Captain America: Brave New World is packed with bad guys for Sam Wilson to take down, but the real villain is being intentionally obscured. Steve Rogers decided to retire from hero life when he traveled back in time to return the Infinity Stones, but he was sure to pass on his legacy before passing away, so the MCU still had a Captain America. As a result, a much older Steve sat down with Sam Wilson, a close friend and ally who had worked with Cap under the name Falcon, and he chose to give him the iconic shield.

Now, more than five years later, Sam is finally about to pick up the shield and the title in his own solo movie, Captain America: Brave New World. And despite Sam being relatively new in the role, the movie is not holding anything back, with several villains coming to confront the newly dubbed Captain America. However, there is one mastermind behind everything who has been kept in the shadows. And despite appearing in one of the first MCU movies, he is only now joining the action and challenging some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The Leader Is The Real Villain Of Captain America: Brave New World

The Leader Is The Mastermind In Brave New World

As revealed in 2022, Tim Blake Nelson, an actor who previously appeared in The Incredible Hulk in 2008, would reprise his role from that film and appear in the latest Captain America film (via Variety). Previously, Nelson played the role of Samuel Sterns, a character that in the comics is better known as the villain, The Leader. And, it’s clear that his appearance in this film will see him grow into the villain he was always intended to be.

The Leader is generally depicted as a super-intelligent villain who often battles with the Hulk. Just like the Hulk, The Leader has an incident which exposes him to drastic levels of gamma radiation, which elevates him from an average intelligence factory worker to an extraordinarily gifted mastermind. However, along with his intelligence came some less favorable side effects. The Leader’s skin turned green, and his head and brain grew extensively, along with his ego and ambition. He declared himself a rival to the Hulk and his journey went on from there.

The Leader’s MCU History Explained

Sam Sterns Has Been In The MCU Since The Start

However, the character has a history of his own in the MCU, with some slight differences to the comic book version. Sam Sterns was initially a cellular biologist who caught the attention of Bruce Banner. When Bruce finds himself transformed into the terrifying Hulk, he approaches Sterns on an anonymous forum to get answers and hopefully find a cure. This makes Sterns in the MCU already a more intellectual character than the one in the comics, but he was yet to become The Leader.

However, while Banner wished to find a cure, Sterns had much greater ambitions, hoping to use Bruce’s blood to find other cures for a variety of illnesses. When the pair meet, Sterns pushes Banner to provide more blood samples and undergo his transformation for his research. However, when special agent Emil Blonsky comes to Sterns and forces him to administer Banner’s blood to him, Sterns ends up being savagely thrown across his lab. In his last moments in the MCU, Banner’s blood falls into an open wound on his head and Sterns smiles.

We’ve Already Seen The First Look At The Leader (Kind Of)

He Was In The Trailer

This could have been the end for Sterns, but thanks to Banner’s blood, it appears his intelligence began to grow to extreme levels. Since that time, Sterns has remained hidden from the public in the MCU, although he could have appeared in an off-screen capacity during She-Hulk where there were more conversations being conducted via anonymous chatrooms. However, Captain America: Brave New World will mark the characters first real appearance back in the MCU, and we’ve already gotten a glimpse at the character.

The Leader appears briefly in one scene of the trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, where he is facing away from the camera. His appearance is obscured, and it is impossible to determine if he has mutations that closely resemble the comics. However, it does look as though he has some discoloration, and what could be large visible veins, or scars on the back of his head. The secrecy and discretion around the character certainly points to him having a big reveal in Captain America: Brave New World, where Sterns will finally make his big return to the MCU.