If you’re like me and don’t have a life, then chances are you’ve come across a big argument on Twitter involving John Walker and Ayo of The Dora Milaje.
Full spoilers ahead from this point out so if you haven’t had a chance to check out the latest episode of Falcon and The Winter Soldier then I highly recommend that you check out now.
Flagsmasher Killing
The first talking point came from whether Walker was right in killing the Flagsmasher. For some context, the scene culminated in John killing the antagonist in front of the public after his best bud Battlestar had brutally been murdered by having his back broken. In the comics, it was actually Walker’s parents that were killed and this sent him off the deep end, leading to him becoming a terrifying vigilante that acted without jurisdiction or a moral code. Whilst we don’t know his eventual arc just yet it seems like they’re setting the show up for something similar and we will likely watch him on a downward spiral, requiring Sam to take him down.
Now John Flickinger basically started the debate by having the bloody gall, bloody gall of that man, to tweet:
“Knock-off Cap has now become my favourite character in #FalconAndWinterSoldier. A man willing to do what it takes, America thanks you for your service!”
Though I don’t know him on a personal level I have watched his channel for several years and I don’t think he’s someone who thinks it’s cool to go around murdering people. He’s a really great Youtuber and you should definitely check him out if you want some wholesome positive content about comic books and movies.
Though he’s been called a Psycho John even cleared up that the Tweet was sarcastic but because it’s the internet where everyone reads the text differently, there were lots of different opinions that came forward because of it.
The discord seemed to be split into two sides with one condemning Walker whilst the others praising him for taking down a terrorist.
I Think He Was Wrong
Now personally I am against what Walker did and I’ll explain why. In my opinion, though the Flagsmasher has clearly been carrying terrorist acts, Cap isn’t someone who should be killing people who’ve already surrendered.
In the scene, we watch as the man begs for his life and it would be nothing for Walker to take him in alive at this point. Though he’s a super soldier, Walker is too, and he’s already shown because of the military training that he’s recieved, with the formula he’s easily much stronger than the Flagsmashers.
The Shield is supposed to be a symbol of truth, justice and The American way and to see it covered in blood like this shows just how much the legacy has been tarnished.
A shield is an item that is supposed to be used for defence but here it’s almost like a battering ram being used offensively to end someone’s life.
What This Scene Represents
What Walker represented to me in that scene was police brutality and though he should’ve stayed his hand he instead went over the top to kill someone. This was a personal vendetta because of the death of his friend and rather than doing his duty he made it his missing to get revenge rather than Justice.
Marc Bernardin has stated that Steve Rogers is what America thinks it is whereas John Walker is what it truly is. It’s a saying that’s often been attributed to Superman and Batman but in the case of the two caps, it actually feels far more fitting.
Now being a Brit I don’t wanna wade in slagging a whole that I love country off but I’m sure most people watching this will be willing to admit that the Western world has a complicated legacy much like the shield itself. Whether we want to admit it or not there’s been a lot of things in our past that we aren’t really proud of and Walker too represents that to me.
Though he’s operating as the symbol of idealism and freedom, it’s clear that he’s far more complicated than that and he’s way more flawed than Steve Rogers was. Now to me this is actually a more accurate representation of what someone put in this position would be like and you can see how someone who’s been told that they can basically do what they want would do exactly that.
Not Acting Like Cap
So no, I personally don’t think that Walker was right and if he truly was Captain America then he would’ve taken this man in. When I’ve discussed this the first thing brought up is normally that his friend had just died, however, Steve believed that his friend Bucky was dead for several years too and he never acted out of character or lost his cool because of it.
Therefore in regards to this, I still think that Walker is the villain rather than a hero who was simply carrying out something for the greater good.
Operating Outside Jurisdiction
Now that takes us to Ayo and the Dora Milaje. The first point of contention that has caused a lot of heated debates is that they stated they have jurisdiction wherever they choose to have it.
Whether this is official or not we don’t know but there’s also no way to know what happened with Wakanda after they joined the UN. Because they’re a technologically advanced society it is possible that their police force can operate wherever they want to but I highly doubt it. To me, it was just a badass line to assert dominance and though it contradicts the Sokovia accords, I didn’t really ding the show for her coming out with it.
Mirroring this line, Walker too has said that he operates without jurisdiction outside of the US which no one has been up in arms about. It could be that since the world destabilised due to the snap and blip that the authorities have extra powers when it comes to how and where they operate…or it could just be a cool line because…this stuff is all made up.
Bucky’s Treatment
Anyway, Stephen Ford discussed another moment featuring the character and this too has caused a heated debate with every Marvel maniac.
The original tweet reads :
“Okay but the Wakandans putting a built-in weakness in Bucky’s arm is like really messed up. It shows they never fully trusted him. He spent years trying to finally reclaim his autonomy, only to be undermined in an instant by those who helped. It’s just sad.”
Ford further went on to say:
“The Dora Milaje were justified to do the tickle turn-off move with Bucky. Just sucks that after 80 years of being controlled by others, he still isn’t fully in control of his body. Combine that with his betrayal of their trust, that’s what’s sad.”
Now personally I didn’t even really pick up on this whilst watching it and again just thought it was a cool moment but I’ve seen so much back and forth over it regarding race and so on that it definitely feels like there’s a lot of subtexts to take from it.
I’m someone who grew up reading stories like JLA The Tower Of Babel in which it’s revealed that Batman has several contingencies for the Justice League. So the idea that you always have a backup plan even when it’s your friend is nothing new to me.
I can totally see why the Wakandans did this and if you think about Bucky’s life, he’s spent the last 80 years being a brain washedbrainwashed murderer. Add to that he’s one of the last surviving super soldiers who are fluent in several languages and an expert in hand-to-hand combat and weapons and yeah…you can see why you might put some countermeasures in place.
The scene itself also comes in the wake of Ayo telling Bucky that he had a timelimit to hand Zemo over.
Were They Right?
Bucky betrayed them by freeing the person that killed their King and they gave him the chance to do the job that they needed to do before taking them in. Instead, Bucky stood in their way and tried to stop him and thus I think Ayo did what she had to in disarming him….and I swear that’s not a pun.
Now Kristine Kippins recently got asked about this and she answered how both Bucky’s arm and the shield come from Wakanda but we never really class the latter as that.
I think as far as the Wakandans go, they did what they could to help and rehabilitate Bucky. However, they also kept in the back of their minds that because of his powers and abilities that he might cause issues for them one day. Though Bucky believes he was betrayed because of this, it’s understandable that they built in this fail-safe.
At this moment when Bucky fails to keep his word, the Dora Milaje disarms him and shows that they have their means of fighting dirty too.
Had Bucky not betrayed them then we would never have known about this failsafe and he could’ve carried on living.
Though I know a lot of people probably disagree with this, I can personally see why the action was taken and do think that from their point of view that they were in the right.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.