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Bucky

    James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes 

Bucky Barnes

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bucky_3.jpg
As Bucky
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/winter_soldier_3.jpg
As Winter Soldier
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3177235_newavengers06109_9.jpg
As Captain America

Alter Ego: Winter Soldier

Notable Aliases: Bucky, Captain America

First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March, 1941) note ; Captain America #1 (January, 2005) note ; Captain America #34 (January, 2008) note 

Formerly Steve Rogers' Kid Sidekick during World War II, when he was known as 'Bucky'. He was apparently killed shortly before Steve was frozen in suspended animation, but was recently revealed to have been captured, near death, by the Soviets. Equipped with a cybernetic arm and Brainwashed into becoming the assassin known as the Winter Soldier, he played the role of a villain until Steve brought him back to his senses and had him reform. With the apparent death of Steve, Bucky took the mantle of Captain America with the blessing of Tony Stark. He kept the shield after Steve's resurrection, only to be apparently killed in battle with Cul, the Serpent, at which point the mantle went back to Steve, while Bucky resumed operations as the Winter Soldier.


    Fred Davis Jr. 

Fred Davis Jr.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2490823_freddavis.png

Alter Ego: Bucky

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #30 (June, 1976) note ; What If? #4 (August, 1977) note 

A baseball player who took up the mantle of Bucky to trick the Red Skull when the Invaders were brainwashed. Months later, he officially became the second Bucky.


  • A Day in the Limelight: Gets a supporting role in an 2011 arc of Captain America, dealing with the return of Adam-II.
  • Killed Off for Real: In his old age, he was eventually killed by Leo Novokov, a former sleeper agent of the Red Room, in an attempt to flush the real Bucky Barnes out, who was stated to be dead.
  • Legacy Character: Second person to take the Bucky codename after James Barnes.
  • Retcon: Like William Nasland, Fred was made up to explain just who the Bucky in all those stories written after the time of the real Bucky's incident with the exploding plane was meant to be.
  • Retired Badass: By 2010, Fred had retired from any kind of superheroics.

    Jack Monroe 

Jack Monroe

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jack_monroe_earth_616.png

Alter Ego: Nomad

Notable Aliases: Bucky, Scourge of the Underworld

First Appearance: Young Men #24 (December, 1953)note 

Originally selected to be the Bucky to the Captain America of the 1950s, Monroe and his partner spent decades in suspended animation after the incomplete Super-Soldier Serum formula they used caused them to become unstable. After being cured, he adopted Rogers' former short-lived identity of Nomad.


  • Bulletproof Vest: As Nomad he wore a Kevlar-lined jacket, later reduced to a vest.
  • Civvie Spandex: When he went vigilante, he gradually ditched his superhero costume in favor of a Badass Longcoat.
  • Crazy Jealous Guy: During his time with Vagabond.
  • Darker and Edgier: Went from costumed hero to urban vigilante in a story published in late 1989.
  • Deadly Disc: Small, yellow weighted throwing discs, which were also the weapons used by Rogers as Nomad.
  • Face–Heel Turn: One of several former partners of Cap to become a Scourge of the Underworld.
  • Hero with an F in Good: Not above kicking supervillains down cliffs, leaving people to die and lying to Cap about it, and refusing to help D-Man because he doesn't like him.
  • Human Popsicle: Several times.
  • Jerkass: Although he was no longer crazed by the incomplete serum, he was still not easy to get along with, especially when Vagabond was his girlfriend. He becomes clingy, violent, possessive, lazy, rude, and eventually decides to leave Vagabond and D-Man in jail, then get drunk. When Cap tried calling him on this, he just walked off (and left Cap with the bill).
  • Killed Off for Real: He's killed by the Winter Soldier.
  • Naïve Newcomer: Nomad's girlfriend Vagabond, who was little more than the Tagalong Kid during Rogers' time as The Captain.
  • Pet the Dog: Despite being a Jerkass, he saved an abandoned baby girl and adopted her, naming her "Bucky".
  • Reforged into a Minion: Once brainwashed and turned into a cyborg Scourge of the Underworld by Henry Gyrich.
  • Shotguns Are Just Better/Sawed-Off Shotgun: During his vigilante period. Though he mostly used it for intimidation, and usually used blanks.
  • Superheroes Wear Capes: When he first adopted the Nomad identity, he also adopted the original Nomad costume, which included a cape (which hadn't exactly worked out for Rogers). He soon ditched that look for a more practical jacket.
  • With Friends Like These...: He really didn't get along with Demolition Man.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity

    Rick Jones 

Rick Jones

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rick_jones_bucky.jpg

Alter Ego: Richard Milhouse "Rick" Jones

Notable Aliases: Whisperer, A-Bomb, Bucky, Hulk, Subject B

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (May, 1962)

A scrappy, rebellious orphan, Rick Jones stumbled into the test site for the Gamma Bomb and inadvertently caused Bruce Banner to be caught in the blast that transformed Banner into the Hulk. Rick became the Hulk's closest confidant, a member of the Avengers, and a friend and sidekick to multiple heroes. Rick eventually became an immortal gamma mutate and has undergone multiple transformations.


    Lemar Hoskins 

Lemar Hoskins

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lemar_hoskins_earth_616.png

Alter Ego: Battlestar

Notable Aliases: Bucky

First Appearance: Captain America #323 (November, 1986) note ; Captain America #333 (September, 1987) note ; Captain America #334 (October, 1987) note ; Captain America #341 (May, 1988) note 

John Walker's friend and partner, and a former member of the Bold Urban Commandos. Originally went by the title of Bucky. After Walker became U.S. Agent, Battlestar went freelance, and worked as a member of Silver Sable's Wild Pack for a bit.


  • Affirmative-Action Legacy: All previous Buckies were white, while Lemar is black.
  • The Big Guy: He's got super strength and serves as this for the A-Team, especially when Sandman isn't around.
  • Book Dumb: Starts out this way, but he takes night classes while not fighting crime and soon earns his GED.
  • Characterization Marches On: In his first appearances, as a member of the Bold Urban Commandoes, he's a pretty straight Scary Black Man. Once John Walker became Captain America, Lemar becomes more of a Gentle Giant, with his change in diction noted as being the CSA making him attend night school. The racist jingoism is just quietly yet firmly ignored.
  • Foil: Is this to Larry Arnold and, frankly, to a lot of the African-American characters in Silver Sable and the Wild Pack. He's not perpetually angry nor does he react with violence when exposed to prejudice.
  • Fun with Acronyms: The Bold Urban Commandos were known as the Buckies, sometimes stylized "BUCkies", for short because they were the Buckies to the Super-Patriot's Cap.
  • Good Is Not Soft: During a fight with some ULTIMATUM goons, Lemar breaks one's neck, and lets him fly into a building, causing an explosion.
  • In a Single Bound: He can jump fifteen feet from a standing position.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Aside from the racial issues associated with calling himself Bucky (which, in Lemar's defense, wasn't actually his idea), there's also the little fact that Bucky wasn't a title, but a guy's name. Mild awkwardness ensue when Steve and Lemar meet up in Captain America #349.
    Steve: Have your actions brought honor to my partner's memory?
    Battlestar: I - I've tried, sir.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: As Battlestar he received a replica of Cap's original triangular shield and was trained in its use by Taskmaster himself.
  • Nice Guy: One of the few people able to be in the same room as John Walker for more than five minutes without wanting to hit him.
  • Put on a Bus: In the late nineties, he stopped appearing with any regularity. He still shows up now and then, hanging around in the background.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When John as Cap is beaten by the Flag Smasher and taken hostage, the CSA leaves him out to dry, and tell Lemar not to go looking for Steve Rogers (who, in their eyes, was a terrorist at the time). Lemar does so anyway.
  • Super-Speed: Again, thanks to the Power Broker.
  • Super-Strength: Like John Walker, he's one of the lucky ones who visited the Power Broker and came out with superhuman strength and durability.
  • Super-Toughness: Not bulletproof, but tough enough to break a man's wrist just by taking his punch. He survived being hanged in "Captain America #335" because his augmented neck musculature meant that the rope couldn't constrict his windpipe.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: As mentioned, he has a hard time getting along with Doug Powell. He also has this with Larry Arnold as a result of being foils to one another.
  • Unfortunate Names: When he first partnered with John Walker, he wore the name and costume of Steve Rogers' old sidekick (then presumed dead) as a tribute to him. In real life, Marvel got a lot of angry mail from readers pointing out that the name "Bucky" had unfortunate implications for an African-American man,note  and that since Hoskins and Walker were long-time friends and had undergone the Power Broker's augmentation treatment together, he should be presented as a partner rather than a mere "sidekick". Writer Mark Gruenwald (who was born in mostly-white Oshkosh, Wisconsin and genuinely unaware of the naming issue) quickly agreed, and lampshaded the changes by having an African-American guard at the Vault outline the readers' arguments to Hoskins and convince him to request a new name and costume from the government.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: In the Bold Urban Commandos days, he and the others would go around shirtless, regardless of when or where.

    Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes 

Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rebecca_barnes_heroes_reborn_earth_616_from_future_foundation_vol_1_2_001.png

Alter Ego: Nomad

Notable Aliases: Bucky

First Appearance: Heroes Reborn #½ (September, 1996)

A native of Counter-Earth, Rikki is a granddaughter of this world's Bucky, which survived World War II and started a family. After finding out her brother has been involved with Neo-Nazis and trying to stop him, Rikki has meet Captain America and eventually became his sidekick, taking her grandfather's old codename. When Counter-Earth was revisited by Franklin Richards, pursued by reborn Onslaught, Rikki would sacrifice herself in battle with the monster, only to find herself in the main Marvel Universe. She would adapt to this new life as a new Nomad, the Girl Without a World, until she died in battle with Onslaught again. In 2019 she returned in Future Foundation.


  • Adaptation Dye-Job: Originally a redhead, at some point during reincarnations her hair turned brown.
  • Affirmative-Action Legacy:
    • The only woman to ever use the codename Bucky, barring a baby briefly adopted by Jack Monroe. Also the only woman to ever go by Nomad. Ditto for the only confirmed LGBTQ character to carry those titles.
    • The final issue of Future Foundation has Leech explain Franklin directly created her to be this - a Captain America for kids like him and Leech.
  • Amazonian Beauty: She was already quite attractive, but by Future Foundation, she's gotten quite the muscle definition.
  • Ambiguously Gay/Ambiguously Bi: Her return in Future Foundation makes it very clear she is LGBTQ, but doesn't specify her sexual orientation. Finally she was confirmed as bi by Word of God.
  • The Apprentice: She was this for Steve during his time on Counter-Earth and since has served this role to various alternate versions of Captain America across the Multiverse.
  • Archetypal Character: Due to Franklin Richards being involved in rebuilding the Multiverse in Secret Wars (2015), he subconsciously populated it with girls fitting a "Captain America or Bucky as a plucky teenage girl" archetype, all based on Rikki. It's what makes her body surf between each one of them whenever she dies.
  • Arc Welding: Her reintroduction ties together plot threads from Heroes Reborn, Onslaught Reborn, Onslaught Unleashed, Secret Wars (2015) and first arc of the 2018 Fantastic Four series. Among her past lives is Becky Barnes from the 2018 incarnation of Exiles, previously assumed to be an independent character and counterpart of Bucky.
  • Arch-Enemy: Onslaught, who caused her death twice in a row and, since murdering her and her girlfriend in one of her many alternate incarnations, The Maker.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: To her horror, her attempts to form a siblings bond she never had with her brother with his 616 counterpart were severely misread by the guy.
  • Captain Ersatz: She's basically the Captain America version of Carrie Kelley, being a female, bespectacled successor to the original sidekick of the hero.
  • Composite Character: She's a Gender Flipped combo of the original Bucky, who was also her grandfather in the HR world (her last name) and Rick Jones (her nickname and someone who takes up Bucky's name right after Steve becomes active again).
  • Expendable Alternate Universe: Her original world was more or less treated like this and so were several worlds in which she was reborn ever since.
  • Fan Disservice: At one point after jumping to another world she wakes up naked, for no other reason than to establish her whole body is covered in scars from many battles.
  • Irony: Upon arriving in the main Marvel Universe for the first time she decides to not contact Captain America after finding out Steve has died and someone else has taken his place, completely unaware the new Cap was this world's version of her own grandfather.
  • Girls with Guns: Doesn't have aversion to using guns like many other characters associated with Captain America. Especially since her return established one of her mentors was a version of Steve who was a gunslinger in the Wild West.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Three scars on her cheek and a bullet scar in her shoulder since her return.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Twice against Onslaught, very likely many of her reincarnations went the same way.
  • Last-Minute Hookup: As Future Foundation got cut short she and Julie hooked up in the final issue with just part of the originally planned buildup.
  • The Leader: To both Counter-Earth and modern 616 incarnations of Young Allies.
  • Replacement Goldfish: On 616 she meet a counterpart of her brother and tried to develop a brother-sister relationship with him she never had with her world's John. Sadly he misread her attempts as romantic advances and didn't take it well when she tried to explain.
  • Resurrective Immortality: A variation; whenever Rikki dies, she seems to be written in the history of another world, complete with a new backstory, but retaining all her memories from past lives.
  • Rogues' Gallery Transplant: As noted above, the two best candidates for her Arch-Enemy are a Split Personality of Professor X and an evil version of Mister Fantastic.
  • Ship Tease: With Anya Corazón during her first time in 616, with Julie Power since her return. In the latter case this becomes canon and they get together as a couple
  • Sweet Polly Oliver: At least one of her reincarnations was a female version of Bucky who pretend to be a boy to join the army and fight in WWII.
  • X Meets Y: In-Universe Leech explains Franklin Richards told him in secret he created Rikki trying to combine two of his favorite heroes - Captain America and his mom, Sue Storm.

Falcon

    Sam Wilson 

Sam Wilson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e58fe7fbd439804abb8b1bd028e13279.jpg
So wait, who's Falcon and who's Redwing again?
Click here to see as Captain America. 

Alter Ego: Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson

Notable Aliases: "Snap" Wilson, Falcon, Blackwing, Blackbird, Captain America

First Appearance: As Falcon: Captain America #117 (September 1969); As Captain America: All-New Captain America #1 (November 2014)

Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson, also known as The Falcon, is a Marvel Comics superhero introduced in Captain America #117 (September 1969), notable for being the first African-American superhero in mainstream American comics.note 

Born and raised in Harlem, New York, Sam was originally written as a social worker who joined up with Captain America. Later, the story was that while he was initially a happy child and quite fond of birds, as a teen, his experiences with racism and his parents' deaths made him bitter, jaded, and angry. Leaving his past behind him, he becomes "Snap" Wilson, a professional criminal, gang member, and pimp, who was brainwashed by the Red Skull into believing the original origin detailed above, in order to get close to Captain America after they were stranded on the Isle of Exiles. However, Sam himself doubted that story, and was eventually able to tell the Red Skull's daughter, Sin, the truth: he was a social worker who'd been stranded on the Isle of Exiles, who'd saved Steve's life and helped him escape. The true fake memories implanted by the Red Skull were those of him being a criminal, a plot he concocted to discredit Sam, counting on the fact that no one would question a black man from Harlem having a shady past. This was done by the Cosmic Cube, which the Red Skull had possession of.

The cube also gives him an empathic link with Redwing, his pet falcon and crimefighting partner, giving him an ability to communicate with him telepathically and see through his pet's eyes. This ability will eventually be trained to work with any bird that is near him.

Sam met Steve Rogers, who encouraged to stand against the Red Skull's evil. After extensive gymnastics and hand-to-hand combat training by Captain America, Sam Wilson dubbed himself the Falcon. With Cap and Redwing, Falcon defeated the Red Skull and would return with them to Harlem. While working as a social worker, Falcon continued being a hero, protecting his neighborhood from crime. Eventually, he formed a long-time partnership with Captain America and received a specialized winged-harness that allows him to fly from the Black Panther.

Falcon and Redwing would go to become members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Super Agents, The Avengers, the Defenders, and the Heroes for Hire. Initially appearing alongside Captain America in Captain America and The Falcon, Sam would star in his own limited series, The Falcon, in 1983. He was invited to rejoin the Avengers during Marvel NOW!.

In 2014, Sam Wilson became a legacy Captain America after Steve Rogers lost his powers. Even after Steve regained his strength, Sam held on to the mantle and shield until 2017 and the fallout from Secret Empire, after which he returned to the Falcon codename with a new look (and a new series). In 2022, he returns to being Captain America alongside Steve Rogers in his own series once again.


  • Adaptational Superpower Change: Every adaptation of the character from The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes onwards drops the "talks to birds" angle, instead making him a non-powered guy with a flight pack. Redwing nowadays tends to be a robotic drone that's part of his flight pack rather than a flesh-and-blood bird.
  • Affirmative-Action Legacy: Sam replaced Steve Rogers as Captain America after Steve lost his powers.
  • "Angry Black Man" Stereotype: Mainly before he became a hero. He can occasionally channel this vibe nowadays, but it's not really anger so much as it's exasperation with Steve's or Bucky's or Ian's antics, or having to educate someone about African-American history.
  • Animal Eye Spy: Sam has a Psychic Link with Redwing, being able to see what he sees. Sam can also telepathically communicate with birds.
  • Animal-Themed Superbeing: Type 1. Sam can communicate with birds.
  • Building Swing: This was originally how The Falcon got around, with a glove with a built-in grappling hook launcher. This was discontinued when he got his flying wing harness.
  • The Cape: Almost to the level of Cap himself. Sam is, through and through, a good person and that's all the more noticeable when he's in uniform.
  • Clothes Make the Superman: His psychic connection to birds is his only inherent superpower. His ability to fly (which he uses much more frequently in combat) is from the winged harness in his suit.
  • Color Character: Notably averted. Falcon was the first black hero not to have "Black" in his name.
  • Connected All Along: Over in Incredible Hulk, there was a character called Jim Wilson. It was only several years after his death that his father Gideon appeared, who turned out to be Sam's brother.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: At one point in the 80s, when Steve was just "The Captain", Sam accompanied him on a mission to Las Vegas, and is pretty miffed when the police don't recognise him, despite his being an Avenger.
  • Fake Memories: Due to the effects of the Cosmic Cube. For the longest time, no one was sure if the actual Fake Memories were of Sam's family or of Sam's time as the pimp "Snap" Wilson. All-New Captain America #3 ultimately chooses the "Snap" Wilson memories as the fake ones, with Sam saying that they were lies the Red Skull concocted to discredit him. Christopher Priest had a government agent point out that this was almost certainly the case, since Sam was able to get a social worker's license YEARS before it was made explicit.
  • Family Theme Naming: Sam and his sister and brother, Sarah and Gideon, all have names from the Bible, as their father was a minister.
  • Fanboy: To Isaiah Bradley, the In-Universe first ever African-American superhero who becomes Captain America. Sam is among several African-American heroes, along with Luke Cage, Goliath (Bill Foster), Monica Rambeau, and Triathlon; who are gleefully surprised when Isaiah arrives as a special guest at the wedding of Storm and Black Panther.
  • Feather Flechettes: Has this ability in multiple adaptations starting with The Superhero Squad Show, but hasn't as of yet been able to do this in the comics.
  • Fire-Forged Friendship: Kind-of sort of with U.S. Agent, during the 90s. Sam and John went on a mission to deal with Flag-Smasher together, despite John preferring to work alone. Sam saved him from plummeting to his death, and John reluctantly admitted to himself that he was starting to like Sam.
  • The Gadfly: His method of protesting being the token black member of the Avengers. He's mellowed out somewhat in recent times.
  • Hard Light: The Falcon's Wakandan-made costume has hard light wings.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: One would think being able to talk to birds would be a useless power, until you remember that basically means he has a massive spy network everywhere. It's been said that his birds make for a better information source than Nick Fury's spies. After all, who pays attention to whether there's a bird nearby?
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: It's been a major theme in his days as Captain America, his openness about his views on politics caused so much outrage that superheroes such as U.S.Agent were sent after him to reclaim the shield. (Notably, U.S. Agent, despite not agreeing with Sam's politics, refused the job until asked to do so by Steve Rogers himself.)
  • I Believe I Can Fly: Sam, both as Falcon and Captain America, via retractable, metallic wings.
  • Jive Turkey: Subverted and played for laughs after the Falcon is more or less forced to join the Avengers by Henry Gyrich (who wanted to make it more ethnically diverse), he speaks this way on purpose to annoy him.
  • Legacy Character: Sam briefly became Captain America when he thought Cap was dead. He did it again courtesy of Marvel NOW!.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: A rare male example. Several of Sam's costumes show off all his abs. Apparently he doesn't feel the breeze when flying around.
  • Non-Human Sidekick: Redwing, his pet falcon.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Redwing thanks to Baron Blood. However this avian vampire is much different than those of the mammalian variety.
  • Outside-Genre Foe: Blackheart and Deacon Frost in the 2017–18 limited series. Rayshaun Lucas, a.k.a. Patriot II, lampshades this trope for the former and played with for the latter as Sam had some experience dealing with vampires when he fought Baron Blood as Captain America.
  • Parental Abandonment: His father was killed trying to break up a neighborhood fight. His mom was killed in a mugging two years later.

    Joaquin Torres 

Joaquin Torres

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5131955_falcon.jpg

Alter Ego: Falcon

First Appearance: Captain America: Sam Wilson #1 (December, 2015) note ; Captain America: Sam Wilson #3 (January, 2016) note ; Captain America: Sam Wilson #6 (April, 2016) note 

A young man who became the new Falcon after being experimented on by Doctor Mallus. After being imbued with Redwings DNA, Joaquin was unable to change back due to his new healing factor, courtesy of Redwing's vampiric nature.


  • Affirmative-Action Legacy: A Mexican taking the identity of an African-American.
  • Animal Eye Spy: Joaquin has a Psychic Link with Redwing. Redwing acts as a sort of messenger between Joaquin and Sam.
  • Animal-Themed Superbeing: Type 1. Joaquin is a human-bird hybrid.
  • I Believe I Can Fly: As the new Falcon, though his DNA having been spliced with Redwing's grants him actual flight-capable wings.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Freshly gene-spliced, Joaquin Torres expectedly looks forward to being cured so that he can go home to his mom. He brightens up considerably upon the realization that he can fly, which is probably a good thing, since his condition has currently been diagnosed as incurable due to the potent vampirism-related Healing Factor he's also acquired (what side-effects, if any, are still being explored).
  • Legacy Character: Captain America: Sam Wilson sees the gradual introduction of Joaquin Torres, a young Mexican American man who unwittingly fell victim to a DNA splicing with Redwing courtesy of a Mad Scientist, a process that soon turns out to be irreversible due to Redwing's rather unique physiology, but that grants him a host of abilities, including the power of flight. Said gradual introduction culminates into Joaquin becoming the new Falcon and Sam's sidekick in issue 5.
  • Vague Age: Joaquin's age was rather vague before it was eventually number-dropped to be 17. That he helped boarder crossing Mexicans with clean water and supplies makes him seem as if he would be older, but he's constantly referred to as a kid by Sam, Misty, and most who refer to him directly. That in itself is vague, since some adults will refer to others who are younger then themselves as a "kid" well into that person's late teens or early twenties. Even after we finally got a few scenes from Joaquin's point of view, it's wasn't made much clearer; despite having some tendencies expected of a teenager, by and large Joaquin has a profound and intelligent mind and is very politically and socially minded, somewhat belying of what you'd expect from most 17-year-olds. Lastly, he has quite the muscular physique on him, another obscurer of age.
  • Winged Humanoid: Unlike Sam's mechanical wings, he has actual wings thanks to being experimented on.

Nomad

    Edward Ferbel 

Edward Ferbel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1928216_ferb.png

Alter Ego: Nomad

First Appearance: Captain America #261 (September, 1981)

Edward Ferbel was a former stuntman who became a West Coast hero and the second man to assume the Nomad identity. He was a glory-hound and spent most his time playing to the cameras claiming responsibility for heroic successes of Captain America despite often botching the Captain's attempts at crime-fighting.


    Ian Rogers 

Ian Rogers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4462012_nomad_ian_001.png

Alter Ego: Nomad

Notable Aliases: Leopold Zola

First Appearance: Captain America (Vol. 7) #1 (November, 2012)

Steve's and Sharon's adopted son. Created by Arnim Zola, Steve rescued him as a baby and raised him in Dimension Z as his own.


U.S. Agent

    John Walker 

John F. Walker

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/john_walker_earth_616_from_captain_america_sam_wilson_vol_1_11_001.jpg
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7db8c832_bae1_4818_af34_50a0e419f7d7.jpeg

Alter Ego: U.S. Agent

Notable Aliases: Jack Daniels, Super-Patriot, Captain America

First Appearance: Captain America #323 (November, 1986) note ; Captain America #333 (September, 1987) note ; Captain America #354 (June, 1989) note 

Created as a villainous foil for Captain America, John Walker embodied American patriotism in opposition to Steve Rogers. Whereas Rogers was an idealistic, liberal-leaning, lower-class urban Northerner, Walker was a more pragmatic, conservative, middle-class rural Southerner, presented as the jingoistic Captain Patriotic crusader that Rogers was often misunderstood as being.

When Rogers relinquished the title of Captain America, Walker was tapped by the US government to replace him, beating out Nick Fury, who was deemed too old, and Sam Wilson, as the US government thought his loyalty would be to Steve Rogers instead of them, and besides, Americans wouldn't accept a black Captain America. During his time in the role, Walker grew more heroic than originally established, but also suffered a great deal of trauma that made him unsuitable for the role, and later adopted the new title of US Agent when Rogers reassumed his old name. He joined the West Coast Avengers for a time, then the short-lived successor Force Works.

U.S. Agent made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, portrayed there by Wyatt Russell— although, like in his debut, he is referred to as "Captain America" following Steve Rogers's retirement until by the end of the series, when he accepts the U.S. Agent mantle after having been stripped of his role as Captain America.note 


  • '80s Hair: As the Super-Patriot, he sported a mean flat top.
  • '90s Anti-Hero: He has genuinely heroic instincts... but he is also an asshole who has no problems with using extreme violence. One of his most "90s" moment had to be when his parents were gunned down by the Watchdogs in "Captain America #345"; he promptly massacres the group, including stabbing a man through the face with an assault rifle and skewering another with a pitchfork. In the next issue, it was revealed that he left 9 dead, 3 critically injured, and 13 wounded.
  • Adapted Out: Was replaced with Hawkeye in the 90s Iron Man show, likely thanks to legal issues involving Captain America. The Recursive Adaptation comic book had both, strangely. (A US Agent figure was planned for the Iron Man toyline, but thanks to cutbacks at Toy Biz it was cancelled and retooled as a Living Laser figure...which also got cancelled when the toyline and show were canned. The figure was retooled again and saw release in the X-Men: Mutant Armor subline as Astral Armor Professor X.)
  • Anti-Hero Substitute: For Steve Rogers. To his credit, Walker eventually tried to live up to Rogers' ethics on the job, but the Red Skull made sure to push him over the edge.
  • Arbitrary Skepticism: Refused to believe that Hercules and his pantheon are gods, to their faces. Somehow he came out of that one alive...
  • An Arm and a Leg: Lost his left arm and leg during "Siege".
  • Becoming the Mask: While he was subbing for Rogers as Captain America, Walker did eventually begin to attempt to emulate his predecessor's ethics before the Red Skull stepped in.
  • Big Brother Worship: He adored his big brother, who joined the army and was KIA.
  • Break the Badass: He's Captain America for about a year, and hoooo does he go through the wringer because of it.
  • Costume Copycat: His iconic black U.S. Agent costume is actually the design that Rogers used as "The Captain" while Walker was Captain America. Though one of his more recent costumes as the Agent more directly mimicked the classic Cap outfit.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: He began as a Darker and Edgier Captain America Expy, wearing Rogers' old "Captain" costume, but some time later Tony Stark made him a battle armor that shot energy shields.
  • EagleLand: He's a very jerkish Type II. He's shown to be fanatically loyal to the US government and often praised American interests while being a complete jerk about it. He even believes that America has been bailing the world out of scrapes since 1918 (WWI), and as such is entitled to not having to apologize for its actions.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: For all his character flaws, he endangered his own life by giving himself up as a prisoner when the Watch Dogs kidnapped his mother and father. After they died, Walker killed the Watch Dogs.
  • Everyone Has Standards: For all of his jingoistic and right-wing views, John makes very clear that he is not a racist and is disgusted by white supremacist groups. He also makes clear that he is a hero first and foremost and doesn't discriminate about who to save based on his feelings on their lifestyle.
  • Fake Memories: Had the trauma of the murder of his parents removed; although he was led to believe this was his choice, General Haywerth had done it in order to avoid any future sanity slippages. When Walker found out the truth, he insisted on his memories being restored, but Haywerth made sure Walker still believed it had been his idea.
  • Faking the Dead: Because his identity had been made public, the government set him up to be "killed" after publicly turning the position of Captain America back to Rogers, and "resurrected" him as U.S. Agent.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: He initially disliked Steve Rogers and attempted to discredit and disprove him. But after he and Rogers teamed up to fight the Red Skull, they developed a mutual respect for one another and Walker even gave Rogers his suit and shield back while Rogers gave him the suit and shield he had been using when he relinquished the Captain America mantle.
  • Flanderization: Often written as a total ass, without the depths or character development Gruenwald gave him.
  • Flat-Earth Atheist: Being a right-wing Christian, he has blatantly denied the existence of other gods or divine creatures, even when fighting them.
  • Foil: To Frank Simpson, aka "Nuke". Both are Captain America "inspired" patriotic superhumans with a right-wing slant to their political beliefs. But whereas U.S.Agent is more of a Jerkass who happens to be Right-wing, Nuke is a jingoistic lunatic and killing machine. Lampshaded when John Walker admits to Luke Cage during their mutual run in the Thunderbolts that part of the reason why he has refused cybernetics is because he sees too much of Nuke in himself.
  • Getting Suspended Is Awesome: In The United States of Captain America, he tells Sinthea that he was kicked out of the cub scouts with a big grin on his face.
  • Glory Hound: As the Super-Patriot. Though actually doing anything to earn that glory wasn't exactly high on John's agenda.
  • Good Is Not Nice: He's a genuine hero, but also a genuine asshole.
  • Handicapped Badass: During his time as warden of the Raft, he's stuck in a wheelchair due to missing an arm and leg. Doesn't stop him beating the living hell out of several inmates during an escape attempt.
  • Hidden Depths: Make no mistake, John Walker is an asshole, with right-wing beliefs that often put him at odds with other heroes. But, and this is the important part, he is neither a total asshole, nor willing to place his political views above basic morality. He is firmly anti-racist, and even has a Token Black Friend in Lemar Hoskins. Whilst he does sympathize with some of the Watchdogs' socially conservative views, he still seeks to take them down for their willingness to conduct murder and terrorist acts. And as much of an asshole as he is, he is still dedicated to being a hero.
    • He does, however, show a few hints of prejudice towards indigenous people, being very dismissive towards Talisman, rolling his eyes when she referenced manifest destiny, referring to her as 'Pocahontas,' and telling her to 'lay off the peyote'. But this could be an extension of his jingoism rather than genuine racist belief.
  • I Just Want to Be Badass: In his original origin, John's brother served in the US Army in 'Nam, where he died in action. When John was finally able to sign up, the war was over, so all he could do was peel spuds. Then the Power Broker came along with an offer...
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Beneath the right-wing patriotic nationalism of the U.S. Agent is a guy who genuinely wants to live up to the mantle of Captain America and do the right thing in service to his country. The problem is that John Walker's heart of gold is very deep down, making his jerk side far more prominent most days.
  • Legacy Character: To Captain America, before his Divergent Character Evolution.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: As Captain America, he was trained by Taskmaster to use Rogers' shield. As U.S. Agent, he has had a variety of different shields, most notably the vibranium shield Rogers used as The Captain.
  • Mistaken for Racist: John's shield in his 2020 solo. Basically, a guy John has been assuming is Chinese takes offense to his shield making a "wooonnng" sound when he throws it into a car.
  • My Country, Right or Wrong: The main difference between him and Steve. Steve quit because he felt he could not in good conscience continue being a Captain America beholden to the commands of the US government. John would do what the government said without doubt, even if that was hunting a panicking teenager who just looked like a Mutant.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: When he found out that Left-Winger and Right-Winger committed suicide as the result of the massive burns he had inflicted on them. The realization was so traumatic that he briefly considered setting himself on fire to atone for his sins.
  • Never Gets Drunk: Subverted. His very first appearance in The United States of Captain America has him being hammered in a bar and being forced to sit on the backseat of Bucky's bike instead of riding his own because Steve doesn't him driving drunk. It appears he doesn't have a metabolism like Steve despite having far greater superhuman powers.
  • Noble Bigot with a Badge: He's a government agent who's prone to discriminating other people, but he doesn't allow his prejudices to get in the way of heroism.
  • Politically Incorrect Hero: His first mission as Captain America ("Captain America #335") involved infiltrating a right-wing terrorist and hate-group called the Watchdogs, who were violently against atheism, contraception, sexual education, pornography, communism, gays, blacks, single mothers, foreigners and the like. As Walker notes twice in the issue, he actually shares some of their non-racist values.
  • Portmanteau: His title, USAgent, is a contraction of "USA" and "Agent".
  • Sanity Slippage: After his parents were shot to death in front of him. He eventually recovered.
  • Secret Identity: After being "killed", as U.S. Agent the government gave him the new identity of "Jack Daniels". Yes, they went there.
  • Smug Super: As Super-Patriot. And in general.
  • Sucksessor: He tried to be a good successor to Captain America, all the more impressive given he thought Steve was an outdated fuddy-duddy (his words). Unfortunately, first there was issues with his anger that make him beat a supervillain to death, then his parents get killed, and it gets so much worse from there. The CSA have to spend a lot of time covering up as much of the details as they can, but there's only so much they can keep hidden forever. And then it turns out the Red Skull is causing and exacerbating this to make sure Captain America's name is dragged down into the mud.
  • Super-Soldier: There have been several failed attempts to recreate Captain America, none of which have worked out well. U.S. Agent was probably the closest thing to a success, if only because he's still alive and still a hero. It helps that his enhancements came from the Power Broker and not a Super-Serum derivative.
  • Super-Strength: Like most successful customers of the Power Broker, he has superhuman strength.
  • Surrounded by Idiots: His opinion most of the time, but especially during his West Coast Avengers days.
  • Throwing Off the Disability: During Dark Avengers, when he and the eponymous team get stuck in an alternate reality, the Toxie Doxie uses her bio-engineering skills to give Walker a new arm and leg back, against Walker's previously expressed opinions.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: As a result of Flanderization, Walker has become more of an asshole in more recent comics. Captain America even lampshades it in the 16th issue of his 2018 comic.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: He does not have anything approaching Steve Rogers' fighting ability, but he is so much stronger and tougher that most of their early encounters left Rogers barely holding his own.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Got him into trouble as Captain America, first when he beat Professor Power to a bloody pulp, and then later when the Watchdogs killed his parents, he went full berserker on them. Of course, this went along with "John Smith"'s plan to tarnish the image of Captain America.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Left-Winger and Right-Winger, former members of the Bold Urban Commandos (along with Battlestar) who worked with Walker as the Super-Patriot. The Commission didn't bring them on, only wanting one partner for Captain America, so they upstaged them at their public debut, revealing Walker's Secret Identity. When this got Walker's parents killed, he beat them mercilessly and abandoned them in a burning refinery. It was later revealed that he did ultimately go back to pull them out, so they'd live with the pain, but the burns proved to be so horrifically severe that they were Driven to Suicide, and he didn't find out about it until after he'd been U.S. Agent for some time, and was devastated when he did.
  • Willfully Weak: During his appearance as the warden in Thunderbolts, he admits that he has the connections, if not the resources, to get his missing limbs replaced with advanced cybernetic prosthetics. He chooses instead to go without a leg and to wear the kind of primitive hook-handed cyber that normal veterans have access to, out of solidarity. Although he also admits that another part of the reason is because he finds the idea of getting cyber-limbs uncomfortable, since it was the crazed cyborg Frank "Nuke" Simpson who removed his limbs in the first place.
  • Working-Class Hero: John considers himself one of these despite all of his faults, representing the interests of the average American and working hard to fight on their behalf. He highlights this trait in "Maximum Security" when viciously chews out the Avengers after their meddling in alien affairs led to the same aliens trying to turn Earth into a criminal waste dump in response.
  • Wrecked Weapon: In the 2020 comics, his shield isn't vibranium so a Running Gag is how often his shields get wrecked and need to be replaced.
  • Yank the Dog's Chain: In his first miniseries, while he's being tortured by the Scourge of the Underworld, their head torturer stops what they're doing and reveals he's John's big brother. All that stuff about being killed in 'Nam? Nah, a government cover-up, honest! ... then it turns out, no, he isn't John's brother at all, and he was just saying all that to screw with him.

    April Manning 

April Manning

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/april_manning_earth_616_from_usagent_vol_2_3_001.jpg

Alter Ego: U.S. Agent

Notable Aliases: Saint

First Appearance: U.S.Agent (Vol. 2) #2 (December, 2020)

April Manning was a tycoon who turned to superheroism after the death of his son, who was shot by a cop who believed the car he was driving to be stolen (It was his own).


  • Affirmative-Action Legacy: The new U.S. Agent after John Walker got fired or quit.
  • Badass Bookworm: Even looks like a nerd when not hulked up on Super Soldier Serum. The first shot we see of him chronologically he's at home reading. In another flashback, he lectures two thugs by basically quoting Thomas Sowell, and when they get annoyed with him and attack him, he beats the crap out of them.
  • Bait-and-Switch: It may be jarring to see a black man kneel and call someone "Master", but he was just showing his old sensei due reverence, and had no intention of taking orders or following suggestions from the man.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: The serum he takes boosts his aggression and clouds his judgement.
  • Category Traitor: Accuses Lemar Hoskins of being this, for letting Walker become Captain America despite being more skilled, and for accepting the codename "Bucky" for a while.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Thanks to his temporary Super Soldier Serum, he can do this to Lemar Hoskins.
  • Foil:
    • To Walker. Both are U.S. Agents, both are conservative and fiercely patriotic, but where Manning cares about image and how things look, Walker is more concerned with actually doing the right thing, even if no one knows what you did.
    • To Hoskins. Both are black men who took up the hero mantle from a white man, but where Manning despises his predecessor, Hoskins is proud of Bucky's service and the sacrifice he made.
  • It's All My Fault: Feels that he's at fault for his son's death, as he's the one who gave him an expensive car.
  • Kick the Dog: Attempts to shoot his sensei for stopping him from shooting Walker in the back.
  • Legacy Character: Is the new U.S. Agent.
  • Meaningful Name: Subverted. His superhero name "Saint" is not for being a particularly kind person, but for the place where he was trained, the Bay of All Saints.
  • Pet the Dog: Having regained his sanity, he pulls Walker out of the wreckage of the Helicarrier they were fighting in with the last of his super strength.
  • Pun: When he tells Lemar to call him Saint, Lemar replies that he can call him an ambulance.


Alternative Title(s): The Falcon, US Agent

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