Why John Walker is Different from Steve Rogers After Super Soldier Serum?
After Avengers: Endgame and the launch of Disney+, Marvel has been focusing more on releasing standalone series of the superheroes that were not able to get a proper screen time in the films. One of those projects is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The miniseries has turned John Walker into a Super Soldier but he has already shown how he is different from Steve Rogers.
The Super Soldier Serum has made a successful comeback in the Marvel Disney+ show. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has unveiled the dark and tragic past through Isaiah Bradley. It has also ensured that it stays a part of the present and possibly the future as well. All the credits go to the Flag-Smashers and experiments of Dr. Nagel.
There were a total of 12 vials that remained unaccounted for and this meant that a dozen more Super Soldiers could have been created in the MCU. Thanks to Zemo, 11 of those vials were destroyed. But John Walker managed to retrieve the 12th vial. After an insulting loss against the Dora Milaje and a pep talk from his buddy Lemar Hoskins, he finally became the replacement of Captain America by injecting himself with the Serum. But, is he the true replacement? He has shown that he will do whatever it takes for living up to the standard set up by Steve Rogers, but the latest episode showed us that he is destined to fail!
There are a lot of similarities between John Walker and Steve Rogers. It shows why Walker has been chosen as the new Captain America. Both of them have shown themselves as being loyal to the country. Also, they are ready for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect it. But apart from this, there are many differences in their ideals and how far they wish to push things.
The differences define how Walker compares as a Super Soldier to Steve Rogers. It can also be said that Walker is the direct opposite of Steve Rogers. Before he got the serum, Abraham Erskine told Steve to be “not a perfect soldier, but a good man”. Steve lived up to this till the end and up to a point that cost him the shield. But Walker can be considered as the opposite. He is not a good man but he is a perfect soldier.
The Super Soldier Serum increases everything which is already there in a person. Steve Rogers was not a perfect soldier. It was evident that he was smart, but quite skinny and weak. But on the inside, he was a brave man with a good heart. They were the qualities that got amplified by the serum. In simple words, “good became great.”
But on the other hand, Walker is almost ideal of what a soldier should be. This is because, without the serum, he is still strong, athletic, a skilled combatant, a smart tactician and has received three Medals of Honor. He has an inflated sense of ego and this becomes worse when he becomes Captain America. He gets angry very quickly and loses control when things get heated in battle.
Clearly, it can be said that the Super Soldier Serum has made the new Captain America powerful like Steve Rogers. He has gotten stronger on the basis of his advanced physical capabilities. But what’s within matters the most. Having taken the serum, John Walker ended up in a total rage mode. The serum enhances the kind of person someone is. Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. Someone who is arrogant and angry would obviously lose control with the serum, especially after seeing his or her best friend killed. Blinded by fury, he publicly killed one of the Flag-Smashers until his shield was stained with blood. And now, the world will see that John Walker isn’t truly worthy of the mantle. It’s as Zemo said, “there has never been a Steve Rogers!”
But, it’s fair to say that there is someone who is definitely worthy of being the next Captain America. And that’s none other than Sam Wilson. Now that John Walker is on the verge of becoming a tyrant, Sam would have to take him on in order to stop him. And doing it without the serum will definitely earn him the shield in public eye. So far, Sam has shown every trait of being worthy of the shield. He has shown humility, compassion and the willingness to fight for others. We all know how skilled he is with his jetpack, but he was always looking for a way to solve things without any bloodshed. He denied the need for the super-soldier serum. And mostly importantly, he is a good man! All these are qualities that John Walker doesn’t have.
So ultimately, Sam would become Captain America by the end and John Walker might be put on a redemption arc if he survives the series. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered on 19th March 2021 on Disney+. Four episodes have been released till now and the miniseries have received positive reviews from critics.
