Captain America: Brave New World propels the Marvel Cinematic Universe into a narrative rich with political intrigue, personal redemption, and hidden threats. As Sam Wilson fully embraces his role as the new Captain America, he confronts complex challenges that test his resolve and redefine heroism.
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The film’s conclusion delivers a series of impactful events, from President Thaddeus Ross’s transformation into the formidable Red Hulk to a post-credits scene that hints at looming interdimensional conflicts. In this article, we delve into the climactic ending of Brave New World, unpacking its significance and exploring how it sets the stage for future MCU storylines.
Spoilers For The Movie Ahead!
The Story Of Captain America: Brave New World
The story follows Sam Wilson as he is getting accustomed to his role as the new Captain America, working with the newly elected President Ross to solve international problems. The task the movie opens with is the recovery of a valuable mineral stolen from the Japanese government.
It is unclear if Sam is formally working for the American government or who founds his gadgets and weapons.
This mineral is adamantium, the apparent strongest mineral in existence. Its source is Celestial Island, the place where the celestial failed to emerge at the end of the Eternals film; it seems that whatever Sersei did to the celestial created this new mineral.
During a celebration of the successful operation at the White House, an attempt is made to kill President Ross. One of the would-be assassins is Isaiah Bradley, a friend of Sam who doesn’t even remember shooting at the President, claiming that he lost consciousness for a while.
Sam then conducts his own investigations to find out who is really behind the attack and how they forced Isaiah to do it. It turns out that the one behind it all is Samuel Sterns, a scientist Ross kept hidden for his own personal gain and survival.
Samuel Sterns’ Plan
Samuel Sterns was last seen in the movie The Incredible Hulk, where the gamma-radiated blood of Bruce Banner entered his brain and started mutating it. The mutation made Sterns a master of probability, able to know what will likely happen in the future thanks to math alone.
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Thaddeus Ross saw this potential and fed more radiation to Sterns, turning him into the creature he is today. It is likely that Ross used Sterns’ ability to predict the future to mold events in his favor, hence why he ended up becoming President of the United States.
Ross promised to release Sterns with a Presidential pardon should he be elected, but several months after the election, Sterns continued in captivity. This is why Sterns decided to take matters into his own hands, ruining Ross’ life, reputation, and integrity.
The Red Hulk
Since Sterns is a master of probability, he was already aware of the unlikelihood of Ross keeping his word, hence why he started to hatch a plan. He developed a method of mind control while also feeding small doses of gamma radiation to Ross via his heart medicine, so he could have others push Ross to the limit and make him transform into a monster.
Sterns hires the mercenaries from the beginning of the movie to steal the adamantium from the Japanese, knowing that Captain America will recover it. He then filtered information to the Japanese government to make it look as if Ross stole the adamantium in the first place, which placed both nations against each other.
It is likely that all the mind-controlled people in the movie were targeted by Sterns years ago, getting fed constant subliminal messages until they were activated via a song.
The final play by Sterns was to provoke Ross until he transformed into the Red Hulk, but Sam Wilson manages to stop that and the military escalations between Japan and the U.S.A. This forces Sterns to give himself up to the authorities as a final move to push Ross to the limit, shedding light into his shady deals during a press conference.
Sterns’ plan finally succeeds: Ross becomes the Red Hulk and starts a rampage. Beating impossible odds, Sam manages to stop Ross with a combination of skill, luck, and gear, ultimately calming him down with a last-minute speech.
The Ending
Ross steps down as the President of the United States, surrendering to the proper authorities and being incarcerated in the Raft.
Since we don’t know who the Vice President was, it isn’t clear who the current President of the United States is, something that might be revealed in the film Thunderbolts.
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After a brief conversation with Sam, Ross is then visited by his daughter, Betty, played by Liv Tyler. This is significant due to her role as the same character in The Incredible Hulk movie, giving closure to her plotline that started all those years ago.
For his part, Sam now decides that it is time for the Avengers to be formed once again, although their possible members aren’t clear. His conversation with Joaquin (the new Falcon) makes it evident that they will both be part of it, but we will have to wait to see the Avengers assemble again.
The Post-Credits Scene
Once the credits finish rolling, Sam visits someone else at the Raft, Samuel Sterns. It seems that Sam simply wishes to gloat about his victory, but Sterns isn’t all that bothered by being in the Raft, and in fact, he has a warning for the Captain.
Sterns claims that there are other worlds, with their own heroes, and that Sam isn’t ready for what is to come. The audience knows that the multiverse exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that upcoming films will deal with those topics, but it is strange that Sterns is aware of it too.
However, as a master of probability, it is possible that he calculated the chances of other universes being real, but he might know more about the upcoming threats. This might be more than a mere tease, with Sterns turning into a key figure for future plots in the multiversal wars to come.
