Captain America: Brave New World: Marvel Reveals Major Connection to Black Widow

With the release of the trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, audiences got confirmation that Shira Haas had joined the cast as Ruth Bat-Seraph, better known in the comics as the Israeli superhero Sabra. According to Marvel, the Ruth in Captain America: Brave New World will be a former Black Widow, and now a high-ranking U.S. government official who has the trust of President Ross (Harrison Ford). The trailer provided fans with a first look at Sabra, although there’s not much context for what her role is in the movie.

Created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, Sabra first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #250, where she actually squared off with the big green guy (something that might have relevance given her close relationship to the Red Hulk in the movie). You can see a first-look screenshot below (via Cosmic Marvel):

How much of her comic book persona will carry over to the film is hard to say. Certainly as a first-look, it seems like she is mostly a government officer, rather than a superhero, although given that the President himself is hiding super powers in the movie, it seems pretty likely other members of his staff could do the same. In the comics, she is a member of the Israeli super-soldier program, giving her more or less the same power set as Captain America.

It is also unclear how or if Marvel and Disney will tackle the first appearance of a Mossad-trained Israeli super-soldier with a key role in U.S. government in their huge tentpole blockbuster. There were rumors that the character had been cut from the movie to avoid any controversy related to the ongoing conflict in Palestine, but obviously that isn’t true.

Captain America: Brave New World will also star Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / The Leader, Harrison Ford as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Shira Haas as Sabra. Xosha Roquemore, Rosa Salazar, and Giancarlo Esposito have been cast in currently-unknown roles, with Esposito recently being added to the film in reshoots. Captain America: Brave New World is directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox, Luce), with a script from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman, as well as Dalan Musson and Matthew Orton.

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