By Collier Jennings
Thread
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
Manage Your List
Follow
Followed
Follow with Notifications
Follow
Unfollow
Link copied to clipboard
Probably the worst-kept secret about Captain America: Brave New World is that Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) will become the Red Hulk at some point in the film. It was shown in the teaser trailer, in exclusive footage shown at D23, and at the tail end of a video celebrating Marvel's 85th anniversary. The question on everyone's minds — or the viewers who aren't avid comic readers — is how Ross becomes the Hulk. The accident that transformed Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) into the Hulk was a massive fluke, and it's not like someone has spare gamma bombs lying around. There's also the fact that Ross hated the Hulk with a passion, chasing Banner to the ends of the earth in The Incredible Hulk. Ross' transformation in the comics is the end of a road laced with tragedy, and connects to one of the villains in Brave New World's narrative.
Thunderbolt Ross Becomes Red Hulk Because of Grief and Rage
Prior to transforming into the Red Hulk, Ross and Banner had actually buried the hatchet, as Banner had married Ross' daughter Betty. But Betty was mysteriously murdered one day, and all signs pointed to Banner as the culprit. Banner immediately went on the run to clear his name (while Ross once again pursued him with furor) but they both learned that Banner's gamma-powered foe was the culprit in The Incredible Hulk #473 by Joe Casey and Javier Pulido. Shortly after clearing his name, Banner is then tricked into boarding a satellite by the Illuminati, and shot into the far corners of space. Without the Hulk to chase down or a daughter to come home to, Ross was at a low point.
Related
Wolverine makes his Superman run seem… not so super.
2
Then he was approached by the Intelligencia, a cabal of evil super geniuses. The Intelligencia offered Ross a deal: if he let them transform him into a Hulk, they'd resurrect Betty. In the fallout of the World War Hulk storyline by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr., the Intelligencia took advantage of Iron Man using a series of satellites to drain the Hulk's gamma radiation and beam it into Ross, transforming him into the Red Hulk. Ross then uses his newfound powers to exact vengeance on the Abomination and battle a multitude of Marvel heroes before he comes face to face with Banner and Betty, who had been resurrected as Red She-Hulk by the Intelligencia.
One of the Intelligencia's Members Plays a Key Role in 'Captain America: Brave New World'
Despite being a Captain America movie, Captain America: Brave New World is slated to bring back characters who appeared in The Incredible Hulk: most notably Liv Tyler as Betty Ross and Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns, aka the Leader. Sterns' appearance isn't just a big deal because it marks his first appearance since 2008, but because the Leader is a prominent member of the Intelligencia. In fact, it's due to his work that the Ross family are transformed into Red Hulks. The Brave New World footage shown at D23 and San Diego Comic-Con hinted at a mysterious mastermind activating sleeper agents, which could fit with the Leader's M.O.; he's also hired other villains to do his work for him, which is where Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder and the rest of the Serpent Society can factor into the narrative.
The Leader isn't the only member of the Intelligencia to appear in the MCU. The group of evil geniuses includes M.O.D.O.K., who made his first appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Doctor Doom, who is set to be played by MCU alum Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Like his appearance in the comics, the Red Hulk could be the precursor to darker forces working behind the scenes in the MCU.
Captain America: Brave New World
Fantasy
Adventure
Action
Sam Wilson, now fully embracing his role as Captain America, faces political and personal challenges as he works to rebuild the Avengers. When a mysterious new threat emerges, Wilson must navigate alliances with former adversaries and uncover secrets that could alter the course of the superhero team forever.
- Release Date
- February 14, 2025
- Director
- Julius Onah
- Cast
- Anthony Mackie , Harrison Ford , Danny Ramirez , shira haas , Giancarlo Esposito
- Main Genre
- Superhero
- Writers
- Dalan Musson , Malcolm Spellman
- Studio(s)
- Marvel Studios
Captain America: Brave New World flies into theaters on February 14, 2025.