With over 20 films in its lineup spanning over a decade of releases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is loaded with details that many casual viewers may miss, as they are often references to obscure comics.
However, there are also several easy to miss references to past movies in the more recent entries, some of which are blink-and-you-miss-it moments that are hard to find even on repeated watches. However, there is always an eagle-eyed fan who spots something that everyone else misses.
10 The Fake Infinity Gauntlet
In Thor: Ragnarok, Hela claims that the Infinity Gauntlet in Asgard is a fake before casually throwing it off of its pedestal. While this is played off for laughs, as the gauntlet loaded with all six Infinity Stones is quite clearly a fake, this is actually a meta-reference to the early films.
The gauntlet shown in the film is the original prop, which was made in error as a right-handed gauntlet rather than a left-handed one.
9 Black Panther vs The Rhino
Black Panther has many great action sequences, most notably the multiple challenges for the throne atop the waterfall. One scene that stands out for being somewhat ridiculous is the scene where T’Challa takes down a rhino, which is almost frame-for-frame ripped from the comic pages of one of Black Panther’s first stories, “Panther’s Rage.”
The entire fight sequence is one big call back to this comic story, though the rhino fight stands out as one of the most accurate.
8 New Asgard
Following the destruction of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is forced to find a new home for the handful of Asgardians left alive after Hela’s assault on their home. They settle down on Earth shortly after. In Avengers: Endgame, New Asgard is shown to be located in Tønsberg, Norway, though the significance of this location is less apparent at first glance.
Fans of Thor: Ragnarok will recognize this as the place where Odin claimed to be his home shortly before dying. However, it is also where Red Skull and Hydra finally found the Tesseract, the Infinity Stone that was most prominently used to give both Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel their powers.
7 Harley Keener’s Return
Although many people won’t recognize this character by name, he is most well known for his role in Iron Man 3 as the boy who helps Tony out when his house is destroyed and he is on the run from Cillian’s men.
Many characters from Tony’s past returned for his funeral at the end of Avengers: Endgame. One character hiding among the crowd that many people missed was Harley, who came back to bid Tony a final farewell following his death.
6 Howard The Duck
The lesser-known Marvel character Howard the Duck most notably appeared in the end credits scene of Guardians of the Galaxy, where he appeared alongside Cosmo as a part of The Collectors collection of creatures. This isn’t Howard’s only appearance in the MCU, however, as he returned not only for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 but also in Avengers: Endgame.
Howard the Duck appears behind The Wasp in the final battle scene after Wong and Doctor Strange open up portals to all of the different characters. Although it isn’t known how useful a talking duck would be during this final battle, Howard was at least present.
5 The Howling Commandos
Kenneth Choi, the actor who plays Jim Morita, one of the Howling Commandos in Captain America: The First Avenger, returned years later to play Principal Morita in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Although his name heavily suggests that he was descended from Jim Morita, it wasn’t until Far From Home that his theory was confirmed. The principal casually mentions that he keeps a photo of the Howling Commandos as a memento of his family.
4 Dr. Donald Blake
In older Thor comics, the Asgardian god hid his identity from the rest of the world under the name Dr. Donald Blake in much the same way as many other heroes of the past kept their identities a secret. Although the majority of the MCU heroes don’t keep their identities secret anymore, Thor’s old alter ego was at least mentioned in passing during his first movie.
After being given a fake I.D. by Jane who claimed that it belonged to her ex-boyfriend who was “good with patients, bad with relationships,” it is later shown to be none other than Donald Blake. S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly sees through the fake I.D. and learns Thor’s true identity.
3 The Little Red Button
A very niche reference to a non-Marvel film comes during the climax of Captain America: The First Avenger as Peggy and Steve chase down Red Skull’s plane. Just before the plane is able to outrun the car, Chester Philips, played by Tommy Lee Jones, presses the little red button to give the vehicle the boost it needs to catch up.
This button is also in Men in Black, which Tommy Lee Jones also stars in as the older mentor character and serves a similar purpose as in Captain America: The First Avenger.
2 Nick Fury And Pulp Fiction
After Nick Fury fakes his death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the audience is shown his headstone which reads “The path of the righteous man…”.
This is a reference to Samuel L. Jackson’s role in Pulp Fiction as Jules Winnfield, where he quotes the same line from the Bible to a man he is interrogating. The contents of the quote also fit with the story of The Winter Soldier quite nicely.
1 The X-Men Jet
Although the X-Men aren’t yet a part of the MCU, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been references to them throughout the years. While Scarlet Witch is the most obvious, there was another reference much earlier in Iron Man, where Tony is trying to outdo various jets in terms of altitude performance while testing the flight capabilities of his prototype suit.
One of the jets shown in the testing process is the Blackbird, a real-world jet that is also the same one used by the X-Men that they are somehow able to hide underneath a school.
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