Summary
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has created an elaborate and interconnected universe of superheroes and villains, with Phase 4 specializing in the Multiverse Saga and introducing new initiatives and characters.
Wandavision launched varied Easter eggs and teases, together with sitcom references and commercials associated to the MCU. It additionally launched Monica Rambeau and the Darkhold, which connects to Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness.
Phase 4 of the MCU featured main connections and revelations, such because the historical past of Isaiah Bradley in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the introduction of various variations of Loki, the Budapest occasion in Black Widow, and the multiverse storyline in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness.
After 15 years of introducing new characters, bringing superhero groups collectively, and finally exploring the multiverse, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dropped many Easter eggs and hints at different initiatives for a multi-decade reign. Across 4 phases, the MCU has created an elaborate and interconnected universe of superheroes and villains for followers to change into utterly enamored with. These callbacks maintain the MCU intertwined and the storylines partaking. Easter eggs and teases have change into a staple in Marvel initiatives as a result of they not solely maintain the MCU linked it helps maintain audiences engaged.
Phase 4 began with the Disney+ sequence Wandavision in January 2021 and not too long ago ended with the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Wandavision served as not solely the kickoff to the following part but in addition the beginning of a completely new saga within the MCU. The first three phases have been thought-about the Infinity Saga, that means that every one the occasions in these initiatives would result in the ultimate confrontation with Thanos. Phase 4 started the Multiverse Saga, as we’ve seen many storylines give attention to touring by means of the multiverse. This opens doorways for a lot of new initiatives to come back to life, in addition to characters, nevertheless it additionally leaves loads of room for a lot of Easter eggs and references. Here are a few of the greatest Easter eggs and teases hidden all through Phase 4 of the MCU:
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Wandavision was basically the bridge between the Infinity Saga and the Multiverse Saga. It adopted Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) as she tried to reconcile together with her grief over shedding Vision (Paul Bettany) by holding a whole New Jersey city hostage and making them a part of her ever-changing sitcom universe. Since the present noticed her and Vision dwell by means of many years of various sitcoms, we acquired references to exhibits like I Love Lucy and Malcolm within the Middle.
Those weren’t the one references, although. Wandavision had built-in commercials that correlated with the time interval of the sitcom they have been in, they usually nearly all the time referenced one thing within the MCU. There have been commercials for Hydra cleaning soap, a Stark Industries toaster oven, and an advert for Nexus, which is probably going linked to the occasions in Loki. The present additionally launched Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), who will quickly be in The Marvels.
It additionally launched the Darkhold, the Book of the Damned, which Wanda used within the Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness. That is a double-layer Easter Egg as one other title for the Book of the Damned is the Necronomicon. The Necronomicon is the primary mcguffin in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead sequence, and Raimi additionally directed Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness.
10 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Reveals the Darkest Secret of the MCU
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier focuses on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) grappling with the concept of turning into Captain America whereas Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) involves phrases together with his personal previous. While the sequence is constructed on paying off plot threads from the Captain America sequence and constructing off its legacy, it additionally complicates the sequence in fascinating methods.
Related: Young Avengers: MCU Characters Who Could Be Part of the Team
The sequence introduces the character of Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a Black American who was given the tremendous soldier serum after Steve Rogers and whose historical past has been wiped away. The sequence establishes that he was a prisoner and that organizations just like the Army, S.H.I.E.L.D., and, by extension, HYDRA have been taking his blood whereas he was captive. Since makes an attempt to recreate the tremendous soldier serum have resulted in characters like The Hulk, Abomination, and the Winter Soldier himself, it’s completely attainable Bradley’s blood was the premise for these serums. This implies that most of the heroes and villains have been a results of unjustly taking blood and DNA samples from a Black political prisoners. This has darkish implications for the MCU and paints all the franchise in a brand new, extra miserable gentle.
9 Loki & the TVA
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Loki focuses on the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) as he’s introduced in by the Time Variance Authority after his 2012 self tried to flee custody in New York when the Avengers went again in time to get the Tesseract in Endgame. He spends nearly all of the sequence attempting to determine who guidelines all the time with assist from TVA agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). The pilot episode principally forces Loki to observe a spotlight reel of his future, which shares some nice callbacks to earlier occasions within the MCU, corresponding to Ragnarok and Infinity War.
It additionally options many comedian ebook references to totally different variations of Loki that die-hard followers are positive to like. This consists of Kid Loki, who’s a member of the Young Avengers, President Loki from the comics, and a classic-looking-looking sporting the 60’s impressed costume he wore within the comics and performed by actor Richard E. Grant. The present additionally instantly units up the occasions of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania by having Sylvie (Sophie Di Martino) kill He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), thus splitting the timeline into infinite branches and organising Kang the Conqueror.
8 Black Widow Tells the Tale of Budapest
Marvel
The most direct connection in Black Widow is the introduction of Nat’s sister, Yelena, who we all know would later present up in Hawkeye after Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) falsely makes her imagine he was liable for Nat’s loss of life. It’s not the one one, although. Valentina beforehand appeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which aired months earlier than Black Widow’s launch.
An inside joke between Nat and Clint that solely they have been aware of all through the primary three phases of the MCU was no matter occurred whereas they have been in Budapest. Phase 4 lastly provides us the story when Nat tells Yelena in regards to the intense shoot-out the assassins discovered themselves in years in the past. The Budapest occasion was the place Nat first met Clint and served as the start of their loving friendship. It additionally ties into Drakov’s daughter, a line Loki mentioned within the first Avengers movies, which now has returned to hang-out Natasha. Drakov’s daughter did not die however was reworked into Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko).
7 Shang-Chi & The Hidden Details
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For most of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the film refrains from making any apparent references to the higher MCU. It is generally a self-contained story, but the movie does construct off the Ten Rings Organization, which has connections all the way in which again to the primary MCU movie, Iron Man. It additionally brings again Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who posed as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3, and these occasions are referenced within the movie.
Yet the movie nonetheless options loads of enjoyable references to the broader MCU. When Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) visits Xu Xialing’s (Meng’er Zhang) battle membership, he stumbles upon Wong (Benedict Wong) preventing Abomination (Tim Roth). Wong has been featured in so many MCU initiatives that he’s basically a strolling reference at this level. Both Wong and Abomination would return in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Also, Eagle Eye followers can see an Extremis soldier from Iron Man 3 and a Black Widow agent within the battle membership.
The most blatant MCU connection is the tip credit score scene, the place Shang-Chi and Katie are recruited by Wong to satisfy Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). It units up the Ten Rings as an vital merchandise within the MCU whereas additionally serving because the Avengers invite for Shang-Chi.
6 Hawkeye in a Post-Blip World
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After the occasions of Endgame, Clint (Jeremy Renner) sequence Hawkeye noticed the hero be taught to take care of the lack of Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and navigate a post-blip world. He reluctantly teamed up together with his super-fan Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in his holiday-themed present, however Clint was nonetheless reeling from shedding his finest buddy. He mentions his first assembly with Nat greater than as soon as all through the present and even visits the Avengers memorial web site to speak to his buddy about what was occurring.
That wasn’t the one main connection, although, as Nat’s youthful sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) tracked Clint down, considering he was liable for her loss of life and is featured often all through the six episodes. This paid off the post-credit scene in Black Widow.
5 The MCU Into the Spider-Verse
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Spider-Man: No Way Home was extremely anticipated from the second it was introduced. Fans endlessly speculated on which characters would cameo, what the plot could be, and if the film would have something to do with the multiverse. Marvel completely delivered on all of the fan theories, as NWH is chock-full of Easter eggs, teases, and cameos. First and foremost, Hell’s Kitchen’s favourite lawyer-turned-vigilante made a short look at first of the film as Peter’s (Tom Holland) lawyer after his identification was revealed. Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) gave Peter some fast recommendation and suspiciously caught a brick that was thrown threw the window, inflicting Peter to be perplexed and followers to scream for pleasure.
It additionally featured a few of the most well-known Spider-Man villains, together with Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), and most significantly, the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), and introduced them into MCU Peter’s world. What made followers most excited, nonetheless, was the appearances of each Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as their respective variations of the beloved web-slinger. By bringing the three Spider-Men collectively, there have been mentions of Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, Uncle Ben, Venom, Rhino, and, in fact, the Avengers. It was most likely essentially the most extremely anticipated MCU film since Endgame.
The movie additionally featured loads of enjoyable references to the previous live-action Spider-Man movies, with traces of dialogue like Norman Osborn saying, “I’m considerably of a scientist myself” or Doc Ock saying, “The energy of the solar, within the palm of my hand”. It additionally featured a enjoyable line that may repay within the subsequent MCU movie, Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness. Doctor Strange tells Peter, “In the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice means infinitely greater than their lives,” which is what a variant of Doctor Strange says to America Chavez at first of his sequel.
4 Doctor Strange and his Multiverseral Madness
Marvel Studios
Sam Raimi’s return to the superhero style took Doctor Strange and the MCU in a brand new course with the Multiverse of Madness. This is the closest to a horror film we’ve ever obtained from the MCU, because of Raimi’s horror roots. The film encompasses a wealth of cameos. When Strange and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) arrive on Earth 838, they encounter the Illuminati, a gaggle devoted to stopping their model of Thanos.
The Illuminati embody Professor X (Patrick Stewart), a super-soldier serum-infused Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Black Bolt (Anson Mount), Carol Danvers’ finest buddy Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), and a brand-new Reed Richards, performed by John Krasinski. Many of those are meta-references as audiences met an excellent soldier variant of Peggy Carter named Captain Carter in What If..? whereas Black Bolt was beforehand seen within the Inhumans TV sequence. Professor X is an amalgamation of the twentieth Century Fox X-Men movies and the animated sequence, and Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastic references what number of occasions he was fan-cast because the character on-line. Perhaps essentially the most enjoyable cameo within the film, nonetheless, is the addition of Raimi’s Evil Dead buddy Bruce Campbell as a scorching canine vendor Strange casts a spell on to beat himself up for 2 weeks.
3 It’s An Avengers World, Ms. Marvel Just Lives In It
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Ms. Marvel launched audiences to the hero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) in a star-making efficiency. This younger hero is ready to have a giant future within the MCU shifting ahead, as not solely will she seem in The Marvels, however her last episodes trace at her connection to a wider universe. Her buddy references that her powers come from a mutation in her genetics, with a short trace of the X-Men animated sequence enjoying over it. Ms. Marvel is the MCU’s first confirmed mutant.
Related: What the MCU Can Learn From Phase 4 Going Forwards
Other references to the MCU present that Ms. Marvel’s bangles have been present in a Ten Rings temple on a Kree hand, a gaggle of aliens seen in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel. Kamala reveals that her household is a giant fan of the flicks that Kingo makes; as Eternals established, he has been pretending to be his personal descendant for nearly 100 years in Bollywood films. Ms. Marvel additionally provides audiences a lot perception into how a lot the conventional world is aware of in regards to the superhero neighborhood. It is confirmed that the explanation so many individuals learn about what occurred within the Battle for Earth in Avengers: Endgame is as a result of Scott Lang has a podcast, which might then repay in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Avengers Con itself is filled with many Easter Eggs.
2 She-Hulk Breaks the Fourth Wall
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The fan-favorite cameo in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is none aside from the second return of Daredevil within the MCU. Matt surprisingly makes a visit out to California, leaves Hell’s Kitchen behind within the final two episodes of this present, and kinds a romantic reference to fellow lawyer/superhero Jennifer Walter (Tatiana Maslany). Matt dons a brand new crimson and yellow Daredevil go well with that has been used within the comics earlier than, and he very briefly mentions some occasions which have occurred to him in New York.
Abomination additionally makes his return in his third MCU look, and even Megan Thee Stallion has a bit half within the present. Another direct reference to the comics is that Jennifer often breaks the fourth wall by trying and speaking on to the viewers in every episode. At one level, she pauses the present, crawls out of her personal icon on the Disney+ house display screen, and goes to Marvel Studios to speak with Kevin Feige. Well, a robotic named Kevin that’s purported to be Kevin Feige.
From that includes obscure MCU characters The Man-Bull and Leap Frog to that includes newspaper articles referencing the occasions of Eternals and even perhaps a touch at Wolverine, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the MCU venture possible with essentially the most references to the broader Marvel Universe.
1 Talokan Pays Off a Decade-Old Easter Egg
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the ultimate movie in Phase 4 and primarily served as a becoming last farewell tribute to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who handed away in 2020. Yet the movie nonetheless constructed upon the established MCU and featured loads of Easter Eggs for followers. The greatest is, in fact, Talokan itself. The underwater civilization was first teased in 2010’s Iron Man 2 as a SHIELD marker was put over the Ocean, hinting at an underwater civilization. That similar map additionally featured the primary reference to Wakanda within the MCU. Namor himself says he’s a mutant, constructing off Ms. Marvel’s establishing mutants as being a part of the MCU.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever additionally options many thrilling developments for the way forward for the franchise. It looks as if the movie is essentially the most about organising initiatives like Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts. Not solely does Valentina return from her cameo roles as a much bigger half, however it’s established she is the ex-wife of Evertt Ross (Martin Freeman). It seems the nations of the world, notably the United States of America, usually are not going to attend round and can quickly look to take assets like Vibranium by power.
First seem at MCU: Easter Eggs and Teases Hidden Throughout Phase 4
