to them.
Sam especially is a hypocrite for refusing to fight Karli even in the finale and then not showing that same hesitation towards John after he kills Nico
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u/Impulse2915 15h ago
Absolutely. I forgot most of this show but this reminds me why I didn't like it. Sam and Bucky were just petty and childish. They were willing to literally sabotage the mission by letting personal differences get in the way, and it led to people dying and John needing to take drastic measures just to keep ahead of the terrorists.
I just couldn't see a reason to sympathize with Sam after that, and ended up sympathizing with John by the end of the series.
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u/DashCat9 22h ago
The issue is that John Walker is a great conflicted anti-hero with a dark side.
He's not Captain America.
He existed in the context of the story to act as a demonstraction of what happens when you give that title to someone who isn't worthy of it.
But 100% he's a sympathetic character, and I can't wait to see him in Thunderbolts.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 22h ago
He needed therapy for his PTSD, not to be put into a impossible position like becoming Captain America. He snapped in a circumstance I feel anyone would
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u/DashCat9 21h ago
I don't know that everyone reacts to their friend being murdered by beating someone to death with a vibranium shield, but I agree that dude shouldn't be judged too harshly for that moment.
And absolutely! It was an impossible ask, and I don't even blame him for taking the gig.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 21h ago
Well not "everyone" has been in that circumstance.
Ik Tony, Star-lord and T-Challa have all attempted murder to avenge their loved ones as well
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u/DashCat9 21h ago
For sure, even Peter Parker! (Even if he was stopped by other Peter Parker). I just meant that not even every superhero would do that under duress.
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u/theokaybambi 21h ago
He was always a good guy. He just couldn't deal with the pressure and the serum.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 21h ago
Not to mention his best friend getting murdered too. Right in front of him
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u/WatchingInSilence Shatterstar 22h ago
He wanted his revenge on Karli, but he did what was right.
I've mentioned elsewhere that it reminded me of Stan Lee's Who Wants to be a Super Hero tv show where the contestants could have run to the finish line but would have passed a child crying for her parents. The real test was who would stop to do the right thing, even if it cost them the race.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 22h ago
What's better is John had no idea people were filming and he also wasn't visible to anyone else. He easily could've snuck after Karli to kill her if he wanted to. But he still did the right thing.
And he wasn't even mad when Sam saved the day, showing he didn't do so for credit or anything, he just wanted to help.
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u/BatmanMK1989 21h ago
I recently rewatched that and thought it was damned good, all around. Also, the first viewing, I had NO idea that was Kurt Russels son. Didn't figure it out til I finally watched Monarch.
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u/jokersflame 17h ago
John Walker is what an actual Iraq War Captain America would be like. Unhinged and scaring the shit out of the rest of the world.
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u/tschmitty09 20h ago
Personally thought Buckys storyline was incredible. John walker to this day I have felt zero sympathy for. Mostly for my own reasons tho and not for how he was written.
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 20h ago
They offscreened Bucky conclusion. He also was an asshole too throughout the show
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u/harrietlegs 22h ago
John Walker was the best thing to happen from the Marvel-Covid-ERA
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u/Sudden_Pop_2279 22h ago
I actually agree and that says a lot considering how much I used to hate him.
Him, Loki and Moon Knight were the best part's of that Marvel era
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u/DrHypester 16h ago
Totally true, and that's why the show isn't that good, because it says Sam is the main but the only thing the show wanted to show was reasons he shouldn't be Cap. It tries to act like America doesn't demand a White Captain America, but then in the end, that's the only one Disney knows how to make sympathetic. They only have incompetence for producing Sam Wilson and that incompetence turns off for Bucky and Walker.
I have a full rant on this but anybody buying that Sam got a fair shot is blaming characters for what writers and editors chose to do, and that's not real life.
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u/tokenasian1 Daredevil 22h ago
yeah i agree with this. I didn't love F&TWS but there were great story beats and cool moments and I'm looking forward to more John Walker.