A Supervillain From Boise Could Appear In Upcoming Marvel Series

Marvel Studios is arguably one of the most successful film studios of all time. A lot of that success can be attributed to their creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) which weaves characters and storylines into one another in film and now in streaming thanks to Disney+. Marvel fans can be found pretty much everywhere, especially in Idaho. While Marvel fans are currently enjoying the series ‘Ms. Marvel' on Disney+ and preparing for ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ which hits theaters on July 8^th, Idaho-based Marvel fans have another reason to be excited come August.

On August 17^th, Disney+ will be releasing the new Marvel series ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ which takes place in the MCU. ‘She-Hulk’ will tell the story of Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who also happens to be the cousin of one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Bruce Banner… AKA Hulk. The series will likely dive deeper into the relationship between Banner and Walters while explaining how she is able to transform into She-Hulk.

While Mark Ruffalo made his debut as Hulk in 2012’s ‘The Avengers’, he wasn’t the first actor to play scientist turned hero, Bruce Banner in the MCU… which initially belonged to none other than Edward Norton. Norton starred as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Marvel Studios 2008 film ‘The Incredible Hulk’ alongside co-stars in Live Tyler, Tim Roth, and Tim Blake Nelson (more on him in a moment).

In the 2008 film, Norton’s Bruce Banner is on the run from the United States military as they try to capture him/Hulk. As General Ross (William Hurt) starts to get desperate, he provides a serum to one of his best soldiers, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) in hopes that he’ll have a Hulk-like creature of his own to capture Banner’s Hulk. Upon taking the serum, Blonsky morphs into a creature that is similar to Hulk but much more sinister-looking and goes by the name of “Abomination.”

Throughout the film, Banner (Norton) interacts with a character named “Mr. Blue” who is trying to find a cure for him to never turn into Hulk again. Towards the end of the film, we learn “Mr. Blue” is actually a man named Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) and it’s revealed he is trying to replicate the formula for his own gain.

Sterns finds himself in the middle of an attack which causes him to be exposed to “Hulk blood”, causing a transformation into a supervillain that is more of a “tease” than anything.

What’s The Connection to Idaho?

In trailers for the upcoming ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ series, we’re treated to a quick glimpse of Tim Roth’s character from the 2008 Hulk film which confirms he will be returning and appearing in the series. This could also mean that we’ll see Dr. Samuel Sterns return as the villain he morphed into in that 2008 film… a villain known as “The Leader.”

According to Marvel.com, the character of Dr. Samuel Sterns is from none other than Boise, Idaho and according to IGN.com, is ranked 63^rd in their Top 100 Comic Book Villains of all time. IGN.com shares in his bio that Sterns aka “The Leader” was working at a chemical plant in Boise and somehow was involved in an accident that exposed him to gamma radiation. It’s a bit different than the origin we saw in 2008’s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ but nonetheless, he goes on to become a formidable foe to Hulk.

With the trailers revealing that the villain, Abomination is returning from the 2008 film… could we expect to see what ended up happening to Dr. Samuel Sterns following his exposure to Hulk blood in the new She-Hulk series? Marvel has recently been on a hot streak of bringing back characters from previous films as we saw in the latest Spider-Man film and in ‘Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.’ It wouldn’t be crazy to think they’d bring back one of Hulk’s most formidable villains in ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’, especially with his origins already explained.’

If he does show up in the She-Hulk series, will we catch a glimpse or possibly get a reference to Boise, Idaho? We’ll find out more once the series debuts on Disney+ on August 17^th.