Warning! This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.

Captain America: Brave New World

is a story which draws inspiration from the Marvel Comics, but this Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

entry has distinct differences to the source material. As the MCU gets firmly into the latter half of the Multiverse Saga, the storylines have all diverged. Where the Infinity Saga saw the heroes coming together, the Multiverse Saga has marked a period of division and confusion regarding heroes, and who will fight for the Earth.

After Steve Rogers retired from his role as Captain America, he pᴀssed the shield to his dear friend Sam Wilson, and Sam has since stepped up to become the new Cap. And while Captain America: Brave New World certainly shows Sam’s potential to lead a new team of heroes, it also spends a lot of time introducing a wide range of new and returning characters in the MCU. And with all these additions, there are plenty of areas where the film stands apart from the comics.

10

Samuel Sterns’ Leader Has Mutated In A Very Different Way To The Comics

One of the biggest differences that can be immediately seen in Brave New World is the appearance of Samuel Sterns, aka, The Leader. Played by Tim Blake Nelson, Sterns initially appeared in the MCU in The Incredible Hulk in 2008. However, the last time he was seen, Sterns was lying on the ground with a head wound, in which gamma irradiated blood from Bruce Banner was slowly dripping in and mutating his DNA.

This was a clear setup for The Leader’s arrival, and while the MCU took decades to deliver on the tease, the character did not appear as people anticipated. Usually, The Leader is green, with a large head that contains his mᴀssively enhanced brain. In Brave New World, the brain is slightly larger than normal, and appears to be protruding from Sterns’ head, while his skin is a translucent gray-green color, and one of his eyes has glazed over.

9

Ruth Bat-Seraph Is Working For The United States President In The MCU

In the comics, Ruth Bat-Seraph is a popular superhero also known as Sabra. Sabra works for the Israeli Secret Service, and is often viewed as an Israeli counterpart to Captain America. However, in the movie, her nickname is never mentioned, and the character is not working in collaboration with the Israeli government, but serving as a head of security to the newly appointed President Thaddeus Ross.

Evidently, her affiliation and allegiance to America over Israel drastically alters this character. While Sabra is usually a beacon of hope and an incredibly powerful hero from another side of the world, she is now a highly trained agent of the US Government, and appears to have no great allegiance to a nation such as Israel, or the Jewish heritage typically seen from the character in the comics.

8

Ruth Bat-Seraph Was Trained In The Red Room As A Widow

This takes us back to Bat-Seraph’s origin story. In the comics, she is born a mutant, and possesses powers similar to Captain America in terms of enhanced strength, speed, stamina and endurance. She also has the ability to sometimes share her powers and life force with others. However, in order to keep the story grounded, the MCU has drastically altered Bat-Seraph’s origins.

In Brave New World, Bat-Seraph was trained and reared in the Red Room, the same awful training grounds that produced powerful heroes like Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. This means, from a young age, Bat-Seraph was trained to be an ᴀssᴀssin, with no ᴀssociation with Israel. What happened between her childhood in the Red Room, and her ascent to become the President’s head of security has yet to be seen, but it’s clear that it will be a drastic departure from the comic books.

7

Thaddeus Ross Transforms Into The Red Hulk Thanks To Pills

Another origin story that has been significantly altered is that of the Red Hulk. In the comics, the Red Hulk was originally a mystery character. They arrived and caused immense chaos and destruction, but it wasn’t until years later that the true idenтιтy of this character was revealed to be Thaddeus Ross. Due to The Leader experimenting on Ross with gamma radiation combined with cosmic energy, Ross was transformed to become the Red Hulk.

In the MCU, The Leader is still responsible for making Ross into the Red Hulk, but, rather than using cosmic energy, The Leader has laced pills with gamma radiation. Over many years, The Leader has given Ross these pills to help him recover from another illness, while quietly poisoning him with the radiation that would eventually see him transform. And when he first transforms, the entire ordeal is incredibly public, which means his idenтιтy is in no way concealed.

6

The Serpent Society Is A Team Of Ordinary Mercenaries

The Serpent Society is not a huge part of Marvel Comics, but they do go back as far as 1985. This group of highly skilled mercenaries all have mutations, powers, and codenames that relate to snakes, making them a group of snake-themed villains. But when it came time to bring them into the MCU, the Serpent Society underwent major changes.

In Brave New World, characters like Sidewinder, played by Giancarlo Esposito, were introduced after the movie had already begun filming, with the characters being added in reshoots. And the impact in the film on the Serpent Society is felt strongly, with these characters largely being absent, or being ordinary mercenaries for hire. There is no snake theme, and more often than not, it’s just Esposito playing Sidewinder, with the other Serpents somewhere off-screen.

5

Sidewinder Has No Powers Or Mutations

Yet, even in the case of Sidewinder himself, the character is very different from his comic book counterpart. Seth Voelker started life in comics as a professor of economics in 1980. Then, when he loses his position as an educator, Voelker transitions to a role as a financial analyst for the corrupt Roxxon Oil Corporation. However, he was not working for Roxxon long before he underwent a major transformation.

Voelker underwent experimental surgeries which granted him the ability to teleport, and caused mutations that resulted in him resembling a snake. Thus, Sidewinder adopted the nickname, and he used his new powers as a way to help criminals in getting out of tough spots. He then proceeded to form his own group of villains in The Serpent Society.

4

Adamantium Is Being Harvested From The Body Of A Celestial

One of the pivotal elements of Captain America: Brave New World was the discovery of Adamantium. Having reached the now frozen Celestial in the middle of the Indian Ocean, several nations, such as Japan and the USA began conducting research on Celestial Island, which led to the discovery of a new metal with unique properties that could revolutionize several industries around the world; Adamantium.

Adamantium is also present in the comics. However, the material is a metal alloy which is a closely guarded secret held by the US Government. This was the material in the comics which is used to create Captain America’s shield, and the same metal which is infused with James Howlett’s skeleton, taking him from a powerful mutant with a healing factor into the lethal Weapon X, aka, Wolverine. In the MCU, the origin is clearly alien in nature, which could make this material more similar to the material that formed Thor’s hammer, or Vibranium, which also came to Earth on a meteorite.

3

The Winter Soldier Is Running For Congress

One surprise appearance in the film features James Buchannan Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. While in the comics, Bucky has a similar journey to what has been seen in the MCU over the course of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, his path has diverged over his more recent MCU appearances. In the comics, Bucky was the one to take up the mantle as Captain America first after Steve Rogers, though Steve returns and Sam eventually takes over the role.

But as seen in Brave New World, Bucky is getting a whole new storyline with the former brainwashed ᴀssᴀssin who worked for HYDRA for decades now running for congress. This story is unlike any for the character in the comics, but it will certainly play a part in shaping his future in the Thunderbolts* movie and beyond.

2

Sam Wilson Doesn’t Have Any Powers

One of the biggest parts of Brave New World’s story goes into defining Sam Wilson as Captain America, and why he makes sense despite having no powers. In his scene with Bucky, his old friend drops an incredible line about how Steve Rogers was someone that people could believe in, but Sam Wilson, an ordinary man, is someone that people can aspire to be like. As a result, Sam’s character arc is defined by his normalcy, and his ability to stand up for others without having some special gift.

But in the comics, Sam Wilson is actually a superhero. Thanks to radiation from the Cosmic Cube, Sam develops the ability to communicate with birds telepathically. Similar to Ant-Man, he uses these creatures to aid him in battle, and to conduct special missions. In fact, Redwing, the robot sidekick Sam has in the MCU, is a real bird in the comics. None of that has made it into the movies, and with the MCU doubling down on how normal Sam is a hero, it would be a mistake to alter his powerset now.

1

Sam Wilson Is Set To Form A New Team Of Avengers