The last time we saw Dr. Samuel Sterns played by Tim Blake Nelson, he was just on the cusp of becoming the super intelligent villain The Leader in the first Incredible Hulk movie with Edward Norton. Since then, radio silence. That is, until D23 when it was confirmed the character would be returning for the next installment of Captain America. Fans weren’t sure if this villain set up was going to ever be paid off, but now that we know he will be returning the next question is, what is he going to look like?
In the comics, The Leader has intelligence equivalent to the Hulk’s strength. Both characters were exposed to gamma radiation, and while it made Bruce Banner impossibly strong, it also made Dr. Samuel Sterns impossibly smart. This version is a decently watered down compared to the comic version:
The Funko Pop shows Samuel Sterns as the full fledged villain, but to be fair the design is rather simple for a character that should look as visually different like The Leader. This version shows the character in normal clothes, a brown trench coat, and green skin. Nothing too crazy in terms of the look. The original version has a very distinct, overly large green head that makes him look alien. For fans of DC Comics, he almost looks like the Green Lantern villain, Sinestro, but with exaggerated alien features (even though the character is not an alien but a victim of gamma radiation):
Even in the Hulk movie, you see Sterns’ head begin to bubble which did allude to the character having the classic big headed look, but it seems like Marvel went in a different direction with it. The movie already includes Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk, so maybe they wanted to allocate all the CGI budget to him? Who knows. Either way, this new Anthony Mackie led Captain America movie is really starting to look like an Incredible Hulk sequel in disguise.
This isn’t the first time that Funko Pops gave us an early look at a Marvel character. It happens quite often actually, with the last time being as recent as revealing Aubrey Plaza’s character was actually Death in Agatha All Along. We still don’t know how the look of the character will translate to the big screen, but it seems like they went the safe route so while hardcore fans might be more inclined to want the large headed, alien looking version, this version most likely will be much easier for general audiences to digest.
Are you excited for The Leader in Captain America Brave New World? Do you wish he had the more classic, big headed look? Sound off on our social media!