Before Mark Ruffalo took on the iconic role, 2008’s The Incredible Hulk laid the groundwork for Hulk’s worst enemy to eventually arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Leader. Samuel Sterns was a supporting character in the often overlooked Edward Norton-led installment within the MCU. A fellow scientist, he helps Bruce Banner try to understand and find a cure for his new condition after the accident that turned him into the Hulk. However, Sterns disappears from the film (and the remainder of the MCU) after he is exposed to the Hulk’s irradiated blood and begins to mutate. The final haunting image is that of Sterns’ head growing and mutating before he is never seen again, a thirteen-year-old loose end that may finally be tied up.
Who Is the Leader?
In the comics, Sterns’ accidental exposure to radiation gave him genius level intelligence, a literal giant head and the ego to match it. He used his brilliance to become a criminal mastermind and one of the greatest foes the Hulk has ever known. Though his story was not carried on in the MCU, he has remained a prominent comic book villain since the 1960s and recently got a major power upgrade in Al Ewing and Joey Bennett’s Immortal Hulk.
The One Below All, a creature without a mind of its own, is the ultimate personification of evil, destruction and hate, residing in the lowest point of reality called the Below-Place. Possessing only terrible desires, the One Below All wants to destroy all life in the multiverse so that it can be the sole presence remaining. After learning of this goal, the Leader sets out to help the One Below All end all life.
Though it is a creature of nearly unparalleled might, the One Below All can only manifest by possessing gamma-mutated beings, such as the Hulk. Despite his fear and protests, the Leader, a fellow gamma-mutated being, is possessed by the One Below All, imbuing the Leader with his powers and making him one of the most dangerous entities that the Hulk has ever encountered. As a host to a malevolent entity from the depths of Hell, Samuel Sterns could be a more threatening villain, with more power available to him than Thanos, even with the Infinity Gauntlet.
How the Leader Could Return in the MCU
While it’s unlikely that this most recent comic book storyline will be brought to life on the big screen, the Leader may finally be making his long awaited MCU appearance. The Avengers have faced the Mad Titan Thanos with all of the power of the Infinity Gauntlet, as well as other foes who have tested both their individual strength and that of the team, but they have yet to square off against a truly diabolical mad genius on the big screen. Samuel Sterns’ Leader would make a formidable opponent for the Hulk and all of the Avengers on a level they’ve yet to face.
The Abomination was the big bad of The Incredible Hulk. Hulk narrowly defeated him, but ultimately chose to spare his life in true hero fashion. This early Phase One villain has already been confirmed as a character in the upcoming Disney+ series, She-Hulk, however, he also made a surprising appearance in an underground fight club in a trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It has been confirmed that the cage match showed the Abomination facing off against Dr. Strange's fellow sorcerer, Wong, and he has since appeared on the latest poster for Shang-Chi. If the Abomination was able to escape S.H.I.E.L.D., then perhaps Samuel Sterns also escaped whatever fate befell him after his mutation. The return of the MCU’s first forgotten villain could suggest that the official arrival of the Leader, teased in The Incredible Hulk, may also finally be on the way.