The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has only released two of its six episodes thus far, but viewers have already been introduced to a plethora of characters who are new to the MCU. One of the most important debuts in the series so far has been that of Wyatt Russell's John Walker, who has been deemed "the new Captain America" by the government after Sam Wilson gave up the shield following the end of Avengers: Endgame.
Many fans are suspicious of Walker's intentions and are hesitant about his qualifications for the job as the next Cap, especially since Sam was personally chosen to wield the shield by the original Captain America. So far, he seems to have a different approach to his role than his predecessor, even though he's stated that he sees Steve Rogers as a role model.
*NEW* CAPTAIN AMERICA VS. THANOS
In an interview with PopBuzz, Russell was asked how John Walker would have held up against Thanos, the iconic villain from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Upon hearing the question, Russell laughed and said "I would've been dead in like one second, right?"
"I mean, Thanos can, like, kill everybody; you need like, the team of Avengers, everybody in the world to defeat him. John Walker would've probably been stepped on like an ant if he'd been doing it alone."
The interviewer commented that Walker would certainly have put a lot of effort into trying, to which Russell agreed and responded "He would've tried very hard and failed valiantly."
FIGHTING STYLES
From what has been shown in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's first two episodes, John Walker is someone who refuses to back down from a fight, much like the original Captain America.
However, he seems to be a bit more self-absorbed (at least by the time the second episode is over). Taking this into account, he may have been less insistent on battling Thanos as a team, which would likely have proven to be his downfall against the Mad Titan.
Russell's portrayal of the character has been fairly nuanced thus far. Many fans dislike Walker since he's being set up as an adversary to Sam and Bucky, but the show makes it clear that the new Captain America is just trying to do his job the best way he knows how, making him more sympathetic than many other Marvel "villains".
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's first two episodes are now available to stream on Disney+.
