Summary
Captain America: Brave New Worldhas hit theaters to mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. The 35th movie in theMarvel Cinematic Universesees Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson taking on the Captain America mantle, following in the footsteps of Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, as a mastermind emerges operating in the shadows and threatens global security. That mastermind is a character unseen in the MCU for 17 years: Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns. The character last appeared in 2008’sThe Incredible Hulk, when his blood was inadvertently cross-contaminated with Bruce Banner’s. It caused a mutation in his brain that gave him superhuman intelligence, presenting Wilson with a different threat than he’s used to dealing with.
Unfortunately, Nelson’s return to theMarvel Cinematic Universewasn’t glorious. Although the actor did his best with the material provided, his character’s scope and role in the story ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldwas underwhelming, and the practical effects used to create his cranial mutation, with his brain heavily exposed, were almost laughable. However, theMCU’sSamuel Sterns is far from irredeemable, and 2027’sAvengers: Secret Warscould be the movie to finally do him justice (albeit almost two decades after his first appearance).
The Practical Effects Of Samuel Sterns' Mutation Could Improve
Avengers: Secret Warsprovides Marvel Studios an excellent opportunity to make amends for Sterns' terrible look inCaptain America: Brave New World.
The beauty (for want of a better term, given its grotesqueness) of Sterns' mutation is that it can keep changing, so an appearance from the characterinAvengers: Secret Warscould drastically improve the cheap-looking practical effects used to portray it inCaptain America: Brave New World. Seriously, they were tragic. Rather than looking like a villain in a $180 million blockbuster movie, he resembled something that would look more at home in a 1980s episode ofDoctor Whoor as a pathetic underling of Lord Zedd inMighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Tim Blake Nelson requested practical effects inCaptain America: Brave New Worldso he and the rest of the cast could see firsthand how Sterns looked and interact with the character more authentically. It backfired, so there’s a chance he could be convinced to go down the CGI route if he was to reprise his role as the character in the MCU going forward, allowing Marvel Studios to make amends for the presentation of Sterns in the recent movie. The budget forAvengers: Secret Warsis likely to be monumentally big, so there’s no reason Sterns' appearance couldn’t be dramatically improved if he appeared in the film.
A Better Role For Samuel Sterns
Avengers: Secret Warswould present a perfect opportunity to give Sterns a more significant part than hisCaptain America: Brave New Worldrole.
Perhaps most importantly, Samuel Sterns appearing inAvengers: Secret Warswould present a perfect opportunity to give him the meatier role that, quite frankly, hisCaptain America: Brave New Worldappearance denied him and that MCU fans deserve. Sterns operating in the shadows meant Nelson’s screen time was limited, to say the least, but if the story ofAvengers: Secret Warsis anything like the 2015 “Secret Wars” comic book arc, he could play a much more prominent part.
In that story, Doctor Doom — whoRobert Downey Jr. will playin the movie — lords over a patchwork landscape called “Battleworld,” which comprises territories from different universes after a mass incursion. Each territory is led by a different baron working as an agent of Doom. That’s where Nelson’s Sterns could come in.
Sterns' expertise in mind control would make him a brilliant candidate to oversee a territory, ensuring its residents behave in a way Doom approves of (thematically, it would be great if it was a Hulk-themed island with Sterns in control of an army of rage-fueled brutes). It would also allow Nelson to be on the screen more, showcasing the acting talent that earned him a Critics' Choice Television Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role inWatchmenin 2020.
Of course, ultimately, as cool a role as that would be for Nelson, he’d still be working for the more powerful Doctor Doom, and having Doom manipulate a character as intelligent as Sterns would be a tremendous way to convey just how smart and powerful he is in the MCU. Think of it as similar to howThanos beat the heck out of the Hulkat the start ofAvengers: Infinity War. That didn’t make anyone lose any respect for the Hulk; it simply highlighted the Mad Titan’s might.
There’s no doubtMarvel Cinematic Universefans will find out in due course whether Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns will appear inAvengers: Secret Warsalongside countless other characters in its massive ensemble cast. The movie is scheduled for release in theaters on July 16, 2025.
