Dive deep into the hidden details, Easter eggs, and subtle references in "Captain America: Brave New World"! From character origins to unexpected connections, we're breaking down the most intriguing moments you might have overlooked in this epic Marvel adventure.
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00:00Either you can't see that, or you don't want to.
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at references,
00:05small details, and other stray observations you might have overlooked
00:08in Captain America Brave New World. Naturally, there will be spoilers.
00:13Is there anything you remember?
00:14Number 15. Ross's New Look
00:17When Sam Wilson meets the recently elected President Ross,
00:20he points out the former general's new look.
00:22Thanks for coming in.
00:23I thank you for the invite, sir.
00:25I have to admit I'm still getting used to the new look.
00:28Ross shaved his signature mustache to secure his victory,
00:31although this isn't the only thing that's different.
00:33William Hurt originated the MCU's incarnation of Thunderbolt Ross in 2008's The Incredible Hulk,
00:38going on to play important roles in Captain America Civil War and Black Widow.
00:43Don't worry about me. We got Barton, we got Wilson,
00:47and the other guy, the incredible shrinking convict.
00:50Rogers is on the run. We got no friends.
00:53Where you gonna go?
00:54Although Hurt was eager to see his character become Red Hulk,
00:56his death in 2022 prompted Marvel to recast with Harrison Ford inheriting the role.
01:02While the mustache line serves as a cheeky in-joke,
01:05it's also an appropriate political move,
01:07seeing how every sitting U.S. president has adopted a clean shave since 1913,
01:12excluding Harry Truman during a brief vacation in 1948.
01:16They said either lose the mustache or lose the election.
01:20Number 14. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier characters
01:23Those who slept on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier likely won't recognize
01:27a few characters who play key parts here.
01:29Tell me I don't make your old gear look brand new.
01:31Who's saying that?
01:32Everybody. Everybody is saying that.
01:34With Sam stepping up his cap, the Falcon mantle has been passed on to Joaquin Torres.
01:38A fellow Air Force veteran who provides backup against the Flag Smashers,
01:42Torres earns his wings by the miniseries' penultimate episode.
01:45Torres is poised to help Sam rebuild the Avengers,
01:48which may allow him to finally meet Ant-Man.
01:51Brave New World also brings back Isaiah Bradley,
01:54another super soldier wrongfully imprisoned for three decades.
01:57Bucky, meanwhile, is doing better since starting therapy.
02:00In fact, he's a future congressman,
02:02which will tie into the events of Thunderbolts,
02:05according to co-star Wyatt Russell.
02:06We guess Bucky is a wartime congressman.
02:09Is that Bucky?
02:12It's a winter soldier.
02:14That guy is so cool.
02:15Number 13. The relevance of cherry blossoms
02:19Ross associates cherry blossoms with his daughter Betty,
02:22reminiscing about how they were planted around her favorite spot in Washington, D.C. growing up.
02:26Director Julius Ona has described the cherry blossoms as a symbol of empathy,
02:30ultimately motivating Ross to put his country before his legacy
02:33and rebuild a bridge to his estranged daughter.
02:35The symbolism goes beyond Ross, however.
02:38The Japanese government donated cherry trees to the U.S. in 1912 as a sign of friendship.
02:42Today, the annual blooms bring out more than a million visitors.
02:47It's beautiful that we can share this with so many nationalities and so many people,
02:50and it's a great thing.
02:52In 2024, Japan sent Washington an additional 250 cherry trees,
02:56replacing the ones destroyed during a restoration project.
02:59In Brave New World, America finds itself at odds with Japan.
03:03The cherry blossoms highlight the history between these two nations,
03:07which have repeatedly moved past their differences.
03:09The world is on the brink of war.
03:14It's my job to fix it.
03:17Why Steve Rogers Doesn't Appear
03:20The last time we saw an aging Steve Rogers, he entrusted his shield to Sam.
03:24How does it feel?
03:28Like it's someone else's.
03:33It isn't.
03:34We thought Brave New World might clue us in on what the OG Cap has been up to since retiring,
03:39although his whereabouts remain a mystery.
03:41It was implied at the beginning of Spider-Man Far From Home that he died,
03:45although this was likely a ruse so Rogers could live a private civilian life
03:49during his final years.
03:50Gone, but not forgotten.
03:52Thanks to Keenith Lim and Veehan Ramamurthy for their help with that.
03:55In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,
03:57Torres mentions a rumor that Rogers is hiding on a secret moon base,
04:00which honestly would not surprise us.
04:02While Rogers' name inevitably comes up in Brave New World,
04:05the film avoids working in a cameo,
04:08permitting Sam Wilson to prove that he can fly solo.
04:11You may be Captain America, but you're not Steve Rogers.
04:15Number 11.
04:16New Title Ordered
04:17In 2022, it was announced that the fourth Captain America film would be subtitled
04:22New World Order,
04:23sharing the same name as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's pilot.
04:27Basically, they think that the world was better during the blip.
04:31Trust me, it wasn't.
04:33Trust me, every time something gets better for one group, it's worse for another.
04:37The term New World Order has come up numerous times throughout political history,
04:41especially during periods of war.
04:44That's likely what Marvel intended to reference,
04:46although New World Order has also been linked to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories
04:50popularized by people like Alex Jones.
04:53I mean everything I say when I'm being serious,
04:57and more and more I'm serious probably 95% of the time.
04:59Marvel changed the title to Brave New World in June 2023,
05:03mere months before the Gaza War commenced.
05:05With reports of anti-Semitism rising in the U.S.
05:08and many questioning the direction the country is heading in,
05:11it's safe to say a title like New World Order
05:13would have proven even more controversial in 2025.
05:28Thaddeus Ross isn't the first president in Harrison Ford's filmography.
05:31He famously played the fictional President James Marshall
05:34in the 1997 thriller Air Force One.
05:42Brave New World resists the temptation to repeat any lines
05:45from that Wolfgang Peterson film,
05:46although it does incorporate a nod to Ford's previous stint as president.
05:50Heading overseas to discuss the treaty,
05:52Ross naturally finds himself aboard Air Force One.
05:55Russian terrorists might not be hiding in plain sight,
05:57but Ross does find himself being tormented by an invisible enemy
06:01who can't be so easily kicked off his plane.
06:03Get off my plane.
06:11In 2014, Kevin Feige claimed that the third Captain America film
06:15would be subtitled Serpent Society.
06:17This confused many fans who assumed a Civil War movie
06:20would be the next logical step.
06:21I'm doing what has to be done to stave off something worse.
06:26They were right to be suspicious,
06:27as Feige later brought out Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.,
06:30confirming the real title.
06:32That said, the Serpent Society is a criminal organization in the comics.
06:36Just over a decade after Feige teased audiences,
06:39Serpent Society makes its MCU debut in Brave New World.
06:44Captain America caught without his wings.
06:48While only a side villain here,
06:50we can expect to see more of Giancarlo Esposito's Seth Volker.
06:53As Sidewinder, Volker's comic counterpart gains teleportation powers,
06:57making him hard to incarcerate.
06:59Maybe that's what Volker meant when he told Sam he'd escape from prison.
07:02I think the guys pushing the buttons to try to get people to look in a new direction
07:07is a fun character to play.
07:09He has a reason.
07:10He's informed by information that you don't have.
07:15Captain America Brave New World is just as much a sequel to The Incredible Hulk.
07:20Bruce, I don't understand why we can't just go in there together and talk to him.
07:25He told me what he wanted to do.
07:28He wants it out of me.
07:30He wants to dissect it so that he can replicate it.
07:32Granted, Bruce Banner is nowhere to be found,
07:34but Thaddeus Ross's actions in that film are finally catching up to him
07:38more than 15 years later.
07:40Ross's pursuit of the Hulk cost him his relationship with his daughter Betty,
07:43who we haven't seen since.
07:46It's okay.
07:55Yes, Betty popped up in What If?,
07:57although that was an alternate version of her.
07:59She was also voiced by Stephanie Panicello,
08:01leaving us to wonder if Liv Tyler would ever reprise the role.
08:04Just when you thought a phone call would be the extent of Betty's presence,
08:08Tyler appears on screen toward the end
08:10following one of the longest hiatuses in this franchise.
08:13I always wondered secretly if I was still Betty Ross
08:16because I didn't hear any news for a long time.
08:21Brave New World shares more than a few parallels
08:24to Captain America The Winter Soldier.
08:26But if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary,
08:33you need to keep both eyes open.
08:36Both films find Captain America caught up in a conspiracy
08:39involving a brainwashed friend, an assassination attempt,
08:42correct political figures,
08:43an organization named after a snake,
08:45and a black widow.
08:46To be fair, The Winter Soldier borrowed heavily
08:49from classic conspiracy thrillers like Three Days of the Condor.
08:52Leave the area.
08:53All right, well, what, do I come into headquarters now?
08:56Negative. Find a secure location.
09:00Where?
09:00Avoid any place you're known. Do not go home.
09:03Do not go home.
09:05Surface again in two hours and call the major.
09:08Likewise, Brave New World looked to clear and present danger,
09:12which also starred Ford.
09:13The leader spends much of the film hidden in the shadows
09:16like Deep Throat in All the President's Men.
09:18It might share the most in common with The Manchurian Candidate,
09:21another film where a Korean war veteran is brainwashed
09:24in a plot to kill a presidential nominee.
09:27You couldn't have stopped them.
09:28The army couldn't have stopped them, so I had to.
09:30Number six, The Leader at Last.
09:33Betty Ross isn't the only Incredible Hulk character
09:35who makes an overdue comeback.
09:37Played by Tim Blake Nelson,
09:38Dr. Samuel Stern sought to help Bruce Banner.
09:41It's Mr. Blue, isn't it?
09:44Mr. Brain?
09:48I've got to tell you, I've been wondering
09:50if you were even real.
09:52During a lab accident though,
09:53Stern's DNA mixed with Banner's,
09:55setting the stage for him to mutate into the leader, eventually.
09:59Of all the seemingly abandoned MCU subplots,
10:02The Leader arguably lingered in limbo the longest.
10:05Let's assume you don't understand a word I'm saying,
10:09but if you'll just get back on the table,
10:14I can fix this.
10:20Sterns did appear in the Avengers prelude comic, Fury's Big Weak,
10:24having a run-in with Natasha Romanoff.
10:26He also briefly popped up in the Thor Ragnarok prelude comic miniseries.
10:30Brave New World marks Nelson's first on-screen appearance as Sterns since 2008.
10:35After being under Ross's thumb all these years,
10:38Sterns uses his intellect to get his revenge.
10:42Number five, New Origin for Red Hulk.
10:45Ironically, Red Hulk made his comic debut in 2008,
10:48the same year the MCU's first Hulk movie came out.
10:54The comics initially kept Red Hulk's true identity a secret
10:58before revealing Ross as the man behind the rage in 2010's World War Hulks.
11:03In another twist, Betty is exposed as Red She-Hulk during that storyline.
11:07Thaddeus willingly made this transformation to stand a chance against Bruce Banner's Hulk,
11:12receiving aid from the advanced idea mechanics and intelligentsia.
11:15In Brave New World,
11:17Ross learns that Sterns has been poisoning his heart medicine,
11:20setting the stage for him to become Red Hulk.
11:22I knew he got big.
11:24I knew he got mean.
11:27I knew he got red.
11:29That's all I needed to know.
11:31Although the film ends with Ross locked up in the raft,
11:34it wouldn't be surprising if he embraced Red Hulk again with new threats coming.
11:38Number four, Ruth Batsaraf changes.
11:41Emmy-nominated actress Shira Haas joins the MCU as Ruth Batsaraf,
11:45or Sabra as she's known in the comics.
11:47While Batsaraf is badass in both versions, there are some major differences.
11:52What do we know?
11:53There were five shooters.
11:55This was a coordinated terrorist attack, sir.
11:58In this film, she's a former Black Widow
12:00who has since become President Ross's head of security.
12:03Her comic counterpart works for Mossad,
12:05Israel's actual secret service, and possesses mutant abilities.
12:09The MCU's interpretation of the character doesn't have any superpowers, yet.
12:13Her Israeli background is preserved,
12:16but it's downplayed likely due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
12:19Haas was notably born in Israel, her family being Polish-Jewish.
12:23Despite the controversy surrounding her character,
12:25Brave New World does its best to address life-world conflicts
12:29while maintaining Batsaraf's most important traits.
12:33Number three, who was Celestial Tiamat again?
12:36Along with The Incredible Hulk,
12:38Brave New World is something of a stealth epilogue to Eternals.
12:41It is a side effect of the Emergence.
12:46The Emergence?
12:48It is time for you to learn the true purpose of your mission.
12:52You were sent to Earth to bring forth the Celestial Tiamat.
12:57In that 2021 film, our heroes rally to stop Tiamat the Communicator,
13:01a Celestial bound to destroy Earth.
13:03Cersei manages to turn Tiamat into marble with his corpse in the Indian Ocean.
13:08That said, the Eternals left a huge mess behind
13:11that humanity was bound to stumble across.
13:13While the incident was alluded to in She-Hulk, Attorney at Law,
13:16the MCU has otherwise tiptoed around the giant head and hand sticking out of the ocean.
13:21Until now.
13:22Not only does Tiamat's defeat factor into Brave New World,
13:25but it paves the way for some potentially game-changing discoveries.
13:32Much of the plot in Brave New World revolves around
13:34Ra's trying to secure a treaty over the world's most valuable element,
13:38Adamantium, which was discovered at Tiamat's gravesite.
13:44This is the same metal alloy that enhanced Wolverine's skeleton and retractable claws,
13:49making him practically indestructible.
13:52After Deadpool and Wolverine,
13:53it seemed like Marvel might keep Hugh Jackman around for the long haul.
14:00Whether or not they're really waiting for him to turn 90,
14:02the introduction of Adamantium perhaps means that a new Wolverine is waiting in the wings.
14:07Wolverine isn't the only Marvel character who has used Adamantium either,
14:10possibly setting us up for Cyber or Lady Deathstrike.
14:13It'll be interesting to see how this impacts Wakanda
14:16now that there's an alternative to Vibranium.
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14:33During the post-credits scene,
14:34Sam visits an incarcerated Stearns.
14:37Although Captain America won this round,
14:39Stearns tells Sam that others are coming from another universe.
14:42Who is Stearns referring to?
14:44Well, we can probably cross off the Council of Kings.
14:47Stearns' vague omen might pay off in the Fantastic Four first steps,
14:51which takes place in an alternate universe.
14:54With the arrival of Galactus,
14:56the Fantastic Four may flee to Earth-616.
14:58If they cross universes,
15:00who's to say Galactus won't follow?
15:02Or Doctor Doom for that matter.
15:03Just as Robert Downey Jr. is returning in a villainous role,
15:06it's been theorized, yet not confirmed,
15:09that Chris Evans could appear in Avengers Doomsday as an evil Captain America.
15:13Whatever's coming,
15:14it's a brave new world in just a few minutes.
15:17And while we're on the subject,
15:19is there anything we missed?
15:21Let us know in the comments.
15:22But what you've accomplished has given me reason to reconsider.
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