The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of little connections that can bind the overarching universe together in surprising ways. One of the earliest examples of this occurred in the original Thor film when Erik Selvig was tied to a prominent gamma scientist who had disappeared from the public after encountering S.H.I.E.L.D.
While a minor moment in Thor hinted that Erik Selvig had a connection to Bruce Banner before he became the Hulk, perhaps Selvig was actually referring to another character often associated with gamma radiation who’d been introduced in the MCU — Samuel Sterns.
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In Thor, after encountering the Asgardian prince in his new mortal form and bringing him to a hospital, Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and Darcy Lewis return to their make-shift lab to find Agent Phil Coulson and other representatives of S.H.I.E.L.D. taking all their equipment. Despite Foster’s angry pleas, Coulson refuses to back down and proceeds to take all of their equipment, giving Foster a check for her troubles. Selvig is the only reason Foster backs off, convincing her to allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to take their research. As the group ruminates over this turn of events later, Selvig reveals that he’d previously known a genius scientist associated with gamma radiation who had mysteriously gone missing as soon as S.H.I.E.L.D. became involved in his work, giving Selvig cause to fear the secretive organization.
The obvious candidate for that former colleague is Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk. By this point in the MCU, Banner’s attempts to use gamma-radiation to recreate the effects of the Super Soldier Serum had already resulted in his transformation into the Hulk, leading him to go into hiding. However, the primary group searching for Banner during The Incredible Hulk are members of the US Military, not S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. In fact, Black Widow suggests S.H.I.E.L.D. was purposefully avoiding Banner in Avengers and was actively keeping others off his trail, with respect to his destructive potential and desire to be left alone. If that’s the case, then it might not have been Hulk who S.H.I.E.L.D. interacted with — but another scientist.
Instead, perhaps this is referencing another major pioneer in gamma research from the MCU — Doctor Samuel Sterns, who also appears in The Incredible Hulk. Sterns’ age was seemingly closer to Selvig than Banner, so it’s more likely the pair actually had the chance to meet and collaborate on their research. Sterns saw potential in gamma power, working with Bruce Banner to try and suppress the Hulk while also attempting to replicate the Hulk transformations himself by utilizing blood samples sent by Banner, proving that Sterns genuinely was a genius with that kind of energy. He has also been suspiciously absent from the MCU since his first appearance, with his last moments on screen focusing on the gamma-irradiated blood affecting him as mysterious soldiers confront him over empowering Abomination.
The fact that The Incredible Hulk and Thor happen so close to each other in the actual MCU timeline actually makes this more possible — Sterns’ disappearance following a possible encounter with S.H.I.E.L.D. would then still be fresh on Selvig’s mind when the events of Thor occurred. While the previously established MCU timeline from Phase One hinted that Banner didn’t encounter Sterns until that conversation had already happened in Thor (as the events of two films occur largely around the same time period), the ever-expanding and changing MCU could have quietly retconned that fact. This wouldn’t be the first time the truth was revealed to be different than originally perceived.
If this theory were correct, then Selvig could actually be a key person to contact if Sterns were to ever actually reappear in the MCU. Given that Sterns became the dangerous and brilliant Leader in Marvel Comics, this makes Selvig the perfect person to try and reach out to Sterns if he were to ever go rogue — and give the Norweigan scientist a deeper connection to the greater Marvel Universe.