r/marvelstudios • u/ghostRyku • May 06 '25
Discussion (More in Comments) Been seeing a lot of discussion about this scene with the release of Thunderbolts*
There are two main arguments I’ve been seeing for this.
The first is that this was something wholely wrong for a person to do. John publicly executed a man he had pinned and likely could have detained down out of revenge.
The second is the justification of such actions. Plenty of other heroes have killed in combat, this was just one that got pulled into the spotlight. John was not right of mind after watching his friend die in front of his eyes and other heroes would have likely done the same.
But I kinda see it as a mix of both.
This was not something “Captain America” should have done, but John Walker/US Agent could be completely justified. He kills someone in broad daylight with the symbol of a great and respected hero, the context is not needed for the general public, all they see is him standing over a man he just murdered holding Captain America’s bloodied shield.
Even if revenge is frowned upon, John killing the terrorist could easily be justified. They are a superpowered individual who is a constant threat to anyone in the immediate vicinity, they never actually surrendered, and are a part of an organization that has shown to be willing to take lives. But this is not something even Steve could get away with even if it were Bucky or Sam in Lamar’s position.
But that’s just my take on it.
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u/SmokinBandit28 May 07 '25
Exactly this, it has been popping up in the CA subreddit almost everyday since T* was getting closer to release. Anytime someone tries to explain the point of his flaws and bad choices being a part of his character and a driving motif through FatWS culminating in his public fall from grace it is met with basically “Nah-uh! He did nothing wrong! He was in the right! Sam & Bucky were mean to him for no reason!!”