Why Is Hulk Villain The Leader in Captain America: Brave New World?

Though the marketing for the film hasn't put him front and center (yet), we've known since at least 2022 that Tim Blake Nelson will reprise the role of Samuel Sterns/The Leader in Captain America: Brave New World. The actor of course originated the role all the way back in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, but hasn't been seen again in the MCU... until now.

While it's great to see Marvel finally following up on that particular loose end, it is a little surprising that The Leader is being positioned as a Captain America villain rather than headlining a new Hulk movie. But as it turns out, that's the whole point. The Leader is the last sort of enemy Sam Wilson is expecting to tussle with, and that's exactly what makes him so dangerous. Let’s quickly break down The Leader’s background and why he may actually make sense as the next big Captain America villain.

The Leader: Who Is Tim Blake Nelson's Character?

The Leader definitely qualifies as Hulk's main archnemesis. Whereas most Hulk villains try to prove themselves stronger than the Jade Giant, Samuel Sterns is very much the polar opposite to Bruce Banner. His exposure to gamma radiation boosted his intelligence exponentially. He's as smart as the Hulk is strong, making him easily among the most dangerous villains in the entire Marvel Universe.

2008's The Incredible Hulk set up The Leader as a future MCU villain. Tim Blake Nelson plays a pre-transformation Samuel Sterns in the film. This version of Sterns is actually Banner's ally - a cellular biologist helping the fugitive Banner seek a cure for his condition. But Sterns doesn't entirely share Banner's desire to eliminate the Hulk. He synthesizes Banner's blood, believing it holds the key to eliminating disease and unlocking humanity's full potential. Sterns is eventually strong-armed by General Ross into helping complete Emil Blonsky's transformation into the Abomination.

The film ends with Sterns trapped in storytelling limbo. After a cut on his forehead is exposed to Banner's irradiated blood, Sterns' head begins to swell and change.

The Return of the Leader in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Incredible Hulk was no doubt laying the groundwork for a sequel with the tease of Sterns transforming into The Leader. However, Marvel Studios has shied away from another solo Hulk film, in large part because Universal Pictures holds part of the film rights. That's why Hulk's story has instead played out in the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok, and likely why Nelson has yet to reprise his role as The Leader.

Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner also showed up on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and in Episode 3 he left Earth aboard a Sakaarian ship, apparently returning to that world to settle some unfinished business from his gladiator days. In the season finale, he returned -- with a son, Skaar!

As for The Leader, some rumors pointed to him possibly also appearing in She-Hulk before going on to serve as the main villain of Captain America: Brave New World. Episode 3 also introduced the Wrecking Crew - four construction workers wielding stolen Asgardian tools. Those villains try (very unsuccessfully) to steal a sample of Jen Walters' blood for their mysterious benefactor. Given his interest in gamma science in general and Hulk's blood in particular, The Leader seemed like an obvious candidate to be the villain pulling the Wrecking Crew's strings. That didn't come to pass, but judging by the glimpse we do get of him in the trailers for Brave New World, it seems as though the character is pulling a different set of villains' strings...

Why the Leader Is One of the Villains in Captain America 4

So why is The Leader appearing in a Captain America sequel of all things? As far as we know, The Leader has no particular reason to hold a grudge against Banner. Assuming he resents being transformed into a super-genius with an oversized head in the first place, he has more reason to hate Ross and Blonsky.

That may actually play into The Leader's role in Brave New World. Maybe being betrayed by one of the US military's most decorated military officers has Sterns in the mood for revenge. Now-President Ross is played by Harrison Ford in the film (replacing the late William Hurt), so The Leader could be looking to destroy his reputation and discredit America on the world stage. And that means he may also have his sights set squarely on the new Captain America.

Whatever his motivations, director Julius Onah makes it clear The Leader is so dangerous precisely because he's not a villain Sam Wilson will see coming.

"Actions have consequences, and that's what's so great about what the MCU has been able to build," Onah told IGN at D23 in 2022. "In this universe, in this world, things that people do come back in ways that are surprising and unexpected, and Tim Blake Nelson coming back as The Leader is such an exciting thing to explore because his story now is going to challenge Sam Wilson, our new Captain America, in a way that he never expected. So it's really, really thrilling. And I think a lot of things that got set up and established years ago will allow the MCU to actually go in new directions that audiences are going to really, really be excited about."

Onah also revealed that this crisis will be the first major test of Sam's leadership abilities. He'll have to rally the Avengers - or whatever passes for the Avengers these days - against a very different sort of threat.

"We saw what it means for somebody like him to take the shield," Onah said. "But it is also a very different MCU. It's a post-blip MCU. It's a post-Thanos MCU. So the world has changed a lot too. And the role of a hero has changed. What does that mean? The decisions he's going to have to make, and the situations he's going to be confronted with, are radically different from what Steve Rogers had to deal with. And as a result of that, because he's a leader now of this team, he's got to make decisions that are going to have massive implications. So the world has changed around him and he's a changed man, and I think that leads to some really exciting storytelling."

Sam Wilson has tussled with some of the strongest villains in the MCU and lived to tell the tale. But he's never faced someone as intelligent as The Leader. Is he up to the challenge? We'd like to say yes, but it's telling that Captain America 4 sets the stage not for the next Avengers movie, but for the Thunderbolts movie. The Leader may have a hand in destroying the symbol that is Captain America and ushering in a newer, darker era for the MCU.

What role do you think The Leader will play in Captain America: Brave New World? Let us know your theories in the comments below.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Note: This story was updated on February 11, 2025, with the latest information about Brave New World. It was originally published in September, 2022.