Despite featuring several emotional scenes and delivering a moderate success for the MCU, Captain America: Brave New Worldis a film held back by its well-documented flaws. Between neglecting the character development of Anthony Mackie's Captain America and not taking full advantage of Red Hulk's (Harrison Ford) powerful potential, Marvel's first major release of 2025 fell flat in several ways. With the film's recent release on streaming, however, it's more apparent than ever that one of the reasons Brave New World feels so underwhelming stems from its handling of the Leader, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). While Mr. Blue's reappearance is long overdue after being teased at the end of The Incredible Hulk, Sterns' role in Brave New World is ultimately frustrating because it suffers from a recent villain trend undermining the MCU.