Marvel Studios will release the first solo outing of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as the new Captain America of the MCU with Captain America: New World Order in 2024. With each passing day news and updates on the film continue to emerge. And with each of them, fans around the world began to speculate on the potential plot of the film. Does all this refer to the famous Marvel comic series – “World War Hulk”? Let’s analyze.
The boss
Samuel Stern’s transformation into the Incredible Hulk
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Marvel Studios has always sidelined The Incredible Hulk of 2008 in its MCU canon ever since Ed Norton’s Mark Ruffalo redesigned The Hulk. However, this will soon change. One of the many Easter eggs left by the infamous film was the introduction to the origin of one of Marvel’s formidable villains: The Leader. According to Kevin Feige’s announcement at this year’s D23 Expo, frontman Tim Blake Nelson (aka Dr. Samuel Sterns) will star in the upcoming Captain America: New World Order. He will be joined by Sam Wilson, Joaquin Torres and the franchise’s first live-action Israeli superhero, Sabra, played by Shira Haas.
In the comics, The Leader is a fictional villain superhero who debuted in Tales to Astonish # 62 (1964). Originally known as Samuel Sterns, he was working as a janitor in Idaho when he was accidentally exposed to gamma radiation. As a result, he was mutated into a super-intelligent, green-skinned entity. Calling himself the leader, he embarked on a criminal career. In his subsequent transformations, his skull transformed into the shape of an oversized brain. In his live debut, Dr. Samuel Sterns is portrayed as a Harlem university professor, secretly helping Bruce Banner to control his Hulk transformations. At the end of the film, Sterns is exposed to Bruce’s blood, which caused his skull to expand.
Love at first sight Ross
Harrison Ford
Among the many actors who played the role of General Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross, the late William Hurt played the character in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Sadly, the Oscar-winning actor passed away on March 31, 2022, at the age of 71. He appeared in L’Incroyable Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, et Black Widow. Since then, fans have been concerned about the character’s future in the MCU, until now. However, it was recently announced by Deadline that Harrison Ford (from the hit Indiana Jones franchise) will take on the role of the new General Ross, starting with Captain America: New World Order in 2024.
Directed by Julius Onah, the film will continue the character’s journey through the MCU. In the comics, General Ross is a high-ranking military officer, first appearing in The Incredible Hulk # 1 (1962). He later transformed into a Hulk-like character, calling himself the Red Hulk. Like the Red Hulk, he too possessed immeasurable strength, endurance, durability, and speed. He also acquired skills such as radiation absorption and thermokinesis. In the comics, he is also a member of a group of supervillains called the Thunderbolts.
A much younger MCU
Hulk and Skaar dance She-Hulk
Looking closely, Marvel is slowly introducing younger counterparts into its Marvel characters –
- Captain America: from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson
- Iron Man: from Tony Stark to Riri Williams (IronHeart)
- Thor: Chris Hemsworth & Love (la fille de Gorr)
- Black Widow: from Natasha to Yelena Belova
- Hawkeye: From Clint Barton to Kate Bishop
- Black Panther: From T’Challa to Shuri (not confirmed yet)
A similar case was seen on the recently premiered Disney + show She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. The show didn’t just give us the origins of Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany). However, with her, the show also gave many more surprises, for example. Intelligencia, Daredevil and the son of the Hulk: Skaar.
Captain America vs. Hulk
In the acclaimed comic book series World War Hulk, the Hulk goes wild around the world against all superheroes and governments after learning that the Illuminati are responsible for the deaths of his wife and child while on the planet Sakaar. Universal Studios still owns the individual rights to the character, due to which Marvel Studios cannot feature the character as a solo character in their own film alone. He can only feature the Hulk as a secondary character in his movies or TV shows.
However, the subtlety with which the Hulk’s Skaar was introduced at the end of She-Hulk leaves open the question of whether the studio really has a meaningful plan for the character. As of now we have She-Hulk, Hulk, Skaar and now Red Hulk in the MCU. If you add two and two together and try to guess the plot of the film, you might see Sam Wilson’s Captain America collide. However, there has been no official confirmation as to whether General Ross will morph into his Red Hulk character in the film.
A successful plot for Chapter 4
Sam Wilson as the new Captain America
Let’s go completely crazy and try to guess what the plot of Captain America: New World Order might be.
Skar dies! Yes, you read that correctly. If Marvel isn’t really following the World War Hulk route in Chapter 4, then it will do something as big as his son’s death, to free the Hulk. Then, once Skaar dies, the government is blamed and the Hulk goes on a rampage against Captain America. Cap then goes to ask for help from General Ross (now retired, since the Sokovia agreements were dissolved). So Cap with Red Hulk and She-Hulk try to calm the Hulk down. Maybe we can even add the Abomination somewhere!
Meanwhile, taking advantage of all the chaos, The Leader attempts to overthrow the existing government and establish his own “New World Order” by further infuriating the Hulk. It is only very late in the film that it is revealed that the boss was behind it all and a climax battle begins between them.
Uff! It’s a heavy texture. And a story for sure a billion dollar movie. But this is all pure speculation from an innocent fan. But if Marvel decides to go that route, take my money now. Rest is only now.
Captain America: New World Order is expected to be released in 2024.
