Summary
One of the more mysterious and exciting aspects of the upcomingMCUfilmCaptain America: Brave New Worldis the potential influence of the Incredible Hulk characters and storytelling. From Harrison Ford’s role as President Ross to the Leader’s involvement in the plot, the Hulk’s presence seems to be significant in shaping Sam Wilson’s journey asthe new Captain America. With these intriguing Hulk references, could fans be in for an adaptation of the notoriousFall of the Hulksin theMCU?
TheFall of the Hulksis a complex storyline that introduces various Hulks, a mysterious organization, and a battle that transforms heroes and villains into Hulk-like versions of themselves. This narrative delves into the Hulk family and the profound influence of gamma heroes and villains on the Marvel universe. Given this complexity, couldCaptain America: Brave New Worldbe considering a loose adaptation of theFall of the Hulks?
Fall of the Hulks, Explained
One of the more in-depth and expanded Hulk storylines, theFall of the Hulks, begins with the revelation that the villain MODOK is part of a secret organization known as The Intelligencia, comprised of villains The Leader, Doctor Doom, Mad Thinker, Wizard, and the Red Ghost. The group’s purpose is to kidnap the eight smartest people in the world for their own purposes, and in their mission, they gather the knowledgeto create the Red Hulk.
In the story, Red Hulk seemingly ends the life of Thunderbolt Ross at the behest of Bruce Banner. Although adversaries for a long time, it appears throughout this story that Red Hulk and Banner are working together. Of course, later, it will be revealed during World War Hulks that Ross is the Red Hulk and had a Life Model Decoy of himself destroyed to fake his death. The event brings the long-thought-dead Betty Ross and General Talbot to his funeral. Another character to appear is Lyra, a Hulk from an alternate timeline where her mother was Thundra, and her father isthe main Marvel Universe’s Hulk.
The battle of this storyline is between the Intelligencia, Red Hulk, and his ally Banner, who is de-powered at this time. The Leader and MODOK lead the groupto kidnap Reed Richards, Beast, T’Challa, Hank Pym, and Dr. Doom himself. The only missing abductees are a comatose Tony Stark and Banner himself. Banner and Red Hulk fight the group in secret, leading to one final confrontation on a modified Hellicarier.
While characters like Lyra, the original She-Hulk Jenn Walters, and Red She-Hulk all made appearances, in the end, the machinations of the Intelligencia won, capturing both Banner and Red Hulk. The group siphon the Red Hulk’s energy to create an army of Hulks, turningheroes from the X-Men, New Avengers, and Fantastic Four into Hulks while placing Banner in a simulation with the other captives. This would lead to the follow-up story, World War Hulks.
Captain America Facing The Intelligencia
While there is very little information yet on the plot ofCaptain America: Brave New World, the inclusion of so many Hulk characters, including the return of Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross, it makes sense to incorporate elements ofFall of the Hulksinto this story. Taking the first mission of a non-super-soldierversion of Captain Americaand pitting him against a Gamma-powered arms race would be an incredible direction to take the film in.
While the inclusion of Hulks and Gamma-based story elements can be gleaned from casting, another thing that could tie this storyline into the plot ofCaptain America 4is the inclusion ofSamuel Sterns, aka The Leader. This villain, confirmed for the film and part of the MCU fabric already, represents a new challenge for Sam Wilson’s Cap. The Leader’s power comes not from a Gamma-based physical perspective but from a Gamma-based intelligent viewpoint. A master tactician and intellect, the Leader is also one of the heads of the Intelligencia in Fall of the Hulks and an enemy of Red Hulk, aka Thunderbolt Ross. He also has a hand in Red Hulk’s creation, further proving that Ross could be playing a long game with the Leader with Cap stuck in the middle. Some of this animosity between The Leader and Red Hulk is shown in the new teaser trailer, which sees someone gunning for President Ross, The Leader making his presence known and the emergence of Red Hulk in the trailer’s final moments.
The recently released trailer forCaptain America: Brave New Worlddefinitely confirmed the inclusion of both Red Hulk and The Leader as primary characters in Cap’s upcoming film, as well as some incredible moments of action featuring Sam’s Cap and the new Falcon. This particular storyline has an equal amount of espionage and superpowers involved, which fits perfectly into the aesthetic for the Captain America films in the MCU thus far. Testing Sam Wilson’s Cap to see what kind of team leader he could be and his ability to face The Leader and the Intelligencia would be a fascinating step in the right direction to push these characters into new directions for the franchise. As theMCUfinds its footing and tries to solidifythe Multiverse Saga storyin their films, givingCaptain America: Brave New Worlda new threat like the Intelligencia would create the adrenaline-fueled drama that Sam Wilson’s first outing deserves.
Captain America: Brave New World
Cast
Captain America: Brave New World (formerly titledNew World Order)marks Sam Wilson’s first MCU big-screen appearance as Steve Rogers' successor after receiving the suit and shield in Phase 4’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie returns as the titular Avenger alongside Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumby as Isaiah Bradley, and Tim Blake Nelson as The Incredible Hulk’s former ally Samuel Sterns. Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.
