Peacemaker Vs. John Walker: Who Would Win? | Screen Rant
2021 was an exciting year for superhero fans. It saw the releases Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Suicide Squad, introducing the characters of John Walker (US Agent) and Christopher Smith (Peacemaker). Both characters are popular enough to carry their own shows (Peacemaker has his own already) and both characters are often seen as dark versions of Captain America.
But while their characters are similar, which of the two would win in a fight? Peacemaker and Walker will be judged on their MCU and DCEU versions, as the wide range of character traits in the comics would make an out-and-out match a little too complicated. This does mean that the US Agent identity, which hasn't been used onscreen much, will not feature into the analysis.
Peacemaker has a large array of weaponry. This apparently includes improvised weapons according to his introduction. But the biggest focus is given to his massive Desert Eagle weapon in The Suicide Squad. It's a huge gun that outmatches any firearm from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It's not just the size of his gun that matters, though. Famously, Peacemaker uses exploding compression bullets. This gives his bullets much harder hits than other ammunition, putting almost anything down in one shot. And it's doubtful John Walker will be able to pierce the bullet mid-flight, like Bloodsport did in the film.
In The Suicide Squad, the odd metal helmet of Peacemaker's was simply a curiosity. But the show revealed that his father has made many different versions of the helmet, each with different abilities. In the first episode alone he uses one to emit a large sonic blast. This blast was strong enough to liquefy an augmented human.
John Walker is also an augmented human, so he'd likely be vulnerable to this sonic blast. But other helmets have other powers that would be useful for a fight. There's one that protects Peacemaker with a full-body force field, which is great because of his other defensive options. There's also an X-ray vision helmet, which would help Chris if John took a stealthy approach.
In The Suicide Squad the character Bloodsport has a big rivalry with Peacemaker, and it's this rivalry which leads to one of the movie's most impressive scenes. The two compete in a contest of accuracy, taking out rebels with ridiculous levels of skill. They don't even need to look when nailing hostiles with lethal shots.
This feat of accuracy is more impressive than anything audiences have seen John Walker do. While John demonstrates sniping proficiency, so does Chris. And Peacemaker's accuracy extends to thrown weapons as well as fired. At a distance, Peacemaker clearly has an advantage in this fight.
Peacemaker is played by WWE superstar John Cena. He's a gigantic man whose physique is exceptionally intimidating, and the character is no slouch either; having plenty of fistfights with characters like Rick Flag and Judomaster. Peacemaker's impressive muscles allowed him to make up the difference from more skilled opponents.
In comparison, while John Walker's actor Wyatt Russell is certainly in shape, he's smaller than Cena. Cena's wider and just as tall. There are also fewer obvious weak points on the wrestler's physique than Russell's. And the character has demonstrated impressive endurance; keeping a fight going while being choked out.
By the end of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, US Agent is a solo operator. Even before then, despite being officially endorsed by the United States military, he didn't have tons of active support from them. He only really had his partner Lemar "Battlestar" Hoskins. He isn't much in comparison to A.R.G.U.S. from the Peacemaker show on HBO Max, though.
Peacemaker comes with at least two recon experts and at least three active combatants besides himself. And one of them is Vigilante, who in the show is shown to be even more willing to kill than Peacemaker is. The other two, Harcourt and Adebayo, are likely armed and they're trained. Plus Peacemaker has his most loyal partner, Eagly the Eagle.
John Walker's only MCU appearance so far is in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Luckily, Falcon and the Winter Soldier has great fight scenes that really show off his skills. Unlike Steve Rogers, who was a soldier from the last century, Walker is a modern combatant. He demonstrates the results of diligent training in both weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
Walker specifically is trained in boxing, firearms, and modern army techniques. This allows him to match with trained assassins like The Winter Soldier. Peacemaker, in comparison, has only been trained by his father.
A lot of surprising characters have held Captain America's shield. But the most controversial was John Walker, despite his ability to wield it properly. He was able to use it for attack and defense as well as Cap could. And defense is not Peacemaker's strong suit; he's much more exposed in comparison.
Unfortunately, the MCU version of US Agent doesn't hold on to the shield forever. He's stripped up of it and he ends up using a homemade shield that is easily dented. He would likely bring some shield into the fight, but it's hard to know which. But even if it's the inferior second shield, that's still more than Peacemaker has.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about John was his surprising intelligence, both emotional and factual. It's stated that he's a graduate of MIT, and he doesn't come off as a meathead despite his muscle-bound presentation. This dynamic ended up earning John Walker the love of fans of Falcon And The Winter Soldier.
He ended up making some major mistakes, but it wasn't due to stupidity. He has a tactical mind that could fight with the main cast even before he got the Super Soldier Serum. The tactics he displayed against the leads and the Dora Milaje let him post a genuine threat. This strategy is something that Peacemaker doesn't really have.
While Walker doesn't have iconic gadgets like Peacemaker does, he still has plenty to utilize. His uniform is bulletproof and optimized for combat. It contains a utility belt that can produce knives and ammunition. He also is shown using an MH-6 Helicopter and a Jeep.
But he also has a holstered gun, much like Captain America did. His weapon of choice is the STI Perfect 10, which he had as both Captain America and US Agent. Much like Peacemaker, he demonstrates expert accuracy with it, hitting targets on moving vehicles. He also carries a pair of handcuffs with him, which he could restrain enemies with.
Everything up until now has been the preamble for John "US Agent" Walker. The main event is that he has been injected with Captain America's Super Soldier Serum, amplifying the ability that already won three Medals of Honor. He withstands hits from the Flag Smashers and jumps over and punches through walls when injected. Peacemaker, for all his strength, has difficulty with the similarly strong Butterflies.
But the biggest advantage of the Super Soldier Serum is that it makes Walker comparable to Captain America. It can be reasonably extrapolated that most of the things Cap could do, the Agent could also do. Captain America has gone toe to toe with Thanos, and bullets haven't been as detrimental to him as they have been to Chris Smith, who was hospitalized for months. All in all, the Super Soldier Serum should allow Walker to go all day, while Peacemaker would have to end the fight quickly before Walker's superior body outlasted him.