Captain America: Brave New World Makes Me Wonder How Many MCU Events The Leader Has Influenced

After a 16-year absence, Marvel Studios finally returns to one of its earliest plot threads with Captain America: Brave New World, which serves as both Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) first theatrical adventure as the star-spangled hero and a direct sequel to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. The new film sees Mackie’s Captain America investigating a complex conspiracy that brings back Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns and reveals he’s now working with Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, now President of the United States. This unexpected connection bridges the gap between the MCU’s earliest days and its current phase, revealing how certain characters have been pulling strings from the shadows since the beginning.

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WARNING: Spoilers below for Captain America: Brave New World

After The Incredible Hulk, Ross’ career took a remarkable trajectory that seemed driven by increasingly sophisticated political strategy. What started as a military path evolved into a complex web of political maneuvering that eventually saw him appointed as Secretary of State under President Matthew Ellis (William Sadler). This transformation from military commander to political operator marked a significant shift in his approach to handling enhanced individuals and superhuman threats. As Captain America: Brave New World reveals, this shift occurred thanks in large part to Samuel Sterns’s ability to calculate probabilities from the shadows.

After witnessing how Bruce Banner’s blood granted Sterns enhanced intelligence in The Incredible Hulk, Ross saw an opportunity. Instead of removing the gamma radiation from Sterns’ system, Ross increased the dosage, transforming the scientist into a superintelligent being, known to Marvel Comics fans as The Leader. Ross then imprisoned Sterns at Camp Echo One, using his incredible cognitive abilities to develop advanced technology and calculate the probability of various political moves. This arrangement continued for over 16 years, with Ross exploiting Sterns’ enhanced intellect to eventually become president. The nature of Ross and Sterns’ collaboration raises serious questions about the MCU as a whole, as the Leader is probably connected to some of the franchise’s defining events.

Major MCU Events The Leader May Be Responsible For

The MCU Raft as seen in Captain America Civil War — Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

The Leader and Thaddeus Ross’ relationship forces us to re-evaluate key moments of the MCU.

The Raft is the underwater prison introduced in Captain America: Civil War, and represents one of the most sophisticated containment systems for enhanced individuals ever created. First housing Steve Rogers’ team of former Avengers, the facility has become increasingly central to the MCU’s power structure. The Netflix series of Marvel shows expanded its significance, with the facility containing threats like Willis Stryker (Mike Colter) from Luke Cage and Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) from Jessica Jones. Most recently, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed that Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) was transferred there by the Dora Milaje, proving the facility’s continued importance in containing enhanced threats. So far, no MCU project addresses the creation of the Raft, but the ambitious engineering achievement could easily have been developed by the Leader.

If that turns out to be the case, then Captain America: Brave New World ended with Sterns being placed in the one prison that’s guaranteed not to hold him.

The Sokovia Accords represent another pivotal development that deserves fresh scrutiny. As Secretary of State, Ross (then played by William Hurt) served as the primary architect and advocate for these regulations. The document’s complex legal framework established unprecedented control over enhanced individuals while maintaining a veneer of reasonable governance, suggesting a level of strategic planning that goes beyond standard political maneuvering. The effectiveness of the Accords in fracturing the superhero community, while appearing to protect public safety, demonstrates a sophisticated long-term strategy that seems almost prescient in hindsight. Now, in light of Captain America: Brave New World, we could equally blame the Leader for the crafting of the Sokovia Accords.

Ross’ calculated opposition to the Avengers throughout the Infinity Saga also reveals a pattern of increasingly sophisticated political maneuvers. His interventions – from championing the Accords to pursuing Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) – systematically eroded the team’s cohesion and autonomy. This raises disturbing questions about whether Ross was in control of the whole situation or a puppet in the Leader’s schemes.

Looking at the MCU timeline through this new lens raises fascinating questions about causality and influence. How were critical decisions about enhanced individual regulation shaped by Samuel Sterns? What strategic calculations led to the specific design of the Sokovia Accords? Finally, could the LEader be playing a long game that has yet to be revealed? The threads connecting these events may run deeper than anyone suspected, suggesting that some of the MCU’s most significant developments were guided by a mind working several moves ahead on the geopolitical chessboard. As Sam works to rebuild the Avengers, Marvel Studios has the opportunity to rewrite the MCU’s history and cement the Leader as a major MCU villain – even after the Multiversal Saga.

Captain America: Brave New World is currently available in theaters.

How much of the MCU do you think the Leader helped shape? Share your theories in the comments!