Who is the main villain in Captain America: Brave New World?

Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2025.

The primary villain of the film is Dr. Samuel Sterns, the Leader, played by Tim Blake Nelson, who first appeared in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, with that film's ending foreshadowing his transformation into a supervillain.

Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, is the main hero of the film, who took over as Captain America by the end of the Disney+ series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The film chronicles his struggles in the midst of an "international incident" after meeting with President Thaddeus Ross.

Thaddeus Ross is played by Harrison Ford, who replaces the late William Hurt in the role. The trailer gives a nod to the cast change, with Thaddeus quipping, "They said to lose the mustache, or lose the election".

Other supporting characters are Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph, a Mossad agent who operates under the moniker Sabra, and Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley.

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Who is the Leader in Captain America: Brave New World?

Dr Samuel Sterns was originally an ally of Bruce Banner. (Image via Marvel)

The Leader first appeared in 2008's The Incredible Hulk as Dr Samuel Sterns. He was an ally of Bruce Banner who tried to cure him of his condition. To that end, he took a sample of Bruce's blood and stored it in his lab.

However, the film's primary antagonist, Emil Blonsky, played by Tim Roth, coerced him to use Bruce Banner's blood on him, resulting in Emil co-opting the Hulk's powers to become the Abomination.

At the film's conclusion, Samuel's lab was destroyed, and he suffered a head injury that was contaminated with Bruce's blood. As a consequence of this traumatic experience, his sanity began to erode.

He then appeared in the MCU tie-in comic called Fury's Big Week, wherein, he was discovered by Black Widow during the battle between the Hulk and the Abomination. S.H.I.E.L.D. captured him after deeming him too unstable and held him in captivity to conduct studies.

In the interim between the comic and Captain America: Brave New World, Samuel Sterns fully sank into villainy and became the Leader. In Captain America: Brave New World, there's an assassination attempt on President Thaddeus Ross, which is implied to be orchestrated by him.

With the President's life in jeopardy, Sam Wilson finds himself navigating a web of intrigue and danger as he faces off against the Leader's attempts to subvert the global balance of power.

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Who was the Leader in the comics?

The Leader was introduced in 1964, on Tales to Astonish #62. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created him as a supervillain who could serve as a nemesis to the Hulk.

In his comics backstory, Samuel Sterns was a janitor at a chemical plant who was envious of the accomplishments of his older brother, Phillip Sterns. Samuel obtained his powers as a result of an explosive accident he got caught in, while transporting radioactive materials.

The resulting gamma radiation fulfilled his deepest desires in a twisted manner, as his brain became enlarged and he obtained superhuman intellect. Like in Captain America: Brave New World, the Leader hatched a covert plot to take over the United States Government by launching an espionage ring.

The Hulk thwarted these plans, causing the Leader to go on the offensive by employing android soldiers known as Humanoids in order to capture the Hulk.

When the Hulk breaks free of the Humanoids, the Leader is impressed with him and tries to manipulate him into stealing the Ultimate Machine from the Watcher.

The Leader wants to use this machine because it supposedly contains all there is to know about the universe, but his attempt to obtain such absolute knowledge proves fatal, with even his superior brain becoming overloaded, resulting in his apparent death.

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Captain America: Brave New World follows the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and is part of Phase 5 of the Multiverse Saga of the MCU. Captain America: Brave New World will be released in February 2025.