Now thatCaptain America: Civil Warhas finally hit theaters, many fans will be watching this superhero adventure multiple times, to catch all of the subtle and not so subtle references to the Marvel comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large. As is the cast with any Marvel movie,Captain America: Civil Warnot only references past MCU adventures, but offers a look ahead to future movies. Today we have a new video that breaks down all of theseEaster Eggsand references. Obviously, there will be SPOILERS aplenty if you haven’t seenCaptain America: Civil Warin theaters yet, so read on at your own risk.
This seven-minute video fromMr. Sunday Moviesstarts by pointing out the numerous similarities from theCivil War comics, including the death of Miriam Sharp’s (Alfre Woodard) son, which serves as the motivation for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to get behind the Sokovia Accords. However, in the movie, it’s revealed he died during the Sokovia incident, and in the comics, he dies in an explosion triggered by The New Warriors, which is similar to the disaster at the beginning of the film withScarlet Witch(Elizabeth Olsen) and Crossbones (Frank Grillo). Other similarities from the comics includeSpider-Man(Tom Holland) removing Captain America’s (Chris Evans) shield, Cap studying Iron Man’s fight patterns and much more.
There are also a number of nods to previous TV projects directorsAnthony RussoandJoe Russohad worked on in the past.CommunitystarJim Rashappears in a scene after Tony Stark delivers a rousing speech at M.I.T., and while we don’t know much about the actor’s character, he seems quite similar to Dean Pelton fromCommunity. The filmmakers also executive producedArrested Development, and if you look closely at theairport fight, you can see the Bluth family staircase truck.
TheMCUalso continues its tradition of cutting off people’s arms, a long-standing nod to theStar Warsfranchise, but there is another obviousStar Warsreference as well. During the airport fight scene,Spider-Manmentions that “old"Star WarsmovieEmpire Strikes Back, using Luke Skywalker’s strategy to tie up and take down Giant Man. This movie also marks the third time thatRobert Downey Jr.andMarisa Tomei(Aunt May) have worked together, following 1992’sChaplinand 1994’sOnly You.
This video also addresses theCaptain America: Civil Warpost-credit scenes, which feature our first glimpse at Wakanda, along with a few giant panther statues as seen in theBlack Panthercomics. The video also delves into a second end credit sequence that showsSpider-Man’s new Spidey logo device, which has also been seen in the Marvel comics. Of course, there are probably a few Easter Eggs and references that were missed in this seven-minute video, maybe you can find them. Stay tuned for more onCaptain America: Civil Warand the rest of the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe as we enter the movie’s second weekend at the box office.
