Christopher Priest Explores The Complexities And Relevance Of U.S. Agent In New Interview

[JayC]

U.S.Agent, the Super-Soldier you love to hate is back in an all-new series by writer Christopher Priest and artist George Jeanty! When John Walker is stripped of his official status as U.S.Agent, the former Super Patriot goes independent and gets caught up in a conflict between a small town and the corporate giant trying to destroy it. With a brand-new partner and a dangerous new enemy, Walker’s mission will force the unconventional “super hero” to confront hard-hitting questions about himself and the nation he serves. This journey of self-discovery will dive into the character’s past and set U.S.Agent on course for an exciting new place in the Marvel Universe.

Marvel Host Ryan Penagos recently sat down with Christopher Priest to discuss the acclaimed writer’s views on the former Captain America. Find out what makes U.S.Agent tick and check out never-before-seen art form the series in this exclusive video interview!

“John Walker is not a super hero. No matter how hard he wants to be a super hero, he’s really not,” Priest explained. “And that’s the whole point of John Walker. The whole point of a guy like John Walker is to point out just how much strength of character and nobility and self-sacrifice it takes to actually be called a hero in the Marvel Universe.”

John Walker’s high-stakes adventure is now underway!

 

Pick up the debut issue, on sale now, and don’t miss U.S.AGENT #2 when it hits stands on December 23rd.
 

[JayC]

For the record, as a huge USAgent fan I got and read issue 1 of this series and thought it was pretty bad. The art is horrible and there is nothing really filling us in on how we got here from the last time we saw the character which was Force Works.  There is a one sentence mention that he was stripped of his official title by the Govt but no explanation why. Not sure if that will come but the story did not flow well. He's seemingly now got this endless supply of shields that are about as indestructible as tissue paper and they portray him essentially as a somewhat bigoted buffoon. I will try and finish this series out just to see what they do since i am such a big USAgent fan, but I really just came away from this first issue shaking my head.

[monron999]

Sounds like they're trying to do another "hero" similar to Punisher, which is good. A totally flawed, more human take rather than the hero everyone expects him to be. The official description given by Marvel only slightly tickled my interest, but reading @JayC's comments, I decided I'm gonna give it a try. Maybe Marvel's starting to learn a little something from the indies. This even looks more like something you'd see from one of the indies.

I was a massive fan of US Agent when he first came out. I loved his development. Before they "cleaned up" his image he was this somewhat old world thinker, seamingly intolerant person who, at the end of the day, had good intentions and took any measures necessary to protect the little guy. They moved away from that for many, many years and kinda used him as filler, but I really do think he's got enough of a fan base where he can run his own series. Given that the writing doesn't turn to the standard Marvel SJW driven drivel. Which it probably will. I'll give it a shot and if and when it does turn I'll just drop it like so many others from Marvel. One day they'll learn, but as long as most of these writers basically work for free, don't expect that to be anytime soon.

[mako]

You know, the one thing I hate more than pointless EVENT comics, are these misguided MESSAGE comics.

This sadly is what characters like Guy Gardner and U.S.Agent were always meant to be. A broad stereotype, a caricature if you will, of how the far-left sees the far right. A show-place for all the great "foibles" of man-kind: Jingoistic, reactionary, narcissistic, misogynistic, bigoted. Basically, if you need someone to be an A-hole, there he is.

Personally, I prefer the notion of John Walker as a superhero who just happens to fall on the conservative side of things. Give me THAT character, and a top-notch even-handed writer, and that's a book I'd read.

[bashpics99]

Really liked Christopher Priest's Black Panther run but imo he tends to have complicated plotlines  and often the series he writes end up getting prematurely cancelled so  he has to rush to tie up loose ends. i don't but floppies but even if i did i'd probably wait for the trade on this one, depending on how well it is received. I do think Priest is relatively good at portraying nuanced characters so USAgent seems like a reasonably good fit. Hope he can guest star Agent Ross or some of the characters from the Crew at some point, as well. 

[MonsterChris]

1 hour ago, mako said:

You know, the one thing I hate more than pointless EVENT comics, are these misguided MESSAGE comics.

This sadly is what characters like Guy Gardner and U.S.Agent were always meant to be. A broad stereotype, a caricature if you will, of how the far-left sees the far right. A show-place for all the great "foibles" of man-kind: Jingoistic, reactionary, narcissistic, misogynistic, bigoted. Basically, if you need someone to be an A-hole, there he is.

Personally, I prefer the notion of John Walker as a superhero who just happens to fall on the conservative side of things. Give me THAT character, and a top-notch even-handed writer, and that's a book I'd read.

I think now would be an odd, late point in his career for Priest to start writing his main characters as broad stereotypes or caricatures.  Like you, I live in the United States.  I'm also pushing 40 and this past summer has been the darkest and most violent of my adult life.  Whatever a person's politics, I think it would dishonest of them to pretend reactionism and bigotry weren't centerpieces to much of that violence.  People are literally killing each other it the streets.  We need to talk about that and one of the venues for that discussion, as it always has been, is fictional literature.

I haven't read every single one of U.S. Agent's appearances, but I've read a good amount.  Yeah, Walker is jingoistic and reactionary.  He pretty much always has been, right?  In the interview, Priest sounds like he wants to discuss those traits and maybe delve into the how and why of such a character.  I certainly don't expect caricature.

I'm not sure what you mean by "MESSAGE" comics.  Maybe moralistic or heavy-handed?  Certainly worthwhile fiction should be socially relevant, and relevance and the fantastic aren't mutually exclusive whether we're watching a shield-throwing mystery man crash through Hitler's window to punch him in the face, or a giant, radioactive monster lay waste to Japan, or sinister space hippies try to wrest control of the Enterprise.  (We miss you, Charles Napier!)

[mako]

23 minutes ago, MonsterChris said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "MESSAGE" comics.  

No, I'm pretty sure you are.

[MonsterChris]

1 hour ago, mako said:

No, I'm pretty sure you are.

Well no, that's going to be a pretty opinon-based definition that varies from person to person.  I'm not even sure what I would file under that heading.  The infamous drug issue of Spider-Man, I suppose.  Did Secret Wars have a message?  Maybe, "hey kids, buy some action figures!", lol.  But how about The Dark Knight Returns?  Sure it was pretty full-up with political and social commentary, but was there an overriding "message"?  I wouldn't care to guess or assume where someone would draw a line between themes, morals, messages, etc.

[Jmacq1]

Priest is a fantastic writer.  His Black Panther and Deathstroke runs are all-time classics.

Curious to see how he handles USAgent. 

[mako]

28 minutes ago, MonsterChris said:

Well no, that's going to be a pretty opinon-based definition that varies from person to person. 

I never said you agreed with me. I just said you knew what I was talking about.

[JayC]

USAgent can be an ahole and over patriotic at times. He's not the charismatic leader Steve Rogers is, but  he's not an idiot who stumbles and bumbles his way to victory which is how I feel they are trying to portray him here.

[mako]

32 minutes ago, JayC said:

USAgent can be an ahole and over patriotic at times. He's not the charismatic leader Steve Rogers is, but  he's not an idiot who stumbles and bumbles his way to victory which is how I feel they are trying to portray him here.

This book is obviously meant to promote Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I wonder if his new attitude in some way is supposed to reflect the way he's portrayed in the show?

[McHogan]

On 11/12/2020 at 3:11 PM, JayC said:

USAgent can be an ahole and over patriotic at times. He's not the charismatic leader Steve Rogers is, but  he's not an idiot who stumbles and bumbles his way to victory which is how I feel they are trying to portray him here.

I agree with that description of Agent, not that a character can’t grow but his most popular appearances he is the foil to more traditional heroic characters. 

He is certainly a leader, again I agree not the leader Cap is but when he first joined the WCA he demonstrated strong, take charge  characteristics. And I believe he at least thought he was the team leader. This is the reason he and Hawkeye butted heads so often.

todays marvel though will change decades of continuity to make a new story,.you know, Starfox = rapist.. my head spins with where they may take the Agent