Captain America: Brave New World – Who Is the Villain?

Captain America: Brave New World‘s new trailer has Marvel fans hyped for the film’s release – but they’re also asking one big question that still remains unanswered: who is the villain of this film?

Captain America 4 has certainly made it clear that Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America (Anthony Mackie) will have plenty of threats to deal with – from the new Red Hulk to a group of gun-toting black-ops mercenaries led by the mysterious Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito). However, the full trailer for Brave New World has also made it clear that Sam will be contacted by some yet-unseen antagonist, who (as Sam describes in voiceover) has been pulling all the strings. While hardcore MCU fans may already know the answer, mainstream audiences are in for a very big surprise.

Captain America 4: Meet The Leader

The MCU first began with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk back in 2008. The latter film has become something of an odd middle child of the franchise, whose mythology largely fell through the cracks of the franchise that followed. That included the elements that Incredible Hulk set in place for later sequels – including the creation of one of Bruce Banner/Hulk’s greatest enemies: The Leader.

Actor Tim Blake Nelson (O’ Brother Where Art Thou?) appeared in The Incredible Hulk as Samuel Sterns, a cellular biologist who started a secret correspondence with a fugitive Bruce Banner, trying help cure him of his Hulk persona. Bruce gives Sterns a sample of his blood (one of the most dangerous substances on Earth), but Sterns betrays his trust, synthesizing the blood into an entire supply to experiment with. When mercenary Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) coerces Stern into using some of that blood on him, it mutates him into The Abomination. Blonsky destroys Sterns’ lab during his transformation, causing some of the gamma-irradiated blood to spill into a cut on Sterns’ head. Last seen, Sterns’ head was bubbling and mutating – but the question of where he’s been since then is one of the longest-running mysteries of the MCU.

In Marvel Comics, the Leader has the gamma-powered intellect to rival Hulk’s gamma-powered strength. His mind has limitless potential for expansion; complete recall of anything seen or learned; and unparalleled ability for pattern recognition and logical structure. The Leader’s mind evolves to also include telepathic and telekinetic abilities, giving him sway over the average person’s mind through contact, the power to affect memory, create illusions, and even unleash telekinetic blasts.

With that range of abilities, it’s not hard to imagine Captain America: Brave New World refitting The Leader for the MCU by having him operating as a mastermind playing socio-political events on Earth like a chess game. The franchise could go so far as to explain that Sterns was initially overwhelmed by his mutation and massive intellect, before mastering it and putting it into practice during the chaotic post-Blip era.

Based on President Ross’s (Harrison Ford) transformation into Red Hulk, it seems likely that Sterns has made advances with the synthesized Hulk blood he manufactured, and there’s no telling what other technological/biological schemes he has in mind. With game-changing new substances like Adamantium now in play, the Leader could indeed be the catalyst to a Brave New World of the MCU.

Captain America: Brave New World has a theatrical release date of February 14, 2025.