Differences between Steve Rogers and John Walker

As unpopular as the decision may have been, John Walker (Wyatt Russell) was unveiled as the new Captain America in Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Many fans feel the exact same as Bucky (Sebastian Stan) in that the famous Vibranium shield doesn’t belong to Walker. There are many reasons as to why people think this with the main reason being that he is just too different from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Despite only be the focus of one episode thus far there are still many differences which Walker has displayed against the first Avenger.

If we begin to dissect the difference between Steve and the new Cap there becomes a clear disparity between the pair. Firstly, the main difference between the pair is that Walker was already a trained military soldier with a vast amount of experience. Compare this to Steve before he was given the super soldier serum, he was of feeble stature with a limited skill set. Walker reminds us more of Hodge from Captain America: The First Avenger as he was top of the class. Immediately there is a difference between the two as Walker was selected as Captain America for his abilities and skills whereas Steve was selected because of the goodness in his heart. We are not saying Walker doesn’t have this, but it was not the primary reason behind him being selected as the New Captain America.

Moreover, due to Walker having no powers as of yet, this is another difference that comes up. Steve went through Project Rebirth and came through it as a super soldier. This may be a simple difference to point out but it deserves recognition because of the significance of the serum in the show. Without any enhancements it will always be hard for Walker to be just as good as Steve was in combat. He may have the skills but won’t have the powers suitable to take on bigger threats like the Flag Smashers. We saw this when Walker was kicked off a moving van. If this was Steve his powers would have enabled him to beat the Flag Smashers. This is a big difference for Walker as he knows he can’t compete with threats like Steve did which could begin to frustrate him as the threat begins to escalate.

Despite not having super strength, a major equaliser for Walker as Cap is the fact he carries a gun. In fact he used this gun to shoot one of the Flag Smashers. We haven’t seen Steve wield a gun on a mission since The First Avenger during World War 2 which is acceptable due to the battles. As such it looks like Walker is far happier to kill someone than Steve was. This may be due to Walker not having the advantage of super strength, but is killing someone with a gun the correct replacement for someone whom is meant to represent America?

Yet another difference between Steve and Walker is how they view Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky. Sam and Bucky were Steve’s best friends and were considered as his partners. Steve never saw himself as better than them which was proven as both men fought alongside him during the Cap movies. Also, Steve always looked out for their best interests. At the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Steve didn’t force Sam to help him as he knew how dangerous his future missions would be and then at the end of Civil War he respected Bucky’s decision to spend time in Wakanda to heal his mind. Compare this to John Walker he smugly released Bucky from prison and discharged him from his court mandated therapy. This was not looking out for Bucky’s best interests and instead he viewed him only as an asset to help the mission rather than a human being with mental health problems. Walker is only thinking about the mission, whereas Steve would respect what was best for his teammate’s wellbeing.

Also, Walker calls Sam a wingman which is something Steve never called anyone. Calling Sam this was disrespectful and something Steve would never have done. Sam was even a member of the Avengers which makes this even more of an insult by Walker as it is similar to calling Iron Man a wingman just because Steve runs the team. Ultimately what Walker shows is a lack of understanding for those he wants to work with and only seems focused on his mission. This can be linked back to being chosen due to his skills and experience which will have always seen him get the job done no matter the costs.

In Walker’s final scene of episode 2 we got our final notion that Walker is nothing like Steve. Throughout the episode he was trying to recruit Sam and Bucky but after being rejected for the final time Walker snapped and told Sam to stay out of his way. This aggression towards someone on the same side is completely out of line to what Steve was like. When The Avengers disbanded at the end of Civil War, Steve tried to patch things up with Tony Stark which shows he has compassion even though the two sides disagreed. When someone disagrees with Walker he turns aggressive and wants nothing to do with them. Again this is a complete difference between the two men who have held the title of Captain America.

As Falcon and The Winter Soldier continues to stream on Disney+ we expect more of a difference to be created between John Walker and Steve Rogers. Also, as everyone immediately hated Walker for not being Steve we think that this hatred may become justified as the risks and methods that Walker undertakes will not present him in a good light. The comparison to Steve will become even harder to make and it will be clear that Walker as Captain America is nothing like Steve Rogers.

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