SPOILERS: LOGAN - 10 Awesome Easter Eggs You May Have Missed
Logan had an amazing first weekend in theaters across the world, and after the jump, you'll find our breakdown of the movie's biggest Easter Eggs, comic book references, cameos, and much more!
With Logan, director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman set out to make a very different sort of superhero movie. That's why it doesn't feature a post-credits scene or a string of cameos from costumed characters we all know and love from the comic books, but that doesn't mean Wolverine's final adventure doesn't still pay homage to both them and previous instalments of the franchise!
While it's true that the movie isn't packed full of Easter Eggs, they're there if you look closely enough as Wolverine's past solo outings, the X-Men franchise in general, and the comic books are all referenced in some very unexpected and clever ways throughout this critically acclaimed release.
So, what you'll find here then is an in-depth look at the ten most awesome Easter Eggs from Logan. Ranging from unexpected cameos to hidden nods and even a certain classic costume, these are the best surprises the movie had to offer! Of course, it goes without saying that potentially major spoilers for Logan follow from here, so if you haven't seen it yet, read on at your own risk!
10. Rictor/Avalanche
Near the end of Logan, we're introduced to a group of young mutants who have somehow managed to make it to the safety of Eden. From there, they intend to travel into Canada, but only one of these characters bears a familiar name. That is Rictor, a mutant who has been a member of the New Mutants, X-Force, and later X-Factor Investigations where he embarked on a romantic relationship with teammate Shatterstar.
However, something you may not have noticed during the scene Wolverine looks through the children's files is that he has a rather famous father in the X-Men Universe! Whereas Laura/X-23 was created with the DNA of Logan, Rictor's "father" is Dominic Petros, a man better known to comic book fans as Brotherhood of Evil Mutants member Avalanche. He's never appeared on the big screen, but does share similar powers to his son. It's worth pointing out that they're not related in the Marvel Universe, though.
9. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Due to the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men Origins: Wolverine never happened. It is of course possible that some things still happened the same way, but for the most part, we know that Logan probably didn't end up battling that weird version of Deadpool or joining a team led by William Stryker. Despite that, James Mangold still finds an unexpected way to reference a character from that critically panned movie when we see that another of the mutants whose DNA samples were used for the clones was Christopher Bradley, a.k.a. Bolt/Maverick.
One of those kids does indeed have electricity powers, and who knows, perhaps Chris had a much nicer fate in this continuity than the one which saw him gutted by Sabretooth! This isn't actually the only nod to X-Men Origins: Wolverine as it definitely seems like that Adamantium bullet in Logan is an idea which may have been lifted from the prequel!
8. Shane
James Mangold has made no secret of the fact he views Logan as a Western and it's Shane (1953) which seems to be his biggest inspiration here. It's one of the few entries in the genre which followed an aging, reluctant hero attempting to escape their old life only to be dragged back in, an obvious parallel to what happens to Wolverine in this movie and Charles and Laura even wind up watching some of it in that casino's hotel room!
Mangold lifts the idea of a family trying to resist a powerful landowner's attempts to force them off their land for the final act, but it's during Wolverine's funeral that the movie is referenced in the most direct manner. Laura's eulogy is the closing monologue from Shane and it's a fitting note for the hero to go out on following his violent battle with X-24. An argument could be made that the references here are a tad heavy handed, but they work, so you have to give Mangold credit for that if nothing else.
7. Greenwood Cemetary
When we first saw that Logan included a funeral scene, it's fair to say that most of us assumed it was going to be a moment featuring Wolverine paying his respects to a fallen teammate or old friend. Instead, he's simply just hanging around and having a drink while he chauffeurs a grieving widow around, but did you notice that the memorial took place at Greenwood Cemetary? That name probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you, but it's actually a somewhat familiar landmark from the Marvel Universe.
In The Ultimates, it's where Steve Rogers' memorial was erected following his apparent death during World War II, while the likes of Deadpool and the Fantastic Four have all attended services here over the years. In the comics, it's actually located in Brooklyn, New York, so Logan obviously uprooted it, but this was still a pretty neat Easter Egg as the movie could have really just used any old cemetery without fans even giving it a second thought!
6. The Deadpool 2 Teaser
Despite reports to the contrary, Deadpool does not appear in Logan. He's never referenced or even hinted at, a shame considering the fact fans have been waiting years to see him alongside Wolverine on the big screen. However, from Friday, a special sneak peek for the sequel started being shown before the movie and it's packed full of awesome Easter Eggs which could pretty much justify an article of their own!
Nathan Summers is referenced on the phone booth the Merc with the Mouth changes in (he's "cumming soon" apparently, a sign perhaps we'll finally get some solid casting news in the near future), there's graffiti referencing various characters and creators, and even posters for Firefly, something some fans believe should be taken as a sign we'll see Nathan Fillion in Deadpool 2. Bizarrely, that huge chunk of text which rolls down the screen once the video ends is a book report for The Old Man and The Sea, a pretty rubbish reward for fans who paused it hoping for something cool.
5. The Statue Of Liberty
When it comes to references to the other X-Men movies, Logan uses them sparingly. That's probably partly down to the fact that there are now so many gaps in this world's history since the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past created a new timeline, but one thing which did still happen is the Statue of Liberty incident from the first X-Men movie. It's Wolverine who mentions that this took place "a long time ago" after Charles starts rambling about it, though we later learn the psychic is talking about The Liberty Hotel where Logan first meets X-23.
Another nod to that first installment of the franchise comes when the Professor talks about saving Wolverine from a life of cage fighting, and I can't help wonder what this means for the timeline. Did the events of X-Men still happen in a slightly different manner or could it be that Logan is set in a continuity where X-Men: Days of Future Past never took place? Honestly, just thinking about it gives me a headache.
4. A Familiar Sword
Talking of movies which now technically never happened, The Wolverine can be counted among them. It's at the end of the hero's second solo outing that he's recruited by Professor X and Magneto to join the fight against the Sentinels, but after helping change the timeline, none of that ever actually happened as far as we know! It is obviously still entirely possible that Logan spent some time in Japan, though, and that's referenced via a blink and you'll miss it moment in the home he shares with Caliban and Charles.
A samurai sword hangs on the wall and that has to be a nod to his time spent fighting there. So much of Wolverine's past is a mystery to us now that we simply don't know how things played out for him in that part of the world, but this was a clever way by Mangold to reference his previous movie starring the character (it's actually the only one I noticed) and to once again highlight the fact that the clawed mutant is a Ronin.
3. Laura's Self-Harming
Logan doesn't spend a whole lot of time delving into X-23's origin story, with most of that handled with an oddly well-edited video put together by one of the nurses who helped rescue her. However, one moment which has been lifted directly out of the source material comes when we see the young Laura slashing away at her arm and watching herself heal thanks to her mutant abilities.
In Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost's X-23 series, the source of the slowly healing scars on Laura's arm are a mystery until Dr. Kinney realizes that she's self-harming, something which really drives home the fact that Zander Rice and company have done some serious psychological damage to Wolverine's clone. Another noteworthy Easter Egg is X-24. In the comics, Rice had plans for an X-24 clone and beyond, but the embryos were destroyed by Laura during her escape. The fact Logan refers to Laura as X-23 also ensures we'll likely get to hear that codename again somewhere down the line.
2. Alkali Lake
There's not so much as a single mention of Essex Corp. in Logan despite the fact that we learned in X-Men: Apocalypse it was Nathaniel Essex's company responsible for collecting Wolverine's DNA samples. It's possible of course that Mister Sinister is pulling Zander Rice's strings, but somewhere along the line, that genetic material wound up in the possession of Alkali Transigen.
Near the end of Logan, we learn it's them who are responsible for wiping out Mutantkind by tampering with food eaten by the population, while Rice and Wolverine actually share an exchange about the fact that he killed Zander's father while escaping Weapon X. The movie doesn't really take much time to delve into that point, but it's clear it's something which led to the scientist's hatred of mutants. It also explains why Rice has named the company Alkali Transigen as that's a reference to Alkali Lake, the iconic location where Weapon X was created and where his father was clawed down.
1. The Classic Costume
As great as Logan is, one thing fans may never be able to forgive Hugh Jackman and James Mangold for is the fact that the classic yellow and blue costume never makes a physical appearance here right before the actor hangs up the claws for good. We do obviously see it in a comic book, but Wolverine quickly points out that things never happened that way, but did you spot it at the end of the movie?
While I'd love to say that the aging mutant pops it on to take down X-24, it's actually during poor old Wolvie's funeral that we see one of the mutant children holding a doll which is clad in the suit you see above. Until an inevitable reboot, this is seemingly the closest we're going to get to see this on the big screen, but at least it shows up in Logan in some form. That's unlikely to please a lot of fans, but the fact the costume is referenced here is better than nothing even if it is still disappointing.
Did you guys spot all of these awesome Logan Easter Eggs? Have we missed any good ones? As always, head to the comments section below to let us know your thoughts.
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