Captain America: Brave New World Ending Explained

Sam Wilson, Thunderbolt Ross, and the Avengers enter a new era with the events of Captain America: Brave New World, and they will likely be crucial to the plots of subsequent MCU films. After nearly 20 years of development, Samuel Sterns' plans to avenge Thaddeus Ross come to a head just as the political stability of the world is in jeopardy. Samuel Sterns, also known as the Leader, carefully manipulates the strings to incite international conflict and turn the US president into a monster in front of the entire world as governments figure out how to take advantage of the discovery of adamantium.

Although he was able to change public perception and win the presidency, Captain America: Brave New World discloses that President Ross' involvement in the catastrophic battle in Harlem between the Hulk and Abomination has been made public. As the government-sponsored superheroes Captain America and Falcon, Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres have become more well-known. Though Samuel Sterns nearly destroys the reputations of Presidents Ross and Sam Wilson, kills Joaquin Torres, and starts a new world war, the world might be moving in a much better direction because of Captain America.

How Does Ross Fare? Is He Still the Red Hulk?

The US government logically decides to remove President Ross from office after his public transformation into the Red Hulk and the subsequent destruction of the White House. Although it appears that Captain America can clear Ross' name due to Samuel Sterns' capture and imprisonment, Ross' actions as Red Hulk are severe enough to call for his impeachment. Thaddeus Ross and Samuel Sterns are both imprisoned in the Raft, which is revisited in Captain America: Brave New World. Ross tells Sam Wilson that he knows what has to be done, even though he views his public Red Hulk transformation as a humiliating experience.

The Raft is an obvious alternative, given that a high-security prison in the middle of the desert was insufficiently secure to stop Samuel Sterns from influencing the outside world. Thaddeus Ross's Red Hulk transformation may not be entirely under control, as evidenced by the fact that he is also sent to the Raft. When Captain America looks into the pills Sterns made for Ross, it turns out that Ross has been accumulating gamma radiation from them. Ross appears to require the pills in order to survive the conclusion of Captain America: Brave New World. Therefore, Ross still runs the risk of turning into the Red Hulk if he gets angry for the time being.

Who Is America's Current President?

Thaddeus Ross' presidency must end, and Ross must be sent to the Raft, despite the fact that Captain America revealed Samuel Sterns' plots to the world. Ross's successor as US president is not revealed in Captain America: Brave New World. Since Captain America: Brave New World doesn't go into detail about how the US government handles the aftermath of President Ross' transformation into the Red Hulk, it's reasonable to assume that it follows protocol and lets Ross' vice president take over as president. However, it's odd that Ross's vice president doesn't appear in any scenes in Captain America: Brave New World.

The US now has access to adamantium thanks to the signing of the international treaty for the shared acquisition of adamantium, which avoided a global conflict despite Ross' regrettable incident. The next US president in the MCU now has a lot of power, regardless of whether Ross' vice president or another cabinet member takes over as president. In addition to being available for use in technology and defense, adamantium may also be useful tools for whoever makes the decisions going forward in areas like surveillance, disaster prevention, extraterrestrial immigration, and enhanced individual regulation.

What Takes Place With Samuel Sterns, The Leader

Up until Captain America and Falcon successfully defuse the confrontation between the United States and Japan on Celestial Island, Samuel Sterns' plans for retaliation go according to plan. Samuel Sterns decides to expedite the conclusion of his personal grudge against Thaddeus Ross and push him over the edge in order to unveil the Red Hulk to the world after being shocked by the unlikely failure of his plan. Sterns' last scheme works, but Red Hulk is stopped by Captain America before he can do any more harm. Samuel Sterns concedes defeat in the Raft after being apprehended by the authorities and having no way to control his captors.

Samuel Sterns has been researching more than just weapons, covertly modified medications, and plans for retaliation against Ross and the government, as the post-credits scene of Captain America: Brave New World reveals. Sterns makes reference to the multiverse and the imminence of catastrophic multiversal incursions, like the ones that Doctor Strange and Spider-Man escaped in Spider-Man: No Way Home, by threatening Captain America with other worlds that will struggle to survive when they clash with Sterns and Cap's own. The Leader may already know enough about the multiverse to forecast future MCU events, but he is unable to learn more about it at the Raft.

Who Will Be on the Team When Captain America Rebuilds the Avengers?

Captain America is not pleased with President Ross's personal request to bring the Avengers together because Ross was the one who created and attempted to implement the Sokovia Accords, which sought to govern and control the activities of all enhanced individuals and vigilantes. When Ross loses his temper and brushes off Cap's attempts to find the true perpetrator of Isaiah Bradley's assassination attempt on Ross, Captain America validates his suspicions. Nevertheless, Captain America sees the necessity of an official Avengers team and, as soon as Falcon is well enough to accept it, he shares his vision with him.

Captain America's call is more likely to be answered by certain heroes. In Captain America: Brave New World, President Ross and Samuel Sterns talked about their relationship with Bruce Banner, while Cap and Falcon made jokes about Ant-Man. Prior to his costarring role in Thunderbolts*, Bucky Barnes also appears in a cameo in Captain America: Brave New World. Thus, these individuals could be the first members of Captain America's next Avengers team. Current active newcomers like She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, and Daredevil may be granted Avengers membership before other well-known figures join the battle. Multiversal heroes like Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four might then be included on the team.

The Serpent Society and Sidewinder's Future

Seth Voelker, also known as Sidewinder, is employed by Samuel Sterns to trick Captain America and President Ross into carrying out his schemes. He has two violent run-ins with Captain America, one of which nearly ends in his death. After Sidewinder is neutralized by Captain America, he is taken to a private high-security base for negotiations. Cap declines Sidewinder's offer of complete immunity in exchange for his information on Samuel Sterns. After settling into his own cell at Allenwood, Sidewinder tells Captain America everything he needs to know about Sterns and ends the conversation by promising to leave eventually.

In Captain America: Brave New World, Sidewinder consents to collaborate with Captain America and alludes to potential criminal endeavors, most likely involving the remaining members of the Serpent Society, who have only just started to expand their burgeoning empires. Sidewinder may have escaped much earlier than anticipated because, oddly, Samuel Sterns attacks the base where he is temporarily detained shortly after. Sidewinder, played by Giancarlo Esposito, is likely to make a comeback in a future MCU project alongside other prominent Serpent Society members.

Where Are Ruth Bat-Seraph And Isaiah Bradley?

When Isaiah Bradley is imprisoned for his attempt on President Ross's life, he finds himself in a familiar circumstance. Sam Wilson clears Isaiah Bradley's name, ensures his release, and has all charges against him dropped after a torturous process that nearly results in his death sentence and solitary confinement. As a thank you for Ruth Bat-Seraph's assistance, Isaiah Bradley informs Sam Wilson at the conclusion of Captain America: Brave New World that he will be joining him at a sporting event. Because Ruth Bat-Seraph played a crucial part in eliminating Samuel Sterns, she is probably going to keep her job and stay in touch with Captain America.

From the Multiverse, who are the others?

Samuel Sterns warns Captain America that a much larger battle is coming in the post-credits scene of Captain America: Brave New World. Although the villain doesn't give a clear explanation, he hints that a conflict is unavoidable and that he has witnessed "plain as day" how worlds similar to theirs exist elsewhere. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, in which all Marvel universes will probably have to battle one another to survive catastrophic incursions that could end all timelines but one, are clearly hinted at by Samuel Sterns' menacing threat. The statements made by Samuel Sterns are a little unclear:

"It's coming. I've seen it in the probabilities, seen it plain as day. All you heroes protecting this world, you think you're the only ones, you think this is the only world. We'll see what happens when you have to protect this place... from the others."

Sterns' reference to "others" either implies that there are other heroes who will protect their own worlds or that there are alternate "worlds" or timelines that will soon collide, an event that has already been hinted at by earlier multiverse-themed games. The latter would function as a configuration of particular multiversal variants who will spearhead the effort to eradicate the others in their respective timelines. They could be full-fledged villains, such as a sinister group of malevolent Avenger counterparts led by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, or they could be real heroes pursuing their own agendas, such as Earth-838's surviving heroes and Earth-10005's X-Men.