SPOILERS: CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - 10 Awesome Easter Eggs You May Have Missed
By now, you've no doubt already rushed out to see Captain America: Civil War, but did you manage to catch all of these hard to spot Easter Eggs, references, and reveals? Hit the jump to check them out...
I am of course talking about the Easter Eggs and references to the source material which are put there specifically for people like us to pick up on and enjoy, and Captain America: Civil War features a lot of them. Whether we're talking about the addition of characters from the comics who are very easily missed, nods to certain pieces of arwork and storylines, or just funny references and unexpected cameo appearances, these are easy to miss but extremely rewarding if you do manage to spot them.
So, regardless of whether or not you've seen it, you're definitely going to want to have a read through these in order to see what you should be keeping an eye out for either on your first or next viewing...
10. Joe Russo's Corpse
He made a cameo appearance as one of the doctors working on the injured Nick Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Civil War features co-director Joe Russo once again showing up in front of the camera. This time, the filmmaker plays the psychiatrist murdered by Zemo, and in a recent interview with Deadline, Joe explained why he makes the odd on screen appearance like this.
"I like acting a lot, but it’s not something I get out of bed for every day. So I started doing it as a joke, early on. Our dad, in the early ’70s, used to wear those gold-rimmed glasses, and had a big thick mustache. So, over the years, I’ve appeared as this gold-rimmed glasses character in a few of our [movies]." Anthony meanwhile seems less interested in taking on any similar roles on the big screen, but another Russo - presumably one of the brother's wives - actually provides the voice of Zemo's dearly departed wife.
9. "Homecoming"
Coincidence or a deliberate nod to Spider-Man's first solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? One of the code words used to activate The Winter Soldier in Captain America: Civil War just so happens to be "Homecoming", and after the recent title reveal you see above, it's damn near impossible for this not to instantly spring to mind!
That spider signal coming from Peter's web shooter in the movie's after-credits scene may be a nod to the character's classic (and pretty awful) animated series from the 1960s as, in that, it too would shine from one of his wrists rather than the his belt. However, possibly the best wink to the source material comes during that airport scene when the wall-crawler is left holding that plan boarding gate above his head after battling Captain America; that piece of imagery seems to have been lifted directly from the now iconic scene in 1966's Amazing Spider-Man #33.
8. Vasily Karpov
You may not think he's anyone who matters, but the man who controls The Winter Soldier in Captain America: Civil War's flashbacks is in fact Vasily Karpov, another character lifted directly from Ed Brubaker's work. In the comics, he served as an ally of sorts to Captain America and Bucky during World War II by helping them foil one of the Red Skull's plots.
However, it was also him who retrieved the wounded sidekick from the ocean and ended up programming him to become The Winter Soldier after creating a fairly unsuccessful hero for the USSR in the form of the Red Guardian. That was pretty much where Karpov's story ended, and everything in the movie about Zemo going after him for information is entirely original. Still, this easy to miss nod to the source material is nice addition to Civil War, especially as it shows that the Russo Brothers are still looking at Brubaker's work for inspiration.
7. Miriam Sharpe
The talented Alfre Woodard is playing a rather sinister sounding politician in Luke Cage, but she makes a brief appearance in Captain America: Civil War...as a completely different character (despite the fact that the show is also supposed to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). After donating a huge sum of money to MIT students, Tony is confronted by the mother of one of the American citizens who died in Sokovia, and learning that the actions of The Avengers led to yet another innocent - who was in the city attempting to help the poor - dying ends up being a driving force for Iron Man in this movie.
Interestingly, despite having a different surname, the credits for Captain America: Civil War reveal that Woodard was playing "Miriam", a definite nod to Miriam Sharpe from the comic books. She lost her son when the New Warriors blew up Stamford, and also heavily influenced Tony's actions. Talking of unexpected cameos, a member of Black Panther's Dora Milaje also appears and very nearly gets into a scrap with Black Widow!
6. A New Take On A Familiar Speech
The speech above (delivered by Captain America not in the main Civil War series, but an Amazing Spider-Man tie-in written by J. Michael Straczynski) has been high on the wishlists of what many fans were hoping would be included in this movie for some time now. It's a good job then that a version of it does make it in there, but it surprisingly doesn't come from Steve Rogers.
Instead, it's Sharon Carter who recites it as part of a eulogy in which she reveals an important lesson her Aunt Peggy taught her years earlier. While the words were used in the source material to resonate with Spider-Man, it's Cap who is left with something to think about in Captain America: Civil War as Sharon's speech leaves him more convinced than ever that he's doing the right thing by not supporting the Sokvia Accords.
This is a powerful moment and moves Steve and Sharon one step closer to their comic book romance.
5. Bucky And Natasha
It's not clear whether Captain America is aware of this (or Bucky when he regains his senses), but Black Widow definitely seems to have a history with The Winter Soldier based on what she says to him during his attempted escape in Berlin. Considering the fact we see the brainwashed hero being used to train HYDRA's other super soldiers, chances are that he may have been responsible for some of Black Widow's own training when she was in the Red Room as a youngster or could have joined her on a mission long before she wound up working for S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, this isn't the only way Captain America: Civil War pays homage to the work of Ed Brubaker. The idea of there being multiple Winter Soldiers was something he addressed in the short lived solo series featuring Bucky (which also had Natasha in a supporting role as his partner/girlfriend before her memory was wiped).
4. The Empire Strikes Back
Joe and Anthony Russo's love of Star Wars is well known, and they make a point of paying homage to that world yet again in Captain America: Civil War by having Spider-Man directly reference The Empire Strikes Back. He does so while tying up the legs of Giant-Man AT-AT style, referring to it as a "really old movie" much to the dismay of both Iron Man and War Machine (he also fails to mention those vehicles by name and calls Hoth just a "snowy planet", so this version of Peter - who wishes he could play football - definitely loses some geek cred as a result).
Bear in mind that every Phase 2 release paid homage to that classic by having a character lose an arm or hand, so should we now expect to see someone in every Phase 3 movie get their legs tied up? Well, considering the fact that Bucky has his arm blasted off by Iron Man, it could be that Marvel intends to keep that trope going for the foreseeable future!
3. BuckyCap
Captain America: Civil War doesn't conclude with Steve Rogers meeting his maker at the hands of Crossbones or Bucky being asked to weild the shield. It does however continue to tease us with the prospect of the former Winter Soldier taking over the mantle as he once again has plenty of great hero moments holding Cap's iconic weapon in this movie.
Of course, Spider-Man is also given the opportunity to get his sticky fingers on it, though I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean he's the next Cap (instead, it's likely just a way of paying homage to him grabbing it in the Civil War comic book and is generally just a pretty cool way of introducing the wall-crawler to this world).
It certainly feels like Marvel have placed Bucky one step closer to becoming Captain America anyway, especially as the loss of his arm could lead to a replacement which ditches the Russian star and instead features the shield logo like in the comics.
2. Comic Book Imagery
I mentioned how Captain America: Civil War effectively recreates a panel from Amazing Spider-Man #33, but that's not the only memorable piece of comic book imagery the Russo Brothers bring to the table here. As you've no doubt already noticed in the TV spots for the movie, they also perfectly bring the cover of Civil War #7 to life in a moment sure to live on in gif form forever (although in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cap and Iron Man aren't battling atop the bodies of their fallen teammates).
That's not all though as Ant-Man sitting on one of Hawkeye's arrows is pretty much identical to the cover of Avengers #223, while Black Panther's claws scraping Cap's shield definitely brings back memories of an old Captain America Annual by Mike Zeck (though that may be a little more coincidental than the other two). Either way, Joe and Anthony's love for the source material is clear to see throughout this movie.
1. Stan Lee
Well, it wouldn't be a Marvel movie without Stan Lee now would it? The Russo Brothers save him right for the very end of Captain America: Civil War as he delivers a package from Steve Rogers to Tony Stark at the New Avengers Facility. However, the Iron Man creator hilariously gets the hero's name wrong, saying he's looking for a "Tony Stank!" That may be quite juvenile humour, but it gets a good laugh in the movie thanks to Lee's delivery and the reaction from Tony and Rhodey, but you have to wonder...does Steve just have bad handwriting or did he deliberately misspell his old friend's name to get one last dig in?
Who knows, but Lee isn't the only notable cameo in Captain America: Civil War. Jim Rash appears as an MIT liaison with a great idea for a self cooking hot dog, and the actor actually played a similar role as Dean Pelton in Community, a series the Russos have helmed many episodes of.
Did you spot all of these Easter Eggs in Captain America: Civil War? Have we missed any others? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.