DAREDEVIL Season 3: Awesome Easter Eggs, References, And Cameos You May Have Missed - SPOILERS
By now, you've no doubt binged a huge chunk of Daredevil season three but did you catch these awesome Easter Eggs, references, and surprise cameo appearances? Hit the jump to take a look at the best ones!
Last Friday, Marvel finally released the third season of Daredevil on Netflix. We've been waiting for the show to return for what feels like forever and it's fair to say that it lived up to expectations.
Regardless of how far into the show you are by this point, you'll no doubt be curious to learn just how many cameos, Easter Eggs, and references are hidden throughout season three. From nods to the comic books, the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, and even Spider-Man (yes, Spider-Man), these thirteen episodes included a lot for us to delve into and that's what you guys will find below.
So, to check out this list of Easter Eggs for Daredevil season three, hit the "View List" button.
Bullseye's Adamantium Spine
The season ends with Bullseye on the operating table, but the surgeon working on him is credited as Dr. Oyama. That has to be a nod to Kenji Oyama, a character better known to comic book fans as Lord Dark Wind. He first appeared in Daredevil #196 and was the one responsible for fusing Adamantium to Bullseye's damaged spine, allowing him to walk again. Bring on season four, eh?
Spider-Men
It's hard to say whether or not we'll get to see Tom Holland's Spider-Man ever cross paths with Charlie Cox's Daredevil but there's a reference to both Peter Parker AND Miles Morales in the series at one point. That comes when Karen Page confronts Matt Murdock in Fogwell's Gym; look closely in the background and you'll see that a fight is being promoted featuring "Parker" battling "Morales."
Newspaper Clippings
Look closely on Karen Page's office wall in the New York Bulletin and you'll once again catch a reference to the Battle of New York in The Avengers. However, there also appears to be a reference to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as we see a headline referencing a blackout which occurred during season four of the ABC series when the Watchdogs orchestrated a series of attacks on American cities.
"The Kingpin"
I'm pretty sure we've already heard Wilson Fisk being referred to as New York City's "Kingpin of Crime" but he's officially given that moniker in Daredevil season three when we learn that the crooked FBI agents under his control actually use the codename "Kingpin" for the villainous crime boss.
The Maggia
Marvel dropped the ball on The Hand in a big way but could we be about to see the Maggia take on a larger role in this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? In what I'm pretty sure is the first reference we've seen to the Marvel Comics version of the Mafia, the name of the organisation can be seen scrawled on a piece of paper Karen is looking at during episode eight. The Punisher, perhaps?
Bullseye's Love Of Baseball
While exploring Ben Poindexter's past, the show reveals that, as a child, he played baseball. However, when his coach benched him, he killed him with a well placed shot to the skull. There's precedent for Dex's love of the game in the comics as one of his origin stories revealed that he was once an up and coming minor league pitcher. Another series saw him take a year off to play the game.
Meet The Gladiator
Daredevil has been teasing Melvin Potter's transformation into Gladiator since his first appearance in the series and season three takes us the closest we've ever been to seeing that. As well as having the classic logo on the shirt he's wearing, Melvin fights off FBI agents with his trademark saw blades. Could it be that he'll suit up properly during season four to get some revenge on Daredevil?
Matt Murdock's Watery Grave
After that incredible fifteen-minute hallway fight sequence, Matt Murdock seeks refuge in a cab but wakes up to find that he's being driven towards the river as the driver leaps out. This moment was lifted straight from the pages of Frank Miller's "Born Again" with the key difference being that, in the comics, Matt was doused in alcohol in order to make it look like he drove himself to his death.
Felix Manning
In Daredevil season three, Felix Manning is one of The Kingpin's new right-hand men and he actually made his debut in the "Born Again" storyline. There, he was similarly responsible for outfitting a lunatic with their own Daredevil suit but ended up being killed by that same imposter.
The Kingpin's Lawyer
Danny Johnson's Ben Donovan makes his return in season three of Daredevil. He's helped Wilson Fisk in past seasons but has also been seen lending his legal expertise to the Stokes family in Luke Cage. Lawyers have more than one client so it makes perfect sense for him to be used in this way; it's just a shame that we don't get any sort of reference to what happened the last time we saw him.
Bullseye Suits Up As Daredevil
In "Born Again," it was just some random lunatic who ended up being given Daredevil's suit to impersonate the Man Without Fear. However, there is a precedent for Bullseye to don the hero's costume and during Ann Nocenti and Lee Weeks' popular Daredevil run, the assassin ended up convincing himself that he was actually Daredevil! That almost seems to the be the case at times in season three.
"Guardian Devil"
In one of the show's coolest nods to the source material, Daredevil and Bullseye do battle in a church. This is lifted straight from Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada's "Born Again" and the moment the villain throws Matt's billy club only for it to hit Father Lantom rather than Karen is a nod to when he took aim at Daredevil but ended up getting Karen instead because he "missed" the hero.
Bullseye's Logo
Ben Poindexter doesn't actually suit up as Bullseye during the course of this season but the logo on his baseball team's cap from his childhood is pretty much identical to the one worn on his comic book counterpart's costume. The same logo can be seen in Dex's eye when he's on the operating table so common sense says that he'll be suiting up in the sequel to go to war with Daredevil.
Rosalie Carbone
Another character introduced in a different Marvel series before showing up here, Rosalie first showed up in The Punisher before taking on a slightly more significant role in Luke Cage season two. It's hard to escape the feeling that Marvel might be building to doing something more with her but seeing as she's no doubt among those arrested, this could just be a case of cool connectivity.
The Strength Of The Kingpin
Wilson Fisk isn't a superhuman in the comics or this series but he's frequently been able to go toe to toe with someone as strong as Spider-Man in the former. In what may be a reference to what a powerhouse the Kingpin of Crime is, we see that he's benching well over 300lbs in prison before he's attacked.
Bullseye's Paralysis
While The Kingpin smashing Dex into a wall is a different way of paralysing him than Daredevil allowing him to fall from a telephone pole, the end result is the same. As the season ends, we see him on the operating table having his spine worked on before he opens his eyes and we see Bullseye's classic comic book logo reflected in them. Clearly, he'll get over his injuries and will make a return.
A Nod To Jessica Jones
Daredevil season three is very much a standalone adventure for the Man Without Fear so there are no appearances from any of the characters from The Defenders. We do, however, get a reference to Jessica Jones when Matt points out that Karen Page will be a more stable private investigator.
Bullseye's Brain Tumour
In one of Bullseye's earliest appearances, Frank Miller revealed that the villain was suffering from a brain tumour, something which went some way in explaining his psychopathic behaviour. While it's established fairly early on that Dex is a psychopath, he definitely seems to suffer from symptoms of a tumour and that could explain how he avoids jail; he can say that nothing he did was his fault!