Marvel’s Homage To Star Wars

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is a self-proclaimed Star Wars junkie. He recently said in an interview that he envisioned Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as its Empire Strikes Back. So in honor of a galaxy far, far away, Feige said, “Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase Two movie. Every single one.”

Here are some of the folks whose limbs didn’t make the cut in Phase 2: Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy), Thor (Thor: Dark World), Bucky (Captain America: Winter Soldier), Aldrich Killian (Iron Man 3),

(Photo: Marvel)

I Spy Captain America

Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were the first two films in the MCU, and they were packed with goodies. In a deleted scene from The Incredible Hulk (viewable on the DVD), Captain America can be seen in the lower left corner, frozen with his shield. It’s hard to spot, but it’s there.

(Photo: Marvel)

“The Path of the Righteous Man…”

Here’s one of the best blink-and-you-miss-it Easter eggs in any Marvel movie. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we are led to believe Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury dies. Etched on Fury’s tombstone is the passage, “The path of the righteous man…” which is in reference to Jackson’s famous quote from Pulp Fiction.

(Photo: Marvel)

“Sir, we’ve found him”

Post-credits scenes are a staple of the MCU, but most people don’t sit through credits. To us, that means those post-credits snippets count as Easter eggs. If you missed the tease after Iron Man 2, where Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, is finally found, then are you even really a Marvel movie fan?

(Photo: Marvel)

Howard The Duck

Guardians of the Galaxy largely omitted Easter eggs that tied it to the MCU, except during the Collector’s scene. One big payoff for fans was Howard the Duck. The duck, who had his own 1986 flick, also appeared in a post-credit scene. He was voiced by Seth Green.

(Photo: Marvel)

A Pixar Plug

This Easter egg is for the incredibly observant. Toward the end of The Avengers, ‘A113’ can be seen in the upper left corner. This is an homage to Pixar, which includes ‘A113’ in every film. The ‘A113’ refers to the CalArts classroom the original Pixar team shared.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Wasp Suit

One of Ant-Man‘s biggest Easter eggs came in a mid-credits scene that had Hank Pym reveal The Wasp suit to his daughter, Hope van Dyne. Die-hard fans who stayed for this excellent tease will have to wait for the sequel, Ant-Man and The Wasp, to see her in action.

(Photo: Marvel)

Captain America Comic

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark is rummaging through his father’s things when, for a moment, an original Captain America comic book can be seen.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Crimson Cowl

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the eponymous bad guy wears a red cloak, which is a call-back to his first comic book appearance as the Crimson Cowl in Avengers No. 54.

(Photo: Marvel)

Captain America’s Shield

Before getting his own movie, Captain America was relentlessly teased by Marvel. The biggest hints came in the first two Iron Man films, when a half-constructed shield can be seen behind Stark, and when Agent Coulson helps Stark balance out equipment with armor.

(Photo: Marvel)

It’s a Small World

While undercover as a security guard in Ant-Man, Luis (Michael Pena) whistles the Disney song, “It’s a Small World” to seem less suspicious. Of course, Disney owns Marvel Studios.

(Photo: Marvel)

Those Purple Pants Look Familiar

In a callback to the TV show, Bruce Banner is shown with the Hulk’s oversized elastic purple pants in The Incredible Hulk.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Leader Is Born

In The Incredible Hulk, some of the big-green beast’s blood drips into an open wound of Dr. Samuel Sterns. Sharp-eyed fans may conclude that the radioactive blood turns the doctor into The Hulk’s nemesis, The Leader, and they’re right, though he’s never called that in the film. Unfortunately, a true sequel was never made.

(Photo: Marvel)

Cosmo the Spacedog

That isn’t just a cute dog in a space suit. That’s Cosmo the Spacedog from the Marvel Comics. Cosmo, who is a telepathic space dog in the comics, makes a brief appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy.

(Photo: Marvel)

Nobody Puts A Chitauri In The Corner

Many will recognize the chitauri next to Rocket (in the Collector’s trophy case) in this scene from Guardians of the Galaxy. The chitauri, of course, are the aliens who invaded New York at the end of the first Avengers film.

The Hulk Makes The News

Toward the end of Iron Man 2, Tony Stark and Nick Fury are in the midst of discussing their future world-saving plans, when one of the screens flashes a report about a battle between the Hulk and Abomination.

(Photo: Marvel)

So That’s The Tesseract

Prior to becoming the all-powerful weapon seen in the later films, we see a glimpse of the Tesseract in an old Howard Stark notebook in Iron Man 2.

Cocoon: The Adam Warlock Story

The Collector’s trophy room also gave us a quick glimpse at what appeared to be a cocoon. But that isn’t an ordinary cocoon that the Collector hoards; it’s Adam Warlock’s. Warlock is rumored to be a big part of Marvel’s Phase 3 plans.

(Photo: Marvel)

The X-Men Plane

In the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is testing out his brand-new armor, when his display shows the plans of the X-Men’s SR-71 Blackbird.

(Photo: Marvel)

Stan Lee Cameos

Fans of the MCU can expect two things when seeing a Marvel flick: Post-credit scenes and Stan Lee cameos. Lee, who created many of our favorite superheroes today, makes a brief appearance in every Marvel movie.

Here’s a video of all of Lee’s cameos in any Marvel-related film.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Original Hulk

Mark Ruffalo might play Bruce Banner on the screen, but the voice and grunts of the Hulk are still voiced by Lou Ferrigno, the original Hulk from the CBS television series.

(Photo: Marvel)

Lou Ferrigno’s Cameo

In fact, Lou Ferrigno even made a cameo as a security guard in The Incredible Hulk.

(Photo: Marvel)

“Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”

When Tony Stark describes the newly-formed superheroes team as “Earth’s mightiest heroes,” it is a direct quote — the tagline The Avengers use in the comic books. On top of that, there’s a TV show by the name of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

(Photo: Marvel)

She Looks Familiar

Christine Everhart, the journalist from Iron Man, was actually a pre-existing character in the Marvel universe. But instead of working for Vanity Fair, Everhart works for the Daily Bugle … with a certain Peter Parker. Everhart has subsequently appeared in Iron Man 2 and a viral video, interviewing Ant-Man Scott Lang.

(Photo: Marvel)

The ‘616 Universe’

While Erik Selvig described the theory of the nine realms in Thor: The Dark World, many were looking at his chalkboard for Easter eggs. The “616 Universe,” the term Marvel uses for the specific universe that houses its superheroes, can be seen in the middle of the board.

The chalkboard also gives hints to the future of Marvel; the “Nexus of All Reality” could refer to a place where all the universes intersect.

(Photo: Marvel)

The O.G. Human Torch

In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes see an exhibit showing a red jumpsuit. The suit is a wink to the Human Torch, the first superhero created by Marvel Comics, then known as Timely Comics.

(Photo: Marvel)

I’m The Dude, Man

In the first Iron Man, Pepper Potts is looking through Obadiah Stane’s computer when she discovers some files that reference the famous Jeff Bridges character, Jeffery “The Dude” Lebowski. The Dude abides.

(Photo: Marvel)

“Journey Into Mystery” Billboard

Prior to the God of Thunder landing his own comic book, Thor was the star of the comic-book series “Journey Into Mystery,” a phrase that happens to be plastered on a billboard in Thor.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Infinity Gauntlet

Odin’s trophy room in Thor gave us a sneak peak into the future of Marvel. Asgard is home to the Infinity Gauntlet, which, when combined with Infinity Stones, gives the wearer control over the entire universe. It is the apple of the eye of Thanos in the MCU.

(Photo: Marvel)

“Next Time, Baby”

In Iron Man, Tony Stark’s confidante, Rhodey, lays his eyes on the War Machine’s silver prototype. As Stark flies off in his Iron Man suit, Rhodey gives us some foreshadowing by saying, “Next time, baby.” In the Iron Man sequel, Rhodey, now played by Don Cheadle, became the War Machine.

(Photo: Marvel)

Captain Winter Soldier

In two different instances, Bucky picks up and wields Captain America’s shield. This is a nod to the comic books, where, as the Winter Soldier, he takes over as Captain America. Could this also be a glimpse into a future in which Chris Evans hangs up the suit for good?

(Photo: Marvel)

The Avengers Tower

At the end of The Avengers, all the letters minus the ‘A’ have fallen off Stark Tower, which can now be viewed as the new Avengers Tower. Sorry, Tony.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Avengers HQ

And speaking of that: At the end of the first Avengers flick, Pepper Potts and Tony Stark lay out the plans for the new Stark Tower. If you look closely, you’ll see Iron Man has discarded those plans in favor of an Avengers Headquarters.

(Photo: Marvel)

Project Pegasus

In The Avengers, documents given to Tony Stark include mentions of Project 42 and Project Pegasus. Those refer to the comic book story arc from Civil War, where Stark builds a prison for villains called Project 42 over the old Project Pegasus site.

(Photo: Marvel)

Dr. Thor

In the comics, Thor goes by a human alias, Dr. Donald Blake. And in a brief frame from Thor, you can the Norse god’s human ID … with the name Donald Blake.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Ten Rings

The terrorist organization that kidnaps Tony Stark in Iron Man is called the Ten Rings. This, of course, is in reference to the ten rings used by the Mandarin in the Marvel comics. Mandarin was the villain in Iron Man 3.

(Photo: Marvel)

Did you say Whiplash?

While Iron Man is being chased in his first film, one of the fighter pilot’s call sign is Whiplash. Conscious or not, this was a nice nod to the comic book villain Whiplash, who was portrayed by Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2.

(Photo: Marvel)

The Evil Roxxon Corporation

Iron Monger, the baddie from Iron Man, wages a battle in front of the Roxxon Corporation. In the comics, Roxxon was the company responsible for the deaths of Tony Stark’s parents.

(Photo: Marvel)

Tony Stark, Secretary of Defense

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark facetiously tells Senator Stern that he’d accept the position of Secretary of Defense. In the comics, Stark actually becomes the Secretary of Defense.

(Photo: Marvel)

The World Tree

Before transforming into Red Skull, Johann Schmidt is in search of the Tesseract in Captain America: The First Avenger. The Asgardian origins of the powerful weapon are displayed behind Schmidt in the form of The World Tree.

(Photo: Marvel)

Obadiah Stane’s Chessmen

See that chess set? It’s an Easter egg. In Iron Man and the comics, Obadiah Stane is a big chess player. So big in fact, that he formed the sinister Chessmen to battle with Tony Stark.

(Photo: Marvel)