Avengers: Endgame’s MCU references and Easter eggs

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War..L to R: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)..Photo Credit: Film Frame..© Marvel 2016

Captain America: Civil War

Continuing with Ant-Man’s venture to seek out the Avengers – when he rings the doorbell, he gives them a little Ant-Man refresher by describing his role in the Civil War clash.

As Thanos’ forces invade Earth, Hawkeye keeps the gauntlet safe but, as the battle becomes increasingly dangerous, Black Panther calls to Clint to pass it to the Wakandan king. This is a nice nod to their first meeting in Civil War – Hawkeye introduces himself as Clint, to which T’Challa replies “I don’t care”. At that time, Panther was is no mood to acquaint himself with other superheroes, as he was focused on his quest for vengeance. The fact that he now acknowledges Clint’s name shows that he has grown to respect all of the brave warriors he is fighting beside.

Also during the major battle, Captain America calls Spider-Man “Queens”, resuming their friendly chat during the Civil War fight, when Cap asked Spidey where he is from.

Doctor Strange

Professor Hulk’s time heist assignment in Endgame is to track down Doctor Strange on Bleecker Street in 2012. Instead, he finds the Ancient One. The transfer of Sorcerer Supreme from Ancient One to Stephen Strange takes place during his origin story. When Hulk assertively approaches her, the Ancient One knocks Hulk into the astral plane, just like she does to Doctor Strange when they first meet.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

In Endgame, Nebula convinces 2014 Gamora to stand up to their father and choose good over evil. Those roles are reversed in Guardians 2, when Gamora sways Nebula to help the Guardians. The sisters reconcile and Nebula even saves Gamora’s life.

The ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 brings all the Ravagers together as they honor Yondu. Their unified forces are still going strong years later when they fight alongside the Avengers in Endgame.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

When Spider-Man comes back to life in Endgame, an emotional Iron Man gives him a big hug. This evokes the scene in Homecoming when Peter mistakenly thinks Mr. Stark is going in for a hug, but is really just opening the car door. The allusion in Endgame illustrates how much Stark has come to care about his apprentice. And Peter is happy that he finally gets his hug.

Thor: Ragnarok

The New Asgard portion of Endgame, as well as some of its inhabitants, continue the storyline from Ragnarok. Valkyie, Korg, and Miek were all introduced in that movie, and Asgard is destroyed in the climax of Ragnarok, causing the need for the Asgardians to settle elsewhere.

All of the remaining Asgardians participate in the Endgame battle, with Valkyrie flying in on her pegasus. The movie didn’t have time to explain where she found the flying horse, and the only other time she rode one was in a stunning Ragnarok flashback.

Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER

L to R: T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Ramonda (Angela Bassett)

Ph: Film Frame

©Marvel Studios 2018

Black Panther

Black Panther set the stage for the visual wonders of Wakanda but, since that film and Avengers: Infinity War came out so close to each other, the glimpses of Wakanda in Endgame are mostly an extension of the country’s role in Infinity War. However, one Endgame appearance can claim a connection solely to Black Panther – Ramonda. After the Avengers defeat Thanos, T’Challa reunites with his mother in Wakanda. Unlike Okoye, Shuri, and M’Baku, Ramonda has only been in Black Panther before celebrating the victory in Endgame.

Avengers: Infinity War

Of all the MCU movies, Infinity War obviously has the closest association with Endgame. There would be too many connections between the two movies to count. That being said, a few of the best relate to Thor, while another features a specific planet.

When Thor threw Stormbreaker into Thanos’ chest at the end of Infinity War, the Mad Titan struggled to breathe out “you should have gone for the head,” and then proceeded to wipe away half of existence. Then the Avengers find Thanos on a garden planet in Endgame. Thor quickly lops off his head and replies to the team’s amazement with a somber “I went for the head.”

Later on in Endgame, Thor and Rocket are in 2013 Asgard. Rocket extracts the Reality Stone from Jane Foster and one of the Asgardian guards chasing him shouts to get the rabbit. Thor obliviously calls Rocket a rabbit a few times in Infinity War.

The two Avengers epics share a tragic link via the planet Vormir. Both films’ Vormir sequences end with a fan favorite heroine meeting an untimely demise. The same music plays, as audiences weep.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

In the Ant-Man sequel’s mid-credit scene, Hope, Hank, and Janet all vanish from the decimation event. Wasp shows up for the final battle in Endgame, while Hank and Janet join her and Scott at Tony Stark’s funeral.

Wasp answering the call to arms alludes to Ant-Man and the Wasp, when Scott asks if she would have stood with Captain America during the events of Civil War. In the middle of the Endgame fight, Cap needs someone to start up the Quantum Realm tunnel in Scott’s van – Hope responds, “We’re on it, Cap,,” and smiles at Scott. This is an inside joke from the duo’s own movie, when Hope teases Scott for calling Captain America, Cap.

Captain Marvel

Early on in Endgame, the Avengers are gloomily cataloging all of their vanished acquaintances. As Nick Fury is presented on screen, Carol Danvers sadly looks away. She still has great respect and fondness for her Earthbound friend, who partnered with her during the events of Captain Marvel.

After failing to nab the Tesseract in 2012, Iron Man goes even further back to 1970 to steal it from a SHIELD bunker. This is just another time stamp that connects the dots of the Space Stone, which later includes Mar-Vell’s experimentation during the 1980s, as referenced throughout Captain Marvel.

With Avengers: Endgame bringing the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 22 film “Infinity Saga” to a close, there may never be another film with as many connective threads to other movies.