Marvel Legends figure spoils Red Hulk’s MCU origin story in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’

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We’re less than six months away from the release of Captain America: Brave New World. That means toys and other movie-related paraphernalia are only going to become more commonly seen out in the wild, with the most recent a new set of Marvel Legends figures.

Marvel Legends is one of the most popular toy lines created for the MCU, and with every new movie and show, fans get more to add to their collection. And, as long-time comic book fans will know, toy releases and merchandise usually gives us advance spoilers on what’ll happen in the movies they’re linked to.

During MCM Comic Con the first figures for Captain America: Brave New World were showcased and on the back of the Red Hulk box we got our first look at how exactly Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross will become the monstrous creature during the movie. The details were first shared in a post to Instagram shared by The Direct, and of course, there are spoilers to follow:

It seems Samuel Stern will be responsible for creating the Red Hulk in the upcoming Captain America sequel. This won’t be the scientist’s MCU debut as he, like Thunderbolt Ross, first appeared during the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk. No further details on Ross’s Hulkification were shared, just that the Red Hulk is a “monster of Samuel Sterns’ making.” The full text reads:

“A monster of Samuel Sterns’ making, Red Hulk is an incredibly strong and formidable foe. His skin radiates intense heat, burning everything he touches.”

We also now know Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns will become the villainous Leader at some point in the movie. The Leader can manipulate the minds of others which is likely how Ross becomes the Red Hulk, mirroring the creation of Abomination back in 2008. While the Red Hulk is an awesome character that fans have been dying to see on screen, it seems The Leader will be the primary antagonist.

Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns in 'The Incredible Hulk'
Image via Marvel Studios

In Marvel Comics The Leader and the organization known as Intelligencia were responsible for creating Red Hulk, so it makes sense that they’re sticking with the same idea in the MCU. Expect more information about these two characters to surface in the coming months as we approach the film’s release.

The other figures showcased didn’t reveal any extra information about the plot, but they did show unique character designs for Sam Wilson’s Captain America and the new Falcon character. Expect more characters to get figures soon.

Red Hulk is no longer a secret and from all the visuals we’ve seen so far it looks like he’s going to be just as cool as you would have imagined on screen. Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on Feb. 14, 2025.


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