General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and the Leader, both of whom originally appeared in The Incredible Hulk, are returning to the MCU – and that makes Marvel’s the Hulk failure worse. In surprising news, Marvel announced that Tim Blake Nelson will reprise his role as Samuel Sterns, a.k.a. the Leader in Captain America: New World Order. In addition to the Leader’s return to the MCU, Thunderbolt Ross will also be revisited, now played by Harrison Ford, as part of Marvel Phase 5. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and both of those unexpected character returns should in theory make the Hulk’s future in the MCU more exciting, yet it does not seem like Marvel is truly fixing its Hulk problems.
In the comics, Marvel villains are rarely restricted to a “superhero corner” only. In other words, Norman Osborn isn’t just a Spider-Man villain but also an Avengers villain. The same can be said about several other characters, including Thunderbolt Ross and the Leader. However, the chore of Red Hulk and the Leader is that they are Hulk villains – characters whose stories only make sense when Bruce Banner or the Hulk are involved somehow. Considering that both Thunderbolt Ross and Samuel Sterns appeared first in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, their MCU stories are already tied with Bruce Banner. As such, it is difficult not to think of all the MCU’s Hulk failures now that two of the Hulk’s most important villains are about to return.
Phase 4 Began The MCU’s The Incredible Hulk Fix
Thunderbolt Ross and the Leader are only returning in Phase 5, but Phase 4 already began the MCU’s The Incredible Hulk fix. After years of ignoring the events of The Incredible Hulk, which starred Edward Norton and not Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, the MCU revisited its first and so far only Hulk movie two times during Phase 4. The first was in Marvel’s What If…? season 1, episode 3, “What If…The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” The What If…? episode retold the events of Nick Fury’s Big Week in a different universe – one in which Hank Pym wanted revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. A portion of The Incredible Hulk was reenacted in What If…? episode 3, except that Bruce Banner was redesigned to resemble Mark Ruffalo.
MCU Phase 4’s second The Incredible Hulk callback was Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. the Abomination. The villain surprisingly returned in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and while the character’s design looked different, it was very much the same Abomination who fought the Hulk in New York. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which was expected to revisit the Hulk’s MCU story, better explained what was behind the Abomination’s curious Shang-Chi return. While Emil Blonsky’s role in She-Hulk was more comedy-focused, the show did answer a few of The Incredible Hulk‘s mysteries. For example, the show revealed that Emil Blonsky had spent all those years in jail and had learned how to control the Abomination transformation. She-Hulk even featured a quick Hulk versus Abomination rematch, though it was more of a comedic moment.
Phase 5 Is Bringing The Leader & Thunderbolt Ross Back
Ever since She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was announced, audiences speculated about possible Red Hulk or the Leader appearances on the show. She-Hulk was clearly aware of it and played with those expectations throughout the show. For example, once the mysterious villains tried to steal She-Hulk’s blood, there was an easy presumption that Thunderbolt Ross or another character would become the Red Hulk at the end of the show. Not only did Red Hulk not appear in She-Hulk, the show made fun of those Red Hulk theories in one of Jennifer Walter’s fourth-wall-breaking moments. She-Hulk also adapted Marvel Comics’ Intelligencia, but instead of a supervillain team led by the Leader, it was actually an internet board led by trolls.
Still, the MCU is indeed bringing Thunderbolt Ross and Samuel Sterns back – just not as part of the stories of Bruce Banner or Jennifer Walters. Instead, it seems like Red Hulk and the Leader will be general MCU villains who will oppose not only the Hulk but also other Avengers like Captain America. In fact, so far, there is nothing to indicate that Red Hulk and the Leader will face the Hulk in MCU Phase 5. Both Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross and Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns are confirmed to appear in Captain America: New World Order. Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross is also expected to appear in Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
Why Marvel Is Separating The Leader & Red Hulk From Hulk’s Story
Movie distribution rights issues with Universal prevented Marvel Studios from giving The Incredible Hulk a sequel, meaning that the “Hulk-corner” of the Marvel universe had to be sidelined. With the Hulk only appearing in Avengers movies and as a supporting character in the stories of other heroes, such as in Thor: Ragnarok, there was just not enough time to develop Bruce Banner – let alone the Hulk’s villains and supporting characters. However, characters like Red Hulk and the Leader are way too important to the Marvel universe in the comics to be left out of the MCU.
With the X-Men and the Fantastic Four now part of the franchise, the MCU can be more comic-accurate than it ever was. Therefore, it cannot afford to ignore key villains like Red Hulk and the Leader. However, after the entire Infinity Saga went by, the Hulk’s MCU story now little has to do with Thunderbolt Ross or Samuel Sterns. For example, while Thunderbolt Ross appeared in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Black Widow, the character’s only Hulk connection was a brief mention of “Banner” during a meeting with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War. Whereas the Hulk’s role in the MCU continues to be disappointing, MCU Phase 5 seems to have big plans for Red Hulk and the Leader.
Marvel’s Hulk Problems Make The Leader & Thunderbolt Ross’s Returns Less Exciting
Between the Hulk not joining the fight in Avengers: Infinity War and Smart Hulk now seemingly being the default version of the character, it’s clear Marvel lost track of who the Hulk is as a character. Exploring the different dynamics between Bruce Banner and the Hulk is an interesting approach that also comes from the comics, but moving away completely from the angry, unpredictable warrior Hulk is a mistake. From Avengers: Infinity War onward, the MCU has essentially forgotten the Hulk and has only featured Bruce Banner. The Hulk’s best stories ask for both Bruce Banner and the Hulk to be involved, which is why the MCU’s current approach to the Hulk is so underwhelming.
Without the Hulk really being a part of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, at least so far, the return of the Leader and the prospect of Red Hulk appearing are far less exciting. Obviously, having the Leader and Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: New World Order means that they will be much more than just Hulk villains, but still, their returns would have a bigger impact if the Hulk was still a major player in the MCU. Marvel Studios’ current version of the Hulk is the calm, wise Bruce Banner who even made amends with Emil Blonsky. As such, it is unlikely that the appearances of the Leader and Thunderbolt Ross in MCU Phase 5 are heavily tied with either Bruce Banner or the events of The Incredible Hulk.