I’m confused about why Marvel Studios has already made a huge change to a new Captain America: Brave New World hero in the MCU, ignoring an important part of their history in Marvel Comics. Captain America: Brave New World marks Anthony Mackie’s first appearance as Sam Wilson since we saw him officially become the MCU’s new Captain America in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While he’s continuing Steve Rogers’ legacy as the Star-Spangled-Man, I’m also excited to see Sam Wilson forging his own path and acquiring new allies in Brave New World.

Captain America: Brave New World’s impressive cast brings back age-old MCU characters, such as Samuel Sterns’ Leader, Thaddeus Ross’ Red Hulk and Betty Ross, alongside some new faces. We also see Danny Ramires’ Joaquín Torres officially become the Falcon in Brave New World, while Sam Wilson will also find himself teaming up with Shira Haas’ Ruth Bat-Seraph, a.k.a. Sabra. In Marvel Comics, Sabra is an Israeli mutant, but her backstory has been completely changed for the MCU, and I don’t understand why Marvel Studios made this choice.

Sabra Will Not Be A Mutant In Captain America 4 & I Don’t Understand Why

Shira Haas’ Sabra Connects To Another MCU Franchise

Sabra’s inclusion in Captain America: Brave New World caused a huge amount of controversy, since the character is a member of the Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service, in Marvel Comics. Marvel Studios stressed early on that the character would be reworked in an effort to avoid promoting harmful stereotypes, and Brave New World producer Nate Moore has now revealed to Variety exactly how. I was a bit surprised to hear that Sabra is not a mutant in the MCU, however, and is instead a former Black Widow ᴀssᴀssin working for the United States government.

She’s Israeli, but she’s not Mossad. Now she works in the US government… We try to take the essence of a character but reinterpret it in a way that we find interesting… She’s no longer a mutant. She’s a part of the Red Room. You want to make the best version of a character – be honest to the roots of the character… We weren’t about to put her in a feather boa and have her throw diamond earrings at people, but we did like [her] atтιтude… We’d been wanting to work with Shira Haas for a while. She’s so talented, she’s so unique, both in her look and her performance style. We thought this was the perfect marriage.

While I love seeing more characters connected to the mythology of 2021’s Black Widow, which ended with Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova freeing the Black Widow ᴀssᴀssins from Dreykov’s mind control and heading out to free more, I’m unsure about the removal of Sabra’s mutant idenтιтy. This is a huge part of her character in Marvel Comics, and I’m unclear about why she couldn’t have been both a mutant and a Black Widow. There’s only one reason I can think of why Marvel would remove Sabra’s mutant-hood, and it spells bad news for her in Captain America: Brave New World.

Sabra’s Mutant Idenтιтy Is Important In Marvel Comics

Sabra Is A Formidable Hero In Marvel Comics

Ruth Bat-Seraph made her Marvel Comics debut in 1980’s The Incredible Hulk #250 as Marvel’s first female Israeli superhero. She has often been the subject of controversy, as she has been negatively regarded by Palestinians and Arabs for valorizing the Mossad. This commentary is incredibly relevant in today’s geopolitical climate regarding the Gaza-Israel conflict. However, this makes Sabra’s live-action debut in Captain America: Brave New World a controversial concept to begin with, but this could have been given greater meaning had she retained her Marvel Comics backstory as a mutant.

Because of her mutant physiology, Sabra has abilities including superhuman strength, stamina, reflexes, speed and agility, while she is also able to transfer her powers and life energy to others. She also heals faster than the average human, and I would have loved to have seen these powers in action in the MCU. In Marvel Comics, Sabra is involved in the Operation: Zero Tolerance, Civil War, Secret Invasion and Secret Empire storylines, and even fights alongside the X-Men, and I think it’s a shame that Shira Haas’ version of Sabra won’t have this opportunity in the MCU.

Captain America 4 Could Have Introduced Mutants To Even More MCU Characters

Mutants Are Still Very Low-Key In The MCU

Marvel Studios gained the rights to integrate mutants into the MCU after the finalization of Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, and, since then, several mutant characters have been seen in the MCU. Not enough, however, as the existence of mutants is still more-or-less unknown, though Marvel boss Kevin Feige has promised that this will soon change. By retaining Sabra’s Marvel Comics origin, I reckon Captain America: Brave New World would have been the perfect place to make mutants public, but I don’t think this will happen now.

Sabra working for the United States government as a mutant would have been a huge plot thread to unpack in Captain America: Brave New World, as it would have suggested that the government trusts these superpowered individuals. With the MCU’s X-Men reboot on the horizon, and only Ms. Marvel and Namor being confirmed to be mutants in the MCU’s main continuity, it’s high time Marvel started introducing the much-anticipated series into the MCU en mᴀsse. Brave New World‘s grounded storyline and debut of adamantium presented the perfect opportunity, but it’s now been missed.

Sabra Not Being A Mutant Spells Bad News For Her In Captain America 4

Sabra May Not Survive The Events Of Captain America: Brave New World

Marvel Studios is gearing up to put much more focus on mutants and the X-Men in Phase 6 and after the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion. This makes me think that Sabra could have had a more prominent role in the MCU, had she been kept a mutant. However, the fact that this origin has been changed makes me think that Marvel doesn’t have plans to include her in the MCU’s upcoming mutant-centric storylines, which has me convinced she won’t survive the events of Captain America: Brave New World, following in the footsteps of other one-and-done MCU characters.

It’s undeniable that Sabra’s debut in Captain America: Brave New World has caused controversy and concern. This response to a character’s introduction is surely something that Marvel Studios doesn’t want, particularly when the studio is trying to build back its stellar reputation after several Phase 4 and 5 projects performed less-than-admirably. I can easily see Shira Haas’ Sabra being killed off in Captain America: Brave New World so that Marvel doesn’t need to face this kind of controversy in future MCU projects, which could explain why her mutant idenтιтy was also removed.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

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  February 14, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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