Captain America recap: everything you need to know before Brave New World

Ash Walker • 13 Feb 2025 Features

I can do this all day.

At this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe - spanning 35 films and dozens of TV shows - is a sprawling, interconnected tapestry that any sane person would have a hard time following. But as each successive film relies more and more on what came before, it’s becoming pretty essential to do your homework before heading to the movies.

There’s no need to sit through hours of superheroes, though. We’ve put together everything you need to know before checking out Captain America: Brave New World, in cinemas from 14th February. 

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Credit: The Incredible Hulk (2008) Official Trailer (Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers, YouTube)

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) - aka the Hulk - is on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of the US Government in the form of dogged General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross (William Hurt) and unhinged super soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth).

Trying to match the Hulk’s strength, Blonsky forces unscrupulous scientist Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) to pump him full of gamma radiation, ultimately becoming a creature called the Abomination.

During his transformation, Blonsky smashes a vial of Banner’s blood, which drips into an open wound on Sterns’ head, causing his cranium to swell alarmingly. This may or may not become important in Brave New World…

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Credit: Captain America: The First Avenger - Trailer (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

During World War 2, sickly, skinny Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is transformed into an unstoppable super soldier by a military experiment. He’s given the ultra-patriotic name ‘Captain America’ and quickly becomes the poster boy for the US war effort.

In a fight with super-fascist Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), Steve sacrifices himself to save the world, crashing a gigantic jet into the Arctic. Years later, a salvage team uncovers the wreckage and defrosts Steve, bringing Captain America into the modern world.

The Avengers (2012)

Credit: Marvel's The Avengers- Trailer (OFFICIAL) (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Steve Rogers teams up with various other heroes, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (now Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), to defeat the malevolent god Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his invading alien army.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Credit: Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Trailer 1 (OFFICIAL) (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Steve Rogers, now fully embedded in the modern world and leading top secret missions for superspy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., stumbles upon a far-reaching conspiracy. Turns out that Hydra, the Nazi offshoot led by Red Skull during WWII, has survived, and has infiltrated every level of the US government - including S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve goes rogue, hunted by his former colleagues and hell-bent on bringing down the corrupted intelligence agency. Along the way he goes up against a mysterious Hydra assassin called the Winter Soldier, who turns out to be his old pal Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), brainwashed and given a cool robotic arm.

He also teams up with a former soldier with experimental rocket-powered wings. A man called Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) - more on him later.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Credit: Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" - Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL) (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

After mopping up the remaining Hydra cells, two Avengers - Tony Stark, aka Iron Man and Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk - accidentally create an evil AI called Ultron (James Spader) which, after a quick browse on the Internet, unsurprisingly resolves to exterminate the human race.

During the final battle against Ultron’s robot hordes, the mechanical menace all but destroys the Eastern European city state of Sokovia. Sam Wilson is also there.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Credit: Marvel's Captain America: Civil War - Trailer 2 (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

When an Avengers operation in Lagos goes catastrophically wrong, the UN quickly drafts the Sokovia Accords: a bill named after the ill-fated city state from Age of Ultron, intended to regulate superhuman activity and spearheaded by the Hulk’s old nemesis Thunderbolt Ross.

Tony Stark, feeling guilty about unintended casualties (and probably for almost destroying the world with Ultron), signs on immediately. But our boy Steve Rogers refuses, concerned that any kind of governmental oversight would hinder the Avengers’ ability to help people in need.

The Avengers quickly split down the middle, and the two sides end up coming to blows in a Berlin airport.

However, it soon becomes clear that events are being manipulated by a former Sokovian spec-ops soldier called Zemo (Daniel Brühl), whose family were killed in the Ultron incident. Zemo leads Steve, Bucky and Tony to a Soviet base in Siberia, where he reveals in a shock twist that Bucky, brainwashed by Hydra, killed Tony’s parents.

Any chance at reconciliation is destroyed, and Zemo has exactly what he wanted all along - for the Avengers to crumble. Tony and Steve have a massive scrap, Steve’s unbreakable shield is broken, and the Avengers are no more.

Steve, alongside best buddies Bucky and Sam Wilson, breaks out those Avengers that Tony captured, goes on the run, and leaves Tony a way to contact him if he’s ever needed. You know, for any world-ending threats, like…

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Credit: Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War Official Trailer (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Thanos (Josh Brolin), a murderous alien despot, begins collecting the six Infinity Stones - ingots of concentrated power with control over the foundational aspects of the universe. This is bad, mainly because Thanos plans on wiping out half the population of said universe if he succeeds.

Spoiler: he does.

The Avengers, still splintered into several groups after Civil War, are no match for Thanos and his monstrous alien army. Half of all living things turn to ash - including both Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

Thanos, pretty happy with himself, goes off to live on a farm. He also destroys the Infinity Stones, so no one can undo his work.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Credit: Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame - Official Trailer (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Five years later. Tony Stark has had a kid. Steve Rogers runs a support group for people who lost loved ones to Thanos’ genocide.

Everyone has basically given up, until a random occurrence brings pint-sized hero Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) back from the Quantum Realm, where he’s been trapped for years. Seeing the devastation, Ant-Man has an idea - wouldn’t it be great if they could go back in time and undo what Thanos did?

The surviving Avengers agree.

Tony bashes out some time travel wristbands, gives Steve his shield back (now fixed) and the remaining heroes perform a ‘time-heist’, picking up the various Infinity Stones from across the timestream. They succeed, although a younger, angrier version of Thanos follows them back to the present and bombs the crap out of Avengers Compound.

But he’s too late - the Hulk brings back everyone who Thanos killed, and every single superhero comes together in a truly epic battle for the ages. Tony Stark sacrifices himself to use the Stones, one last time, to take out Thanos and his army.

Afterwards, Steve Rogers volunteers to travel back to the past, to return the stolen Stones to their proper places, and decides to stay in the ‘40s, where he finally reconnects with his lost love, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

Steve shows back up moments after he disappeared as a very old man, having lived out his entire life with Peggy. He hands the shield over to Sam Wilson, definitively choosing Sam as his successor as Captain America.

Eternals (2021)

Credit: Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Final Trailer (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

A lot of this (somewhat divisive) film isn’t super relevant to Brave New World, but there is one BIG plot point that you need to know about.

It’s revealed that the Earth is, essentially, an incubator for a colossal celestial being called Tiamut. Yep.

At the climax of the film, Tiamut begins to emerge from the Indian Ocean but is turned to marble by the combined powers of the Eternals. The immortal heroes have saved the world, but there’s still the corpse of a gigantic alien god sticking out of the sea - a dangling plot point that hasn’t been addressed… until now!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Credit: Official Trailer | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Disney+ (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Sam Wilson is struggling with the burden of being named Captain America by Old Man Steve. A struggle that isn’t helped by the US Government picking their own successor in decorated veteran John Walker (Wyatt Russell).

Sam falls back to his old Falcon persona and teams up with Steve Rogers’ other best mate, Bucky Barnes, and Sam’s fanboy assistant Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) to take on a terror group called the Flag Smashers.

After John Walker goes mad and publicly murders a Flag Smasher, he’s stripped of his title and shield, and Sam finally accepts his destiny. Armed with a new, Wakandan-made red, white and blue flight suit, Sam Wilson reveals himself to the world as the new Captain America.

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Credit: Captain America: Brave New World | Official Trailer (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Now established as the new Cap, Sam Wilson is drawn into a shadowy conspiracy. Torres is the new Falcon and Thunderbolt Ross (now played by Harrison Ford) is the President of the USA.

He’s also, somehow, a Hulk.

Not to mention that a new super-metal - adamantium - likely mined from the corpse of the celestial Tiamut, is causing political havoc. And that pesky Samuel Sterns is still knocking about in the background…

The stage is set for another explosive entry in the MCU. Find out what happens next in cinemas, from February 14th.