John Walker’s Credits Scene Demonstrates The New Captain America’s Key Flaws

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 5 featured a post-credits scene emphasizing John Walker’s biggest flaw as Captain America. In its penultimate outing, the Marvel Studios series included its very first stinger, which its movie counterparts have popularized over the years. In Falcon & Winter Soldier episode 5’s credits scene, Walker is revealed to be assembling his new Captain America shield — something that he’ll be wielding in the upcoming finale.

Immediately after he debuted as the government-appointed Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiere, Walker has become the subject of ire from fans. Like Sam and Bucky, viewers felt right away that he wasn’t fit for the job for a couple of reasons, including the fact that he’s not Steve Rogers’ chosen successor. However, the MCU public supported him as evidenced by his homecoming interview. Throughout his first few outings as the new Star-Spangled Avenger, Walker actually tried to reach out to Bucky and Sam for their potential blessing; he was only trying to do the job bestowed upon him and he had no intention of replacing Steve. He was being decent and wasn’t doing anything outright villainous — that’s until episode 4 when his partner, Lemar Hoskins, was accidentally killed in a battle, causing Walker’s total meltdown and a member of the Flag-Smashers dead in Latvia.

When the disgraced veteran came back home in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the government quickly stripped him of the Captain America title, as well as other benefits he was granted for his service in the military. Prior to that, Sam and Bucky already forcefully took the shield from him. Given this coupled with some encouragement from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who somehow knew that he took the super-soldier serum, Walker has become motivated more than ever to continue operating as Captain America, and he decided to create his own version of the shield. This highlights just much he gets wrong about the essence of the superhero mantle. He’s become obsessed with the title and symbolism of Captain America that he’s so lost without them. So, he attempts to recreate the hero’s whole look to maintain his ownership of the persona even though technically, with the way he’s acting, he’s spiritually unworthy of embodying it.

Steve didn’t have a problem leaving the Captain America name and shield behind. On the heels of Captain America: Civil War, where he was branded a fugitive after he refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, he went underground and operated as Nomad with the Secret Avengers. Granted that this wasn’t fully explored on the screen, the Infinity War Prelude comics detailed some of their adventures as they traveled internationally to be of service to people in need. Despite not being recognized by the public as Captain America, Steve continued to be a hero. He didn’t need the public identity to do good which harkened back to his origins story in Captain America: The First Avenger. Steve didn’t wish to be Captain America for the title when he joined the Super Soldier Program, he only wanted to be able to serve his country during the war.

This whole principle is lost on Walker; in the brief period that he was Captain America, he quickly associated his calling to serve to the mantle and now, he’s immensely attached to his public persona. Without it, he feels like he couldn’t function and do good, which isn’t really the case. As he continues to insist that he’s still the Star-Spangled Avenger complete with his own shield in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale, it’s curious whether his arc ends with the series or there’s more for Walker in the MCU past it.