Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters this weekend, and marks Anthony Mackie's cinematic debut as Captain America.
Starring alongside Mackie in the new MCU movie are Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Giancarlo Esposito, and more. Brave New World runs just under two hours long, and packs that time with story.
So far, the movie has seen mixed reviews, ranging all the way from entirely positive to entirely negative.
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Captain America: Brave New World Plot Spoilers
The rest of this article will feature spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.
Opening Sequence + Mission for "The Package"
After foregoing the classic Marvel fanfare introduction, Captain America: Brave New World begins with the election of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford) as president. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is seen reacting to the news.
Skipping to several months later, viewers see Captain America (Mackie), with help from Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) on a mission. They keep discussing an elusive "package" that they have to retrieve.
After discovering several hostages — hostages being held by one of the movie's villians, Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) — Sam agrees to let Torres join him on the mission in Sam's former Falcon suit. Eventually, the package is secured and the hostages are free.
Training with Isiah Bradley
Torres talks about how he really wants to learn how to be Falcon, so Sam brings him to Baltimore in order to train with Isiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who fans first met in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ (along with his nephew Eli). While Sam and Isiah demonstrate how the training will work, Sam is interrupted by a phone call from the president.
In honor of their successful mission, Sam and Torres are invited to the White House — an invitation Sam only accepts once an invitation is extended to Isiah as well. Having been wrongfully imprisoned for so long, Isiah was hesitant about accepting the invitation, but Sam convinced him to go.
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The Visit to the White House
At the White House, Ross proposes to Sam that they work together to rebuild the Avengers. Sam brings up how he and Ross have tended to disagree about how best to handle situations in the past (referencing the events of Captain America: Civil War), and does not accept or reject the proposal, yet.
Ross then gives a presentation, explaining that "The Package" contained Adamantium, a powerful new element discovered on "Celestial Island" (what they are calling the giant celestial who emerged from the Indian Ocean in Eternals). Several world powers — including the United States and Japan — have been fighting about who has rightful ownership of the land, and its Adamantium.
As Ross gets ready to explain a treaty (which he discussed at the gravestone of his late wife) that would theoretically allow for fair distribution of Adamantium, Isiah abruptly stands up and shoots at Ross. Others join him, and the room erupts into chaos. After chaotic fighting and chasing, Sam finds Isiah outside with no memory of what happened. Nonetheless, Isiah is arrested.
Sam Tries to Free Isiah
Sam storms into the White House, and demands that Ross let him fully investigate the situation and release Isiah. Ross does not allow this, and instead hands full authority over the situation to his head of security, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), who Sam distrusts.
Sam visits Isiah in prison, knowing that there was no way Isiah would do what he did. Isiah describes that his phone was acting oddly right before the attack, and reiterates that he has no idea what happened. Sam promises Isiah he will get the older man out of prison, but Isiah tells him to move on.
Sam vs. Sidewinder
Immediately, Sam begins his own investigation, unaware that Ruth was keeping an eye on him and the situation too. Sam wonders if what was clearly some kind of mind control had anything to do with a short, unintelligible sound that played right before the attack, comparing the situation to Bucky's Winter Soldier trigger words.
Before he can move forward with that, though, Sidewinder wrecks the car Sam was driving. The two fight — Sam doing so without his gear, improvising with the tools around him — and eventually Sam comes out on top.
He and Torres continue investigating, and find out about a suspect place called Camp Echo 1. It is difficult to trace, and signals do not go in and out. The duo decide to go there and see what they can find out.
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Attack at the Prison
Meanwhile, a mind control attack at the prison left all the people mind controlled to be involved in the assassination attempt dead, except Isiah. The song "Mr. Blue" by the Fleetwoods can be heard from the walkie-talkies of those who were mind controlled.
Ruth takes Isiah to solitary, arguing it is for his own safety. Before she can continue, though, she learns from Ross that Camp Echo 1 was discovered, and that she has to drop everything.
Camp Echo 1
Sam and Torres successfully sneak into Camp Echo 1, which they soon learn is the base of operations for The Leader, Samuel Sterns.
They discover that the "Mr. Blue" song, along with the flashing lights that Isiah saw on his phone (remember, he noted his phone was acting odd) are what trigger the mind control. Sam also finds that Sterns has lots of pills for Ross, and takes some with him to investigate.
They meet the Leader, and learn that after the events of the Incredible Hulk (in which Sterns ended up injected with some of Bruce Banner's blood), Ross kept him locked up, upping the levels of gamma radiation, as the blood he was injected with gave him super intelligence. Then, they have to fight their way out of the camp, with the Leader mind controlling various guards to stop them from leaving.
Eventually, Ruth shows up and helps them escape. The trio heads to a base where Sidewinder is being imprisoned, and he and Sam exchange information for a relaxed sentence.
The U.S. vs. Japan on Celestial Island
As Ross tries to put the planned treaty about Adamantium back together, the Japanese reveal that "The Package" from the beginning of the movie was actually Japanese Adamantium, stolen by the United States in order to publicly give some of it back — as in, to look like peace, while truly being deceptive. Ross, though, seems legitimately surprised by this.
Getting angrier, and being taunted over the phone by the Leader, Ross finds himself on the brink of war with Japan. His inability to understand, as the Leader puts it, that he is being played, combined with the inciting of violence by two mind-controlled members of the U.S. military, leads to Japan officially fighting back. Sam and Torres then arrive, intending to de-escalate the situation.
Sam and Ross have a conversation, and Ross reveals that he kept Sterns locked up because Ross was dying, and needed treatment that only Sterns could provide. Without Stern able to keep making Ross pills that would save his life, he would not live long enough to try and reconcile with his daughter Betty.
Sam and Torres jump in to try and de-escalate the situation with Japan, while. Sterns starts goading Ross over the phone. Sterns intends to make Ross mad enough that he Red-Hulks out (it is here when audiences learn that the pills Sterns has been giving Ross have contained more and more gamma radiation over time, giving Ross his Hulk powers).
Back outside, Sam and Torres make it clear that they are not trying to attack the Japanese, and that they want to protect Japan from the mind controlled fighters who continue to attack. The situation calms, Ross does not Hulk out, and all-out war is avoided. But, Torres gets knocked out of the sky in the process.
Key Conversations After Celestial Island
A few heartfelt and important conversations are had throughout the time Torres spends in the hospital in critical condition.
First, despite years of denying involvement in the movie, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes reunites with Sam, and the two have a heart-to-heart. They discuss whether Sam was right to not take the super soldier serum, if re-building the Avengers is the right move, and Bucky's political future.
Then, Ruth and Sam discuss next steps — while the immediate situation is resolved, there is still more to do and learn.
Sam then speaks with Sterns, where he learns that Sterns never necessarily wanted actual war between the United States and Japan, but instead wanted to rile Ross up so much so that the world would see him the way Sterns does (as in, as a red hulking monster). Still, Sterns is arrested and brought to the Raft.
Finally, Ross and Betty reconnect over the phone, and decide they will take a walk at some point and catch up.
Red Hulk Smashes
During a press conference, Sterns communicates with Ross through the speakers in the garden he is in, and finally riles the man up enough that he Red Hulks out.
He fights Captain America in an extended sequence where Sam truly does hold his own. It seems to culminate in Sam allowing as much force as possible to seep into the Vibranium in his gear that he sends out a massive concussive blast, knocking himself, ideally Red Hulk, and everything else nearby.
Still, when Sam wakes up, Red Hulk has not been subdued. So, instead of fighting him — he even admits that they both know Red Hulk could knock him out with one hit — he takes a page from his counselor handbook and talks to him. Sam reminds Ross of his daughter, and calms him down with a memory he shared about seeing D.C.'s cherry blossom trees together.
Ultimately, Ross is taken to the Raft, after he admits wrongdoing and takes responsibility — a choice Sam praises him for making. Betty comes and visits him in the Raft too, and the two decide to sit and talk to one another.
Planning for the Future
As Captain America: Brave New World concludes, Sam talks to a recovering Torres about the weight of responsibility he feels, to which Torres responds that he wants that too.
Sam tells him that he is planning to re-build the Avengers like Ross suggested, and encourages him to prepare to be Falcon when he does.
He also saw to it that Isiah was freed from imprisonment, just like Sam promised he would be.
Finally, in a post-credit scene, the Leader (from the Raft) warns Sam that there are other worlds out there more dangerous than this one — seemingly setting up Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
