rogue205

[rogue205]

Hyping my already posted prompt. 😅

This can be any relationship, or just straight up platonic polybolts. I have a particular weakness for John being drawn into Yelena and Alexei’s family dynamic. 💞

If anyone has any John Walker (or other Thunderbolt members) angst of hurt/comfort prompts, hit me up!

I'm obsessed with them, I just need ideas.

[rogue205]

The toxic MCU fans are too entitled. They decide they hate a character, and that’s it. They treat their own headcanons as if it was solid fact and expect to get what they want when they want it from the creators.

The anti-John propaganda in TFATWS was too over-the-top though despite the fact that both Sam and Bucky had been character assassinated to hell during this poorly written show.

They should use the mcu version of John Walker to teach media literacy in schools bc what the fuck are some of these takes and interpretations

[rogue205]

i want it known i have been a john walker fan since day one.

[rogue205]

writing a new fic, and here are my Lemar headcannons:

he's a conspiacy theorist, but JUST to mess with people. he's like, you believe the world's round? Really? REALLY?

since John's been obsessed with Captain America forever, he now states that Iron Man is the best, just to get on his nerves. like John pulls out a full power point presentation on why Captain America is the best, but Lemar just goes: Iron Man has lasers, I don't make the rules.

he is a southern boy through and through, like this guy will hold the door open for everyone, say yes ma'am and yes sir. he is a gem.

he and John have 1 braincell and switches constantly between them.

he is John's impulse control. like, John, while smart, does sometimes do impulse things. Lemar has kept him from doing SOMANY shady things.

but also, John is Lemar's protector. like Lemar will be like gee wilkers, those people seem nice :) they said they needed gas money--and johns just like. they were scamming you. stop it.

He and John finish each others sentences CONSTATNLY. it annoys everyone around them immensely.

he knows SO MANY facts about Captain America and Bucky because John was obsessed with them when he was a kid--Like he could recount their entire life stories with a sweat.

he is the goose to Johns maverick.

that's all I got for now.

[rogue205]

I think I will forever be salty about how Sam's character is rather pro-government after EG. Like, why are you mad at John?? Shouldn't you be angry at the government for throwing a veteran with PTSD against terrorists with nothing more than a handgun (and ofc the shield) LIKE DUDE!! You work with veterans and host support groups for them. WHY ARE YOU MAD AT HIM FOR BEING PUT IN A POSITION YOU DIDN'T WANT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!!! AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

The way they try to portray John Walker as the villain is rather comedic tbh, they quite literally play some villain-themed soundtrack when he kills the terrorist. Yea he fucked up, he lost control of his rage and killed someone, but the music?? Hello?? He's not a villain for fucking up, c'mon!! (I also want to bring up that the terrorist was a part of the group that killed John's best friend, so I do not feel bad lmao) Anyways, I miss Sam's older characterisation, and I can never hate John Walker :P

[rogue205]

I love him so much.

That’s exactly what TFATWS is. Sam and Bucky wanted a new Steve, not a new Captain America. John wasn’t trying to be Steve, and even told them as such several times and they both held that against him for some stupid reason. Bucky I can kind of understand, but Sam has no excuse at all. 

If they had just reached back to him at least even halfway, things would’ve been very different.

i’ve been thinking more about john’s heavily implied social anxiety and its made me look at tfatws through a whole new lens.

john tried to be friendly with sam and bucky but they weren’t into it. imagine john sitting there overthinking everything he said to them and having the “why can’t i be normal? what the hell is wrong with me?” spiral

and that’s so sad because john wasn’t really the problem at first, steve was. bucky and sam’s disapproval of john wasn’t really because of who he was, it was because of who he wasn’t. they didn’t have any issues with him personally

and i feel like that lack of validation was made worse by his anxiety and that’s what prompted him to seek it in other places. specifically approval from the government which is why he wanted to stop the flag smashers his way. not for fame or medals, just to be told that he did something right for a change. obviously it didn’t go down that way and i think that’s what makes him so tragic. he wants to do the right thing but his self worth and mental health is in such a low state, hes willing to do it in any way possible, which is what leads to him doing the wrong thing in such a public way

john walker you are so special to me. he is flawed but SO human. and i think he represents how the military take advantage of young men looking for purpose and put them through hell. and then throw them out when the effects of that trauma start to manifest

[rogue205]

I haven’t platonicposted in a while

[rogue205]

Interesting thing I just learned: the army rangers are the most OP force the US military has. Like when the seals need help, that’s who they call. And when the army rangers need help, they just call in more of their own.

so John was an army rangers, and based on the three medals of honor he received, probably one of the most decorated. And then add the serum to that…thats a pretty powerful combination.

Next to like bob, I’d say he (if written to his actual capabilities) would be the most OP person on the team, just based on knowledge, experience, and strength.

[rogue205]

John Walker’s uniform badges

Here’s a list of what I could figure out that are all the badges/medals/ribbons on Walker’s uniform, in case anyone wants or needs this information for fics or something :)

So on his shoulders are his Army rank insignia which indicates that he is a Captain.

On his military beret is the patch for what I believe is the US Army Special Operations Command, 75th Ranger Regiment or commonly known as Army Rangers. This is the US Army’s premier light infantry unit and special operations force. I assume the silver bars is to again indicate his Captain rank.

UPDATED: Further examination of the image of the patch indicates that John’s patch has two red markings on either side, thus showing he is member of the 2nd Battalion stationed near Seattle, Washington.

Walker’s involvement with the 75th Ranger Regiment is also indicated by this badge below his name tag and uniform button, which says 75th Ranger RGT.

Then right next to his uniform collar, half way sort of hidden is a Combat Infantryman Badge. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of either an Infantry or Special Forces unit of brigade size or smaller at any time after 6 December 1941.

Now Walker’s badge looks to have at least one star on the top, meaning that he has at least two of these awards. On February 8, 1952, the Army approved the addition of stars to the CIB indicating the soldiers having fought in more than one war. As of now, the CIB is given for four wars: World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and other Cold War era actions, and War on Terror.

Given Walker’s age, he was not old enough to have participated in any of the wars before the War on Terror, so his first CIB would be for the War on Terror. But I don’t know what that second war would be for which he got the second CIB award, it’s possible the one can headcanon that the MCU had some other war the military was involved in, possibly something post-Blip.

Another indication of his involvement with the Army Rangers is indicated by his Ranger tab. 

The Ranger Tab is a qualification tab authorized upon completion of the U.S. Army’s Ranger School by a member of the U.S. military, civilian personnel, or non-U.S. military personnel.

Then one medal over from his Ranger tab is the US Army Marksmanship Qualification Badge.

From what I can tell, his badge is the Expert badge, with two clasps for what I assume to be maybe Rifle and Pistol, as we do see him with use a gun in the show.

Below is an image of all the current qualification clasps a soldier can earn:

Walker’s sleeve also indicates that he served overseas with the Overseas Service Bar, which falls in line with his comments about fighting in Afghanistan.

As each Gold Chevron indicates 6 months of overseas war service, this three gold bars add up to a total of at least one year and a half of serving overseas.

The ribbons above his nametag (which are earned by his unit) is likely as follows:

Army Presidential Unit Citation - The unit must display such gallantry, determination, and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions so as to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same campaign.

Joint Meritorious Unit Award - It is awarded to joint activities for meritorious achievement or service, superior to that which is normally expected, for actions in the following situations; combat with an armed enemy of the United States, a declared national emergency, or under extraordinary circumstances that involve national interests.

Army Valorous Unit Award - Second highest Army unit decoration after the Presidential Unit Citation, awarded for displaying extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy of the United States on or after 3 August 1963. Degree of heroism required is considered the equivalent of the individual degree of heroism required for the Silver Star which is awarded for gallantry in action.

Army Meritorious Unit Commendation - Awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or service in combat or non-combat.

Army Superior Unit Award - Awarded for outstanding meritorious performance of a difficult and challenging mission carried out under extraordinary circumstances.

The ribbons below his CIB award (which are his individual awards) is likely as follows: (some are blocked so just naming the ones I can sort of recognize or suspect what it may be)

Silver Star Medal 

Bronze Star Medal

Meritorious Service Medal

Joint Service Achievement Medal

National Defense Service Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Korea Defense Service Medal

Armed Forces Service Medal 

Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal

Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon???? (this makes no sense since he’s not an noncommissioned servicemember but a commissioned officer who graduated from West Point)

Army Service Ribbon

Overseas Service Ribbon

Korean Service Medal?????? (this makes no sense because he was born in 1988 and was not alive during 1950 to 1954)

So medals that are obscured from view due to his uniform collar are his three Medals of Honor ribbons, but likely also include the following:

Army Distinguished Service Cross

Army Distinguished Service Medal

Defense Superior Service Medal

Legion of Merit

Purple Heart

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Army Commendation Medal

Joint Service Achievement Medal

Army Achievement Medal

UPDATED:  I figured out one of the badges that I couldn’t quite place before.

This badge is the Parachutist Badge, or specifically the one John has is the Master Parachutist Badge, given as the highest badge level for parachutist training. 

John’s badge also has a cloth background, indicating that he is currently serving on an active combat airborne unit, which lines up with him being part of the 75th Ranger Regiment, which is an airborne unit. 

I have a more detailed breakdown of the Parachutist Badge requirements here in this post.

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These are the badges/medals/ribbons that I can’t quite figure out what they are so if anyone can or anyone knows what they are, please let me know.

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In conclusion, John Walker is ridiculously decorated, almost absurdly so for someone who is of his age (about 36) and rank (Captain) and time served overseas (1 and a half years, through likely 2 or 3 tours). 

I perused through an Army subreddit thread regarding Walker’s uniform and numerous comments mention how his decorations seem a little too over the top. But my guess is that Marvel likely didn’t exactly think through every aspect of his military service and just put on a bunch of medals and ribbons that seem to look right without thinking that someone like me would obsessively try to identify everything LOL

This is my favorite comment from that Army subreddit though:

So I hope this info dump was helpful! :)

Feel free to comment if you noticed I missed anything or got any information wrong!

[rogue205]

"Bucky has nothing in common with the Thunderbolts, why isn't he in a team with Sam?!!"

Even if Sam would want Bucky on his team (he wouldn't...) Bucky has a lot more on common with his own team than people think.

With Yelena it's mind control.

With Ava it's the total loss of autonomy and control over your own body.

With John it's the experience of being screwed over by the US military.

With Alexei it's getting exploited by the Russian government.

With Bob it's the solidarity of an abuse survivor and knowing what depression and self hatred is like. With Bob he knows it's hopeless to beat yourself up.

[rogue205]

I don't really get it when people say John has an ego or is cocky (he has flaws but this is not one of them). That's not what i see at all, especially not in TFATWS.

[rogue205]

«Don't get me wrong, this has been great, it's been great, but it's been a lot of handshakes, a lot of suits, a lot of speeches, and senator meetings, and... and I just wanna do the job.»

John F. Walker // U.S. Agent

[rogue205]

I can’t stop thinking about how John Walker, out of all the Thunderbolts, experienced the most colossal fall.

I mean, he was at the very top before everything came crashing down:

he had a phenomenal career (the most decorated soldier in history, the only recipient of three medals of honor) - he was dishonorably discharged and stripped of all his medals and benefits;

he had a reliable support system in the form of his best friend and wife, two people he loved more than life itself - his friend was murdered, and he and his wife are now divorced.

the people around him respected him, admired him, and sought his attention - now John feels only universal contempt, distrust, and hatred.

John Walker had it all, and then - nothing.

The story, which was supposed to be redemption in his eyes ("being Cap is the first time I've had the chance to do something that actually feels right"), only plunged him deeper into the abyss of guilt and new regrets.

[rogue205]

If I can’t have my found family staying together, I’ll take John and Bucky together at least and ALL of the ‘Bolts alive, thanks. The F4 will add a really interesting dynamic too.

WYATT FINALLY CONFIRMED TO BE IN THE UK!! I WAS SO SCARED THAT HE HAD ALREADY FILMED HIS SCENES (meaning john probably died)

BUT HES STILL IN THE UK!!!

if john dies, im going with him (imagine telling me three years ago that id be saying that?)

[rogue205]

[rogue205]

Also wanted to add that if this guy dies, I am DONE with the MCU.

[rogue205]

I'm praying that nothing bad happens to Bucky and Bob in Doomsday..

my babies 😭