Marvel Studios is finally paying off its longest villain tease in Captain America: New World Order by transforming Samuel Sterns into The Leader.
Captain America: New World Order is finally paying off the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s longest villain tease with Samuel Sterns’ return. The fourth film in the Captain America franchise is taking the series in a brand-new direction in several ways. This includes Sam Wilson stepping into the mantle of Captain America and replacing Steve Rogers. However, Captain America 4 is also exploring another side of the MCU thanks to its links to super soldier serum. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier set up that research about such serums would be important to Sam’s future, but the villains he’ll encounter are a surprise.
Samuel Sterns is set to be Captain America 4‘s main villain by all accounts. Marvel Studios officially confirmed that Tim Blake Nelson was returning as his The Incredible Hulk character during Phase 5. The character has not been seen since the 2008 film when he was shown to be experimenting with Bruce Banner’s blood to possibly create more Hulks. His future was teed up to be a major Marvel villain going forward after some of the gamma-radiated blood entered his head and began to transform him. However, Marvel Studios never decided to bring him back, waiting until Captain America: New World Order to do so.
The Leader’s Villain Transformation Will Come 16 Years After Incredible Hulk
The Leader’s return in Captain America: New World Order means that it took Marvel 16 years to pay off this villain tease. The Incredible Hulk was released in 2008, but Captain America 4 will not arrive until 2024. Even more time will have likely passed within the MCU, as Avengers: Endgame‘s time jump moved the timeline to 2023. Since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier took place in 2024, the possibility that another year or two has passed by the time Captain America 4 takes place is plausible. The long wait to finally see Samuel Sterns transform into the Marvel villain The Leader stands either way.
Marvel’s villain tease for The Leader paying off nearly two decades later in Captain America: New World Order is very unusual for the MCU. Most characters who are set up in a similar fashion typically return quickly as part of Marvel’s grand plan. The MCU did not wait nearly as long to pay off The Avengers‘ Thanos tease or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s Adam Warlock setup. Without the confirmation that The Leader will return in Captain America 4, Samuel Sterns’ fate would remain one of the longest-lasting questions about the MCU.
Why Marvel Waited So Long To Bring The Leader Back
The long wait to see Marvel bring back The Leader appears to be the result of the MCU not having the right place for him. Due to Universal owning Hulk’s movie rights, the MCU did not make The Incredible Hulk 2, relegating the Jade Giant to a supporting character in other movies, leaving no place for Sterns. There was speculation that The Leader would be in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law through Intelligencia, but that did not happen either. Now that Captain America: New World Order might further explore the super soldier serum experiments and also includes more Incredible Hulk characters, The Leader’s return makes sense.
