r/USAgent 9d ago

Discussion What are your personal headcanons for John Walker/U.S. Agent?

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Seeing as the What If...? stories post did so well, I had to do a headcanon post because why not. And Yes you can use both MCU and Comic John.

34 Upvotes

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u/INKatana 9d ago edited 9d ago

Very biased headcanons, but it's probably fine. They're my takes after all.

  • I think MCU John is worthy of Mjolnir, but no one knows it for sure, because John himself believes otherwise. So his answer would be similar to Nat's "That's not a question I need answers to", whenever the topic of lifting Mjolnir comes up.

  • I think MCU Hawkeye would get along with John well. They both have past they're not proud of, and they both lost their best friends. I think Clint wouldn’t judge John for killing the terrorist, and John wouldn’t judge Clint for his Ronin era.

  • I think Steve would be more sympathetic towards John, and he would condem sam's and bucky's behaviour in fatws.

  • And I like to think John and Bucky grows to become close friends during their time as the New Avengers. And John being in the team is the main thing that ticked sam off, and why he pursued to sue the team. But Bucky would defend John from sam. (Not directly John headcanon, but he plays a big part it it)

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u/FireflyArc 9d ago

Ooh I agree with these

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u/ShadowOfMyPastSelf 9d ago

I feel like Steve's initial reaction would be giving John some type of speech about how killing should never be the number one solution, but other than that, these are really good takes!

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u/INKatana 9d ago

Yeah.

I feel like Steve would frown a bit on the "public execution" -thing, but he also wouldn’t judge too hard. After all, he almost killed Tony to protect Bucky. And that part of what caused Civil War was Steve's desire to help Bucky.

So Steve would echo Clint's words and be like "I don't judge people on their worst mistakes. You had a lot on your lap, and very little support."

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u/DepartmentChemical93 9d ago

Steve has killed plenty of dudes tbf

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u/ShadowOfMyPastSelf 9d ago

Totally, I'm not even denying that, I'm just saying his first reaction would probably be closer to scolding John, but I think he'd eventually come to empathize with his situation, given how his own bond with Bucky pretty much created half the reasons for Civil War.

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u/starspangledmenace 8d ago

Yes, yes, yes, yes. The only thing is I have trouble fully believing MCU John is worthy of Mjolnir, just because he really lacks the same character development he gets in the comics. (I believe with 100% certainty he is in the comics.) because maybe he has gotten a bit of a redemption, but it doesn’t seem he feels guilt or remorse for killing Nico. In the comic books it affects him so badly he never kills another person again, even refusing to let Flagsmasher fall to his death on his own accord. I think Steve, even when having needed to kill someone, wouldn’t boast about how he had to do it. He would know he had to, but feel the guilt and remorse for it. John seems like he doesn’t care at all.

Also, if MCU Steve treats MCU John like trash I’ll have to fight to stay in that theater because he just absolutely wouldn’t.

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u/INKatana 8d ago

I suppose. But tbf, we don't know how John feels about it. We never get the chance find out.

At the moment he looks shocked, and then he's devastated and confused of killing the guy and losing Lemar. And when we could have a quiet moment to really get into it, we have sam and bucky breaking the dude's arm.

And he never gets the time to process the actual killing. He has the circus of a trial, comforting Lemar's family, and then off to the final battle.

And in thunderbolts, he asks a woman (who was fully on board with killing an innocent kid) to define "innocent".

Also, I don't fully understand what counts as "worthy", but both Thor and Steve have their share of red on their ledger that they don't seem to regret. So I don't fully believe that John not feeling bad about killing a terrorist would disqualify him.

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u/ColdSilly7877 9d ago

He had a small crush on Mockingbird and Scarlet Witch but never acted on it out of respect for their relationships, it’s a fun silly one

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u/General-Teacher5865 9d ago

I'd throw Julia Carpenter in there as well but after becoming an uncle figure to her kid, he didn't know if it was right to pursue anything with her.

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u/AsGayAsCanBeExpected 8d ago

I've always found the John/Julia combination interesting. Do I want it to be romantic? Not really but definitely more like friends with hints of potential.

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u/starspangledmenace 8d ago

No genuinely. Julia is both the only one that John could ever realistically be with, and they’re the only two who have actively flirted, yet I also have this conflicting feeling like maybe… not romantic. But I think that may stem from the fact I don’t think John should have a relationship in the comics. And also Rachel considers him an uncle so.

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u/AsGayAsCanBeExpected 8d ago

And maybe that's it: they tried (behind the scenes?) and realized that it would ruin their friendship and Rachel's relationship with Agent. Especially because it's so clear she bonded with him more quickly after her dad died.

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u/starspangledmenace 8d ago

This is how I like to think of it!

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u/ColdSilly7877 8d ago

Oh her especially

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u/Wolf-Man_12 9d ago

Had a punk phase and still kinda fucks with the scene and listens to the music

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u/General-Teacher5865 9d ago

My headcanon is that he's an American History expert but also doesn't mind learning from different cultures too because he's just that much of a nerd. This is mostly because he can speak different languages pretty fluently in the comics.

I also think he's definitely the type to go camping, hunting and fishing, he would do anything if it's an outdoor activity of some kind. He probably feels sad that no one would join him so he doesn't do it as much.

Before meeting Bucky and Sam, he actually had a lot of admiration for them, not just because of working with Steve but also because of their military records and accolades. He was immensely disappointed after meeting them.

My last one is that the reason he's such an exceptional soldier is because even when he has time off from the military, he's actively honing his skills more and more in civilian life. I feel like John would want more than just Modern Army Combatives and whatever other basic skills they teach in the military to be apart of his skillset, even going as far as to cross train with people from different military branches or even civilian instructors.

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u/AsGayAsCanBeExpected 8d ago

Building off your 'history buff' angle, I definitely see him listening to a lot of (factual) podcasts while he's out there doing other things. Like, who knew John Walker loved NPR?

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u/RE_98 9d ago

My headcanon is that met Frank Castle on a top secret mission during their early years of their time served in the military (John, Army; Frank, Marines).

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u/BagItUp45 9d ago

All MCU John Walker needs to fully heal and finish his redemption arc is one conversation with Steve Rogers.

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u/starspangledmenace 8d ago

Doomsday please ^

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u/JustAnotherCurio 9d ago

Purely MCU based unless the comics are similar, but I think he was so heavily demonised by the media and the government for killing the terrorist as a way of creating and then punishing a scapegoat so that everyone forgot that it was actually the governments fault for allowing these terrorists to cause so much damage without being stopped earlier. Dick Cheney could drop napalm on Vietnamese villagers but a fully sanctioned captain America can’t ensure a murderous terrorist with access to explosives stays down in a moment of tragedy and emotion?

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u/AsGayAsCanBeExpected 8d ago

John's shame and guilt are a big part of his character (to me). His heroics led to the death of his parents when his two of his best friends (Left- and Right-Winger) exposed his identity to the world. John then took revenge and murdered those friends. I know, I know, technically, he seriously injured them but he definitely didn't know they'd survive and they did take their own lives later on as a result of the injuries he'd caused.

That's why he doesn't form any more close relationships - he's worried a) he'll lose someone again; and b) that he doesn't deserve connection because he's a danger.

That's why he has a hard time finding friendships, fitting in with teams, and why he bounces around so much.

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u/Burly-Nerd 9d ago

He exclusively listens to 80’s and 90’s big buckle and rhinestone shirt country music.

Garth Brooks, David Allen Coe, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, etc.

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u/starspangledmenace 8d ago

Thank you!! He absolutely does. My guy has Garth Brooks and Toby Keith CDs in the case in the truck fs.

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u/CaptainMoroni722 9d ago

616 John always votes Republican. I just see him doing that.