Captain America: Brave New World is not only the fourth installment in Cap's big screen saga, but it also has the peculiar task of following up on a few loose ends from the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As a result, Sam's first stand-alone adventure acts as a bit of an indirect sequel to The Incredible Hulk while simultaneously following up on the story set up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. With multiple connections to other projects, the movie has a few interesting easter eggs, references, and cameos for audiences to enjoy. So don't worry if you missed any, because we're about to break them all down!
**WARNING: there will be mild spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World ahead**
Captain America: Brave New World easter eggs and references
Right out of the gate audiences are treated to a speech by the newly-elected president: Thaddeus Ross. In it, he mentions the "disappearance of half of mankind" which is referencing the events of Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos snapped his fingers and took out half of the Universe's life along the way. A few moments later, audiences witness footage from the final battle of The Incredible Hulk — the second-ever MCU movie that was often ignored until now. We see how Edward Norton's Hulk battles the Abomination while leaving a trail of destruction in Harlem.
Cap's first mission involves retrieving a package that was stolen by the Serpent Society. In comic book pages, they're an organization of criminals that love to use snake-like costumes and first appeared in Captain America #310. When President Ross is visiting her wife's grave, we see another grave to the right with the name "Lampl" engraved on it. This could be a reference to Ellen Lampl, who was a graphic designer in other MCU movies such as The Avengers and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Back in the White House, Sam tells Thaddeus he's "still getting used to the new look", which could be a reference to how the role had to be recast due to the unfortunate passing of William Hurt.
When Joaquin Torres is reviewing the security footage of the White House at the time of the attack, we see one of the corrupted agents is named "Hunter Barcroft" — the same name as the assistant production coordinator of Captain America: Brave New World. Back at Sam's base of operations, we see many little easter eggs referencing other MCU characters, such as:
- A picture of Sam with his former wing-man, Riley. The same picture was seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- A picture of Sam and Bucky Barnes sharing a hug.
- A picture of Sam's sister, Sarah Wilson, on their family boat.
Furthermore, Joaquin mentions that Ruth Bat-Seraph was trained in the Red Room, which is the place where both Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova trained to become Black Widows. Furthermore, the New Falcon then tracks the Leader to a place called "Camp Echo One". In comic book pages, Camp Echo-1 is a containment facility meant to hold the Hulk himself, Bruce Banner. Once Cap and Falcon arrive at the location where Samuel Sterns was held captive, we see there is a Master's Degree from Grayburn College, which is a fictional location in Marvel Comics that also appeared in The Incredible Hulk.
Last, but not least, let's round things up with a list of easier-to-spot easter eggs:
- Cap's new wings are made of vibranium — the same metal that the Black Panther suit is made of.
- Ant-Man is named-dropped twice by the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres.
- Stever Rogers and Natasha Romanoff are named-dropped by Sam when remembering his time with them as outlaws.
- Different countries around the world are fighting for control of Adamantium, a new mineral found within the Celestial in the Indian Ocean. This is the same metal that the Wolverine's claws are made of.
- Speaking of the Celestial, audiences saw its birth and eventual death in the events of The Eternals. It was frozen only to never be seen until this movie.
Captain America: Brave New World cameos
Captain America: Brave New World didn't have a mind-blowing amount of cameos such as the likes of Deadpool & Wolverine or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, it did feature the return of an MCU character that's sure to make fans happy: Bucky Barnes. That means he's appeared in every Captain America movie to date, without fault — a feat that not even Steve Rogers was able to accomplish. Besides, it's worth remembering we'll see him again soon enough in the Thunderbolts* movie.
Furthermore, Dr. Betty Ross, played by Liv Tyler, made a comeback after many years. It's the first time audiences have seen the character since The Incredible Hulk premiered back in 2008. While she didn't have a big role to play, it further establishes the idea that the events of Hulk's first and only movie in the MCU are definitely canon, even if there was a time when it didn't seem that way.
Those were all the easter eggs, references, and cameos we could find in Captain America: Brave New World. Did we miss some? Let us know on our social media sites Bluesky, Instagram, and Twitter.