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After a long wait and post-production, Captain America: Brave New World is finally out in the world, as it was released today on February 14, 2025. The new film from Marvel Studios stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson in the fourth Captain America film and finally sees him take up the shield against forces that seek to cause destruction onto the world.
Warning: Spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World to follow. Reader discretion is advised.
Captain America: Brave New World sees Sam Wilson take on the likes of Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) and the Red Hulk/Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). The film pretty much acts as a quasi-sequel to 2008's The Incredible Hulk and follows Sam as he tries to stop a conspiracy that will cause a massive war.
While Sam is able to stop the big bads ultimately, it does answer the big question of whether he deserves the iconic shield or not.
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Breaking down the ending of Captain America: Brave New World
Why does Samuel Sterns want to cause a war?
For fans who may not remember, Samuel Sterns was a character first featured in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. He was the one working with Bruce Banner, trying to cure him, and also turned Emil Blonsky into the Abomination. However, he also suffered a massive injury during the film, which saw Banner's gamma blood seep inside of his head, which started causing a mutilation.
In the film, he pops up with a deformed head as the gamma radiation also turned him into one of the smartest beings alive. He was locked away by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross at a secret military camp, and he was using him to make weapons for the United States of America. At the same time, Ross was also having Sterns make medication for him as his heart was failing too.
However, Sterns kept missing the life that he used to have and wanted it back. Angry at the world, he decided to enact his revenge upon it by carefully crafting a dangerous conspiracy and plot.
What was Sterns' plan and how did it involve the Red Hulk?
Captain America: Brave New World pays a nod to Eternals as well by featuring the Island of Tiamut. Through it, countries were able to source the metal known as Adamantium, and Ross, who is now President Elect, hopes to use the metal to create a treaty that will unite many nations. However, Sterns uses this to his advantage to enact his plan.
He contacts Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), the leader of the Serpent Society, and has them steal the Adamantium from Japan under the guise that the U.S.A. was responsible for it. This ultimately causes the U.S.A. and Japan to be in direct conflict with each other as both nations start gunning for Adamantium's control. Sterns also uses this ploy to mind control many soldiers, which also lands Isaiah Bradley in jail.
However, Sam is able to save the day in the mid-movie battle over the Indian Ocean and convinces Ross and Japan both that they are being played. However, Sterns' plan isn't over yet, as he still has Ross under his belt too. The pills that he had been supplying Ross with were laced with gamma, and it was causing the president to further get stressed out, which only led to quite the climax.
Sterns turns Ross into the Red Hulk
Sterns' ultimate goal was to destroy Ross' legacy for taking his life away from him, and he is successful in doing so. After his plan was stopped by Wilson, Sterns paid him a visit and told him that he still has another backup under his belt. As Wilson has Sterns arrested, he quickly suits up and goes to the White House, where Ross is being pushed over by the media for his handling of recent events.
A stressed-out Ross then turns into the Red Hulk during the climax of Captain America: Brave New World and loses control of himself. However, Sam arrives in time to save the day and is able to calm down Ross and turn him back to normal. While Isaiah is set free, Ross decides to exonerate himself, and he has himself admitted into the Raft, where he won't be able to do much harm to anyone.
At the end of Captain America: Brave New World, Sam is able to erase his differences with Ross and also reunites him with his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler). The film ends with Sam finally accepting his place as Captain America.
Captain America: Brave New World's post-credits teases the next Avengers film
Captain America: Brave New World finally teases the Avengers once again in the MCU as well. At the start of the film, Ross asks Sam to reform the Avengers, and by the end, Sam once again believes that the world does indeed need its heroes back. This is further implied and explored in the post-credits scene for the film as well.
In the post-credits scene, Sam goes on to meet Sterns, who is also at the Raft. There Sterns explains to him that Sam will do anything to protect his world, but there are more worlds out there and that he has predicted something big is about to come soon. Given that Sterns is clearly hinting at the Multiverse, it looks like Marvel Studios is finally beginning the build-up to the next Avengers film.
As of now, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are the next big Avengers films to come, and they will be the culmination of the Multiverse Saga as well. So, going forward in future Marvel films, fans can certainly expect to see more buildup to the upcoming films.
What happened to Sidewinder?
Captain America: Brave New World also features Sidewinder—the leader of the Serpent Society. In the movie, he is captured by the United States of America's government after he has a run-in with Sam. During the film, he is used by Sterns to escalate the tensions between the U.S.A. and Japan and also gives Sam info about the big bad.
However, he does survive the events of the film and is in custody as of now. Fans can certainly expect him to pop up in the future as well.
How does Captain America: Brave New World set up Wolverine in the MCU?
Captain America: Brave New World introduces Adamantium in the MCU. It is described to be even more durable than Vibranium and is extracted from the Celestial known as Tiamut, who is sticking out of the Indian Ocean.
For fans of the X-Men, they may be very familiar with this metal, as it is the same element used to bond with Wolverine's skeleton when he goes through the Weapon-X program. So, it also looks like the MCU is further laying the groundwork for mutants as well.
Are there any cameos in Captain America: Brave New World?
Captain America: Brave New World does feature two big cameos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The biggest of them is Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) making an appearance in the film. He visits Sam in the hospital when Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) is shot out of the sky during the battle over the Indian Ocean and is in critical care and assures Sam that he deserves to be Captain America.
Liv Tyler also returns to portray Betty Ross in the film and is reunited with Thaddeus at the end of the film.
Fans can check out Captain America: Brave New World in theaters right now.
