[Meeting…] USAgent

When a superhero reaches a certain level of fame, most people who have not followed his adventures in comics They tend to believe that this hero has always been the same person, but history shows us that this is not exactly true. and that there are many famous heroes who have changed their secret identity over the years.

Thanks to the Marvel movies, Tony Stark is a very famous character today, and it is difficult to imagine an Iron Man other than him, but has Tony Stark been the only one to wear the armor and the name of Iron Man? No.

And what do you say about Batman? One of the most popular DC Comics heroes. Do you think Bruce Wayne was the only one to wear that suit? Well no. Spider-man? Neither. Flash? No, not that one for sure. Green Arrow? No. Green Lantern? Undoubtedly not. Thor? No.

In other words, there are many superheroes who have undergone changes in their civilian identity for reasons of greater cause such as death, voluntary or forced retirement, or simply due to a decision by the publisher or the scriptwriter on duty.

Captain America is one of Marvel's flagship characters and a key piece of the Avengers (despite not being a founding member of the team) but if we take into account that this secret identity belongs to the United States government we can already get the idea that Steve Rogers has not been the only one who has used that identity.

In this article we will meet John F. Walker, one of the many who have carried the name Captain America, but do not think that because he has the same suit and name, Walker is one bit similar to Steve Rogers in his way of thinking and acting.

From patriot to superpatriot

John F. Walker spent his youth admiring his brother Mike, who was an experienced soldier and pilot who died in the Vietnam War. To honor his memory and continue the family tradition, John entered the army.

Years later he left the army, and seeing the enormous importance of superheroes, he looked for a way to become one. His opportunity came at the hands of the Power Broker (also known as Power Agent), an individual capable of granting powers to ordinary humans.

John gained superhuman strength and endurance, which together with his experience in the army made him a born fighter. However, he was also indebted to Power Broker, which led him to end up in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, an association made up of various superheroes with superhuman strength and endurance.

Within that association Walker met Etham Thum, who decided to make him the new American symbol, which is why Walker became the Superpatriot. It wasn't long until he had his first run-in with Captain America, in what would become a symbolic duel in the future.

Years later, Steve Rogers abandoned the identity of Captain America after pressure from his government, which led to a replacement being sought so that no one would notice such a situation, Walker becoming Captain America.

Extortion, death and debt

To rise to the occasion, Walker received special training to adapt his combat style to his new tools (Captain America's shield). This training was successful because he had a very particular trainer, the villain known as Taskmaster (Supervisor).

However, his past and his debts with Etham Thum and his partners turned against the new Captain America, who would see his secret identity revealed in a public event. This situation caused some of Walker's former enemies, the Watchdogs, to kidnap his parents in order to take revenge on him, asking for his life in exchange for that of his parents. Walker had no choice but to surrender to them, but unfortunately his parents were also murdered, which provoked the anger of this character who did not hesitate to kill those responsible, a situation that led him to end up in jail.

After some time, Steve Rogers regained his identity as Captain America, which caused the government to try to get Walker out of the way. The chosen way was to plan an attack against this character to kill him publicly and after having secretly cured him, brainwash him, make him believe that his name is Jack Daniels and continue using him as an agent, under the name USAgent, wearing in turn a suit very similar to the one that Steve Rogers wore after he stopped being Captain America and became The Captain.

Taking back what is yours

A former colleague of Walker's never believed in his death, so after investigating for some time and confronting USAgent, he unmasked the reality of what had been done to John Walker, who demanded that his identity and memories be returned.

From that moment on, Walker acted as a USAgent with various superhero groups, although always under the shadow of Captain America. His appearance changed on several occasions, carrying various shields (one in the shape of an eagle, another in the shape of a star) and completely different suits (one of them being quite similar to the style of the futuristic policemen of Judge Dredd). Unfortunately, Marvel hasn't had much mercy on him, as demonstrated by the fact that John Walker is currently paralyzed and missing an arm. We can only hope that some scriptwriter decides to give him prosthetics or magically cure him and they include him again in a team of superheroes to distribute smacks.

Conclusion and Recommendations

For me, USAgent has always been the “realistic” Captain America, since his history is full of misfortunes and his government does not hesitate to use him as if he were an object. These things turn USAgent into “the violent Captain America” because unlike Steve Rogers, Walker is not a real icon, neither of his government nor of MARVEL, which allows him to appear as a Captain America would surely be: half superhero, half riot police.

Editorially speaking, this character has not stopped stumbling from one side to the other, since not only has he changed his uniform on more than one occasion, but it seems that no scriptwriter dares to “make it his own” and leave him in a group of superheroes permanently.

As for the recommendations about this character, I will start by mentioning his appearance in groups such as the West Coast Avengers, Force Works, Omega Flight, the New Invaders or the Captain America Corps, a recent group formed by Captain America of various classes.

I also think it is worth highlighting the limited series that he has had alone under the name of USAgent, una de ellas aparecida en el año 1993 y otra en el año 2001.