Captain America 4: Leader's return could address MCU's villain issue

The upcoming Captain America: Brave New World from Marvel Studios is expected to bring back a villain from Phase 1, which might resolve a significant problem with the MCU's villains.

In Marvel Studios' upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, an old foe from Phase 1 of the MCU is expected to make a big comeback. This could potentially address a key issue leveled at some of the MCU's most formidable opponents. Writers Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson announced that they were working on a fourth Captain America project, which would carry on Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson saga as Captain America, after the season finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in April 2021. Marvel Studios' Captain America: Brave New World is an intriguing addition to the MCU's Phase 5 thanks to the arrival of director Julius Onah in July 2022.

Captain America: Brave New World stars Danny Ramirez as the MCU's new Falcon, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Shira Haas as the mutant Sabra, and Xosha Roquemore, Seth Rollins, and Rosa Salazar in unspecified roles. Anthony Mackie returns as Sam Wilson in the film. A number of characters from The Incredible Hulk (2008), including Harrison Ford's Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and Liv Tyler's Betty Ross, as well as Tim Blake Nelson's Dr. Samuel Sterns, who will be making a comeback as a formidable new antagonist in the MCU's Phase 5, the Leader, will also be appearing in Captain America: Brave New World.

How Captain America: Brave New World Will Bring Samuel Sterns' Leader Back

Tim Blake Nelson's Dr. Samuel Sterns, who debuted in 2008's The Incredible Hulk as a cellular scientist assisting Bruce Banner in his search for a Hulk cure, offered one of the most extended teases in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sterns was exposed to Banner's gamma-irradiated blood after failing to heal the Hulk but giving Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky the tools he needed to become the Abomination. Sterns hasn't been seen or heard from since the last time viewers saw him reacting to Banner's blood and hinting to his eventual metamorphosis as the Leader, a formidable villain in Marvel Comics.Following an anticipated 17-year hiatus from the MCU, Tim Blake Nelson was officially confirmed to reprise his role as Samuel Sterns' Leader in Captain America: Brave New World in September 2022. Sterns hasn't been seen or heard from in live-action since the 2008 film, but it was revealed in the Avengers Prelude MCU tie-in comic published in 2012 that he had been captured and placed in SHIELD prison soon after The Incredible Hulk's conclusion. Speaking to Comicbookmovie.com in February 2024, Nelson said that the Leader's metamorphosis will have fans "pretty excited" and that his return to the MCU might solve a long-standing villain issue.

Incredibly happy. I had a terrific experience filming it with the Marvel crew and this amazing makeup artist named David Atherton, who I've now worked with on twelve films. I predict that the appearance of this individual will cause a lot of excitement among the public. and his actions as well as his words. Huge props to the incredible Marvel team.

One of Marvel Comics' longest-running villains is The Leader.

Having made his Marvel Comics debut in 1964's Tales to Astonish #62, Samuel Sterns' Leader is among the Marvel Universe's most enduring villains, at least when it comes to those first appearing in the new Marvel Age of Comics (1961 onwards). The Leader and the Hulk have clashed numerous times over the years because to the Leader's fixation with the Hulk's strength, even though their genesis story in Marvel Comics is unrelated to the Hulk because Sterns became the super intelligent villain through a different incident involving gamma radiation. One of the most recognizable villains from Marvel Comics is The Leader, and the MCU ought to embrace this reputation.

Following his gamma exposure, Samuel Sterns experiences physical disfigurement but gains extraordinary talents such as superhuman intelligence, telekinesis, telepathy, and gamma-ray manipulation.

The Leader has fought Iron Man, the Punisher, Wolverine, She-Hulk, and the Avengers in addition to being one of the Hulk's most notable adversaries in Marvel Comics. The Leader interacts with Intelligencia from Marvel Comics, is compelled to collaborate with the Thunderbolts, and develops connections with other antagonists such as Mephisto, Chameleon, and Rhino. The Leader, one of the most significant and far-reaching villains in Marvel Comics, ought to address a significant and long-standing complaint about the MCU's underutilized villains rather than just being a one-time foe in Captain America: Brave New World.

A Lot of MCU Villains Were Wasted on Earlier Projects

Marvel Studios has been under fire for throwing away some of the most formidable and iconic villains from Marvel Comics since the MCU debuted with 2008's Iron Man. Long-running comic book enemies have frequently been reduced to one-time adversaries in the live-action MCU films, frequently being eliminated in the same film that first featured them. A terrible tendency that has persisted in more recent projects is the fact that many powerful MCU villains, with the exception of characters like Thanos, Loki, HYDRA, and Kingpin, have only ever made a few cameos before being entirely eliminated from the canon.

Some of the most recognizable enemies from Marvel Comics, like the Red Skull, Ultron, the Mandarin, the Vulture, Mysterio, Hela, Killmonger, Gorr the God Butcher, the High Evolutionary, and even the Scarlet Witch, are on the nearly endless list of one-and-done villains in the MCU. For lack of a more persistent antagonist, the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe do not have as many well-established rivals as those in Marvel Comics. Though, of course, Captain America isn't the superhero he needs to battle, Tim Blake Nelson's return as the Leader in Captain America: Brave New World may eventually reverse this trend.

Bruce Banner's Hulk Must Face The Leader in the MCU's Upcoming Events

The reason behind the inclusion of so many Hulk-related characters in Captain America: Brave New World without the real Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, has been a source of confusion. Though the film, which is scheduled for release in February 2025, will undoubtedly address these issues, Marvel Studios will have to extend the Leader's tenure given that the Hulk will not be appearing in Brave New World. Marvel Comics has seen several battles between The Leader and the Hulk, with the former turning into one of the latter's most known and enduring foes. However, there's a chance that their paths will never cross in the MCU.

Phase 5 of the MCU will see Captain America: Brave New World, starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, come out on February 14, 2025.

The actual date of Mark Ruffalo's Hulk comeback in the MCU is still unknown, but the Leader would make the ideal adversary for him to take on. It might be discovered that the Leader has been plotting and manipulating events throughout the MCU's history in order to play with Bruce Banner's Hulk. This could lead to a spectacular confrontation in an unannounced future adventure. If this is true, Captain America: Brave New World may finally halt the lackluster villain trend in the MCU and pave the way for significant futures for both the Leader and the Hulk.