This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.Upon first viewing, some fans may leave Captain America: New World Order feeling a bit let down. The final confrontation between Sam Wilsons Captain America and President Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross in Red Hulk form featured prominently in commercials and posters, pretty much spoiling the big reveal. Yet, New World Orders connections to little-discussed MCU entries of the past, especially The Incredible Hulk and Eternals, and its important setup for Wolverine of the X-Men, mean that the movies ending isnt quite as simple as it seems.Worry not, True Believers! Weve got the full breakdown for you below.Red Hulk SmashThe Red Hulk reveal at the end comes as a surprise to no one, thanks to the trailers, but Rulks origin and legacy deserves some extra explanation. Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness created Red Hulk in 2008, with a series that kept the monsters identity a secret for years.As in the comics, the MCU Red Hulk is Thaddeus Ross, portrayed here by Harrison Ford, and as in the comics, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) aka the Leader is instrumental in creating the Red Hulk. The comics present Rosss transformation into the Red Hulk as a tragedy in which he becomes the thing he hates to finally destroy the Hulk. But in Brave New World, Ross becomes the Red Hulk because Sterns hides the formula inside of the Presidents pills.Brave New World ends with Ross restored to human form, contrite because of his actions, and Sterns in prison. Yet, as the Leader loves to remind everyone, hes always six moves ahead. He may very well have a plan to transform Ross once again in a future movieeven if Kevin Feige needs to replace the 82-year-old actor with yet another performer to play Ross.An Incredible ReunionCaptain America may have his name in the title, but Brave New Worlds emotional through-line focuses on Ross. Part of the reason that the Leader gets such access to Ross is because hes created a pill that diminishes the effects of the Presidents fatal heart condition. Ross needs the pills to stay alive, not the destroy the Hulkhis usual motivationbut to reconcile with his daughter Betty.Rosss imprisonment at the end of Brave New World is somewhat bittersweet for Ross. While hes locked away in the Raft, the same place where he sent Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) at the end of Captain America: Civil War (where Ross was played by the late William Hurt), Rosss willingness to take responsibility for his wrongdoing prompts Betty to visit him.Bettys arrival may confuse some viewers of Brave New World. Shes played by Liv Tyler, a fairly well-known actor, but the movie plays the moment as if we should recognize her character. We might, if we remember 2008s The Incredible Hulk, in which she played Betty, daughter of Hurts Ross and the love interest of Bruce Banner, then played by Edward Norton.Released just months after Iron Man launched the MCU in 2008, The Incredible Hulk regularly ranks toward the bottom of franchise rankings. For years, it seemed that Marvel wanted to forget about The Incredible Hulk, especially after it replaced Norton with Mark Ruffalo. But the franchise has slowly brought back elements and Bettys return fully restores the film in the MCU timeline.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Isaiah Goes FreeRoss gets the primary emotional arc in Brave New World, but the most sympathetic character is Isaiah Bradley, played with depth by Carl Lumbly. First introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bradley was one of several Black soldiers who became unwilling test subjects in a program to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that changed Steve Rogers into Captain America.Most of the subjects died, but Bradley thrived and was deployed on missions in Korea. However, when Hydra agents captured Bradley, the U.S. disavowed all knowledge, allowing him to rot in a prison. Even after returning to his home, Bradley carried a great deal of justified anger toward the American government, anger that slightly receded through his relationship with Sam.Early in Brave New World, Bradley becomes an unwitting would-be assassin, and thus gets sent back to prison, his worst fear. Thanks to the actions of Sam, his sidekick Joaquin Torres aka Falcon (Danny Ramirez), and Rosss new aide Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), Bradley is exonerated and released.As hopeful as Bradleys ending is, it does raise a question. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we also met Bradleys nephew Eli, played by Elijah Richardson. Eli doesnt appear in Brave New World, a strange decision given that Eli becomes Patriot in the comics, one of the founding members of the Young Avengers. Given how much Marvel has pushed the Young Avengers lately, Elis absence seems odd. However, if a Young Avengers movie or show does ever happen, Eli would likely be in it, and Bradleys arc in Brave New World will be relevant.Even more than Patriot, the absence of any Wolverine nods is really confusing. True, weve heard nothing so far about Marvels plans to cast a new version of Loganon the contrary, rumors have suggested that Hugh Jackman will continue playing the Canucklehead in the MCU, despite his characters apparent retirement in a different universe at the end of Deadpool & Wolverine.But the plot of Brave New World revolves around the Celestial Tiamut, who started to emerge from the Earth at the end of Eternals. Sersi (Gemma Chan) and her allies stopped Tiamut from fully hatching, leaving his body as a giant mass in the Indian Ocean. While every other Marvel entry completely ignored the fact that the head and hand of a dead god is sticking out of water, Brave New World finally acknowledges the oddity.In fact, the acknowledgement focuses on a supermetal found only on Tiamuts body, now called Celestial Island. That metal is adamantium, which President Ross describes as more versatile and powerful than even vibranium, the element that makes Wakanda so special.Ross almost didnt need to state out loud that comparison between vibranium and adamantium, because the movie shows the difference between the two metals. Early in the film, Sam reveals that his wings have vibranium in them, allowing better flight and resilience. However, Red Hulk easily rips them apart. Sure, Sam wins the day by shoving a shard of vibranium into Rosss chest and causing it to explode, but the point is clear. Vibrainum just doesnt cut it anymore.The brave new world that Captain America inaugurates requires a better metal, a metal like adamantium. That will become even more apparent when adamantium gets bonded to Logans skeleton, making Wolverine into an unbreakable hero.Captain America: Brave New World is now in theaters.