Marvel Easter Eggs And References In Spider-Man: Far From Home
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Did you catch all of these Marvel references and nods during Far From Home?
Spider-Man: Far From Home, the conclusion of Marvel's Phase 3, is now in theaters, where it's already broken records. If you've seen it, you may have picked up on some sly references and Easter eggs that were peppered throughout, but odds are you missed at least a few. Were you paying attention that license plate early on? Or did you pick up on the name of the hotel? There are tons of nuggets like this littered throughout the film--read on for every one that we were able to spot, and then let us know what we missed below.
It may not have had quite as many Easter eggs and Marvel references as the supersized Avengers: Endgame, but Spider-Man: Far From Home still brought in a respectable number of little winks and nods to fans--at least 29 of them that we were able to spot. And we're certain there are more--after all, there is a lot going on in Far From Home, from the completely bonkers post-credits scenes to the surprise cameo that completely shocked us. (Seriously, it's amazing.)
While some sly references may have to wait for the home release to be discovered, we've assembled every one we've discovered so far below. These range from blink-and-you'll-miss-it references to decades-old comics, to nods back to older Spider-Man movies, to fun running gags from throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (like Tony Stark's love of acronyms).
While you're gearing yourself up to explore these Marvel Easter Eggs, why not take a look at some of our other Spider-Man: Far From Home content, like whether or not the MCU has a multiverse, what actually happened after the reverse-snap, and what this movie says about the upcoming Phase 4. We might potentially learn about what's coming next at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, which is coming up soon; we've assembled a list of all the Marvel SDCC panels and events to ensure you don't miss a thing.
Obviously, spoilers from here on out! Proceed with caution!
1. The Tribute
The movie opens with the funniest way to deal with a tragedy: a horrible "in memoriam" video made by high school students, full of watermarked, blown out jpegs set to a melodramatic song. ("And I~ Will always love you~") The tribute video makes direct reference to every core Avenger lost in Phase 3, from Vision to Black Widow--though we're not really sure how the general public knows about someone like Black Widow or Vision bit the dust. The Avengers must have sent out a press release.
2. 463
Hill and Fury's license plate as they go and investigate the disturbance in Mexico is a reference to The Amazing Spider-Man #4, published back in 1963--the first appearance of Sandman. The villain who destroyed the Mexican village isn't exactly the Sandman we know and love, but he's close enough for this one.
3. Absorbing Man vs Bonesaw McGraw.
There's a wrestling poster for Crusher Creel, aka Absorbing Man, in the background of Forest Hills Public Hall where Aunt May and Spider-Man are holding their post-"blip" benefit. Crusher is apparently set to fight Bonesaw McGraw, aka Macho Man Randy Savage, who played a meme-worthy role in the very first Spider-Man movie.
4. Forest Hills Public Hall
After the "blip" May and Peter lost their apartment--a new family moved in during the 5-year gap--which inspired May to start focusing on humanitarian efforts for people affected in similar ways. In the comics and more recently in the PS4 Spider-Man video game, May has a strong focus on volunteer work and organizing for various shelters and social programs across New York City, usually known as F.E.A.S.T.
5. Heart of Iron: The Tony Stark Story
The in-flight entertainment for Peter's trip to Europe paints a quirky picture of the post-Endgame MCU for civilians. People have apparently been making Tony Stark biopics--including one called, hilariously, "Heart of Iron."
6. Ned and Betty
Ned and Betty's whirlwind romance is mostly a gag in Far From Home, but it actually does come from the comics where Ned and Betty are actually married. Who knows, maybe their break up is only a temporary thing?
7. The Black Dahlia
MJ's interest in the Black Dahlia murders is inspired by--you guessed it--the real Black Dahlia murders, which famously took place in the late '40s in Hollywood.
8. EDITH
Tony's love for acronyms rears its head yet again, this time in the form of "EDITH" which stands for "Even Dead, I'm The Hero" which is both appropriately snarky and sad--and way better than J.A.R.V.I.S which stands for "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System."
9. BARF Tech
It turns out that Tony's unfortunately named "BARF" tech from Civil War wasn't his invention at all--it was Quentin Beck's. And he's pissed about the new name, too.
10. "With a box of scraps!"
The MCU is old enough now to actually have vintage memes, and perhaps the best of the best comes from Iron Man 1 when Jeff Bridges wheels around on an unsuspecting Stark Industries employee roaring that Tony Stark was able to build an arc reactor in a cave with a box of scraps.
11. Hydro-Man
The Elementals in Far From Home aren't the ones we've seen in the comics, but we do get a very brief reference to Hydro-Man's comics counterpart care of a throwaway line where Peter's classmates read an in-universe BuzzFeed article talking about a "Morris Bench" who was transformed into a water-based villain. This was the real name of the first Hydro-Man, who was introduced back in 1981.
12. Mysterio's backstory
Unfortunately, Mysterio isn't from an alternate reality, he's just a disgruntled scientist turned vengeful actor--a loose adaptation of his original comic book origin where he was a psychotic stunt man and special effects artist who crafted a villainous identity out of practical illusions and psychoactive smoke for attention. Of course, the MCU's Beck isn't a failed actor, but the principals are still the same. His illusions may be caused by high-tech drones and 3D mapping, but they're still illusions.
13. Back in Black
One of Far From Home's big questions is whether or not Peter has what it takes to be the "next" Tony Stark--and in case all the times that question was literally asked were too subtle for you, we even get a nice little montage of Peter engineering a new suit set to one of Tony's personal theme songs: AC/DC’s Back in Black. Of course, Peter is a high school student and thinks it's Led Zeppelin, but we'll let it slide.
14. JJJ
This one is a double-whammy. Not only is J. Jonah Jameson a famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) character from Spider-Man lore, he's also played by J.K. Simmons in this movie, who is reprising his role from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy. The MCU Spider-Verse is closer than we thought, apparently.
15. The Bugle
Jameson's news outlet, The Daily Bugle, is just as notorious as he is in the comics and Spider-Man movies on days gone by. JJJ is seen here for the first time in the MCU, publicly outing Peter Parker to the world with help from a doctored video taken by Mysterio. We can't tell if The Bugle is a paper, a talk show, or some other form of news outlet here in this universe, but whatever it is, it's going to spell trouble for Peter.
16. Talos and the Skrulls
Technically, it hasn't been that long since we've seen Talos and the Skrulls on the big screen--after all, Captain Marvel came out earlier this year--but in terms of the in-universe timeline of the MCU, it's been over three decades. We catch up with them for the first time since the 1990s here in the post-credits scene where we learn they've been working with Nick Fury. Who would have guessed?
17. Nick's "new" Job
In the same credits scene that tells us the Skrulls have actually been around and teaming up with the remains of SHIELD all this time, we learn that Nick Fury is, unsurprisingly, running things. He isn't given any official job title in the minute or so we see him, but his new job seems to be awfully similar to his brief stint in the comics as the ominously titled "Man on the Wall," a cosmic protector who monitors the galaxy for threats.
18. Kree sleeper cells
Remember the Kree? They've shown up a few times, most recently in Captain Marvel, and proven themselves to be pretty bad guys. And apparently, despite their handy defeat and ultimate retreat in the '90s, they're still not out of the picture. Talos (disguised as Nick) offhandedly mentions "Kree sleeper cells" they're trying to root out, which means we definitely haven't seen the last of them.
19. ASM 212
Ned and Betty's gondola is marked as "ASM 212" which is pretty appropriate, given that their ride lasts all of five minutes before it's interrupted by "Hydro Man," who was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #212.
20. May knows Peter's identity
Back in Homecoming, we got a post-credits gag in which May learned Peter's secret identity, complete with a perfectly cut "what the f--" moment that is now mirrored in Far From Home's final scene.
21. "Peter-Tingle"
Peter's Spider-sense has been called many, many things over the years, but "Peter-Tingle" is perhaps the worst of them. Apparently, no one in the MCU has really stopped to think about the logistics of a Spider-sense, much less given it a real name.
22. "Discovering Wakanda"
Another in-flight entertainment option, "Discovering Wakanda" is a documentary available for the trip, implying that the movie industry has been very, very busy in the post-Black Panther world.
23. Hotel DeMatteis
One of the hotels Peter and his class stay in is the Hotel DeMatteis, named for legendary Spider-Man writer J.M. DeMatteis, who wrote the iconic Kraven's Last Hunt storyline.
24. Spider-Writers As Street Names
Who would have guessed Italy was full of streets honoring various Spider-Man creators? There's "Sterno" for Roger Stern, "Slotto" for Dan Slott, "Bendiso" for Brian Michael Bendis, "Michelino" for David Michelinie and "G. Convayo" for Gerry Conway.
25. Earth-616
Mysterio may have just been making things up when he said he was from an alternate Earth, but both Earth-616 and Earth-833 are real things in Marvel Comics. "616" refers to the main Marvel Universe, where the vast majority of the comics take place. Earth-833 is, strangely enough, a universe populated by Spider-UK, the uh, British version of Spider-Man. Look, don't ask.
26. MJ's Shirt
MJ may not be a one-to-one adaptation of Mary Jane from the comics, but she's got plenty of references to her. For several scenes in the movie, she wears a t-shirt with a tiger on the front, a nice little nod to Mary Jane's "tiger" nickname for Peter.
27. Marvel Zombies
During one of Mysterio's drone-illusions, Peter sees a zombified Tony Stark. Not only is this just a really sad, messed up moment, it's also a little wink to one of Marvel's ongoing alternate-universe pet projects: Marvel Zombies. It's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin--a universe in which all of your favorite Marvel superheroes become zombies.
28. AMF1562
May's license plate is a reference to Amazing Fantasy #15, published in 1962, the first appearance of Spider-Man.
29. Power Rangers and Voltron
Both Power Rangers and Voltron get a shoutout as Mysterio's drone tech is revealed to the public because they're little robots coming together to make something bigger, we guess?