How John Walker's US Agent Suit Is Different From His Captain America Costume
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced John Walker, the new Captain America who at the end of the series became US Agent, and the changes in his costume say a lot about his new role. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 has finally begun, and it won’t just focus on movies but TV shows as well, which will connect with the movies, further expanding this universe. First in line was WandaVision, and once it was over, fans moved forward with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Set six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the series followed Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as he decided whether to take the mantle of Captain America or not, and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who continued to struggle with his past as the Winter Soldier and the consequences of it. Sam and Bucky joined forces to bring down a radical group known as Flag Smashers, but they also came across an unexpected obstacle: John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the man that the US government chose to be the new Captain America after Sam gave the shield up.
John Walker is a former member of the U.S. Army whose achievements made him the chosen one to take the mantle of Captain America, but he wasn’t worthy of it, and after brutally killing one of the members of the Flag Smashers with the shield (this after the death of his friend Lemar Hoskins/Battlestar and after taking the Super Soldier serum), he was stripped of the title. Frustrated, Walker made his own shield from scrap metal and his war medals and joined Sam and Bucky in their final battle against the Flag Smashers, still wearing his Captain America suit. By the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Walker had found some redemption by helping Sam and Bucky, but his alliance with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) continued, and it was she who gave him a new costume and identity: U.S. Agent.
Walker’s Captain America costume was similar to that of Steve Rogers but different enough to set him apart from the original Cap. They have the same color palette (blue, red, and white, of course), but Walker’s had a symbol that is a combination of an “A” and a star on the right side of his chest, in the middle of his helmet, and the back, and blue and red stripes across his torso, with the rest of the suit being blue. As Walker wasn’t intended to be a Super Soldier, his Captain America suit had advanced armor and the helmet was reinforced to ensure his safety. Now, his US Agent suit is pretty much the same, only replacing the blue and white with black, something that Walker quickly pointed out.
The US Agent costume being black is a visual representation of what his role will be in the future of the MCU. In the comics, Walker also became US Agent after proving to be unworthy of the Captain America title, but his death was faked and his memory altered so he could re-emerge as US Agent. His costume was a variation of that of Steve Rogers, but his tasks were nothing like those Steve dealt with, he frequently came into conflict with his colleagues, and he was constantly forced to choose between following the rules and laws and doing what he thought was right (it’s worth noting, however, that his methods had always been violent and extreme). De Fontaine’s plans will surely be far from those of Captain America and other Avengers, hence why she recruited Walker and turned him into US Agent, so his history in the MCU might be a lot darker than in the comics, sending John Walker on a complex journey, very far from what he went through in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.