10 Easter Eggs In Avengers: Infinity War That You Might’ve Missed

Avengers: Infinity War is finally here! The biggest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date and likely the biggest movie of the year as a whole, it sees practically everyone in the franchise unite to take on Thanos, the alien overlord who wants to wipe out all life in the universe. As that sounds, this is the MCU at its most fan-pleasing. By this point, the films of Marvel Studios are treating the whole audience like hardcore followers and so everyone in the theater is expected to keep up with the comic book craziness unfolding on screen. Even casual viewers will surely be thrilled by seeing the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pratt and many, many more trading quips. But there are lots of other thrills for more seasoned Marvel fans hidden beneath the superficial fun of watching characters crossover. Infinity War is something of a celebration of the entire MCU to date and as such, features several nods to the franchise's past. What's more, it's drawn from various comic books and contains a wealth of references to the source material, too. So, on that note, read on for 10 awesome easter eggs to be found in the film that you might've missed. The Avengers Callbacks To complete the feeling that Infinity War is the beginning of the end, the pic brings things full circle by featuring several callbacks to the first time Earth's Mightiest Heroes teamed up in 2012's The Avengers. In particular, the opening scene sees Thanos attack the Asgardian refugee ship, which reunites him with his former stooge Loki. Thanos references the fact that the God of Mischief failed him by losing both the Space and Mind Stones. As Bruce reminds us later on when speaking with Iron Man, Loki was in cahoots with the Mad Titan at that point. Speaking of Tony, Stark mentions the Battle of New York several times, too, referencing the PTSD he suffered in Iron Man 3. The most notable callback to The Avengers, though, comes from Loki himself. When Thanos is threatening him, the Jade Giant comes in to attack the villain, leading Loki to say the line: "We have a Hulk." Last time we heard this in the MCU, Tony Stark was saying it to the God of Mischief. Apart from being a fun nod, it also lampshades just how far Loki has come over the years. The Chitauri And The Outriders Continuing with the callbacks to The Avengers, the half-skeletal, half-cyborg alien race that served as Loki's foot soldiers in the 2012 team-up movie make a surprise return in Infinity War. In a flashback to how Thanos first adopted Gamora, we see how the Mad Titan uses his army to lay waste to half of the green-skinned Guardian's homeworld. Obviously, the Chitauri are wiped out in the present as the Avengers managed to destroy their mothership back in 2012, thereby rendering the entire race lifeless. When the Black Order sent an army to attack Wakanda, then, it's revealed that Thanos has got a new race of henchman. These six-armed savages are known as the Outriders and come from the Infinity comic book arc in which they serve the same function. Morgan Stark The first time we see him in Infinity War, Tony Stark is having a peaceful morning in the park with Pepper Potts. As well as being engaged, he's eagerly pitching the idea to Pepper that they should have a kid. He suggests that, if they have a son, they should name him after his "crazy uncle" Morgan. For those familiar with the character in the comics, it's a bit odd that Tony wants to name his son after this family member. On the page, Morgan is actually his cousin. What's more, he's pretty much evil and frequently tries to cheat Tony out of his fortune. Maybe the MCU version is closer to the one from the Ultimate comics, though, who was less villainous and was murdered by terrorists. Tony doesn't usually have kids in regular comics continuity, though Invincible Iron Man #500 flashed forward to a possible future in which his middle-aged son, Howard Anthony Stark, fights alongside an aging Tony. Pepper is heavily implied to be Howard's mother, too. Doctor Strange's New Spell As Iron Man and his band of heroes attack Thanos on Titan, Doctor Strange uses a spell that will be familiar to comic book readers when he goes toe-to-toe with the big bad. He summons long ribbons comprised of red energy that wind their way around the villain. This incantation is called the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and is one of the most recognizable of Strange's spells in the comics, so fans of the Master of the Mystic Arts should be pleased to see him using it for the first time in the MCU. They seem pretty tough, too, as Thanos struggles to break free from them, even with the power of three Infinity Stones at his disposal. If you're wondering why Strange never used this spell before in his 2016 solo movie, there's a reason for that. Doctor Strange screenwriter C. Robert Cargill has confirmed that the sorcerer became much more powerful after he spent time in the Dark Dimension at the end of the film. Maybe this trick is one of the things he picked up there? That Really Old Movie, Aliens Peter Parker is up to his old tricks in Infinity War. Memorably, Spidey came up with his plan to take down Giant Man back in Captain America: Civil War by suggesting they use the method that brought down the AT-ATs in "that really old movie" The Empire Strikes Back. Here, Peter comes up with a plan to defeat Ebony Maw and rescue Doctor Strange based on something he saw in another "old movie" - 1986's Aliens. In particular, they breach the hull of the Black Order member's ship and let Maw be sucked out into the cold vacuum of space. We bet Aliens director James Cameron feels bad for criticizing the MCU now. That's not it for references to the sci-fi franchise, either. A little while later, Peter apologizes in advance to his friends in case any aliens lay eggs in him and they burst out of his chest. He later worries that Mantis is going to do just that to him. This is, of course, a nod to the famous scene from 1979's Alien in which the same fate befalls John Hurt's character. Footloose And Flash Gordon Alien and its sequel aren't the only movies that Peter Parker references in Infinity War. When Drax mentions that Star-Lord once had a dance-off that saved the galaxy, a stunned Spidey says, "just like Footloose?" - referencing the 1984 musical. Guardians of the Galaxy fans will remember that fellow lover of 80s movies Peter Quill is a big fan of this film, previously calling star Kevin Bacon a great hero of Earth. At an earlier point in Infinity War, Mantis even thinks that Bacon must be one of the Avengers when Thor describes them as "Earth's mightiest defenders." Peter reveals exactly how much he loves Footloose when he responds to Parker's mention of it by asking if it's still the greatest movie ever made. Spidey scoffs at the idea and says "it never was," slightly offending Star-Lord. Obviously, Parker is more of a sci-fi fan. On the other hand, when Tony Stark calls Quill "Flash Gordon," Peter is flattered. Of course, he would love the kitsch 1980 classic. Red Skull Returns For years, fans have been wondering if and when Red Skull would make a return to the MCU. At the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, Hugo Weaving's HYDRA leader vanished when he held the Space Stone (or Tesseract, as we knew it then). Given its power set, though, it was theorized that Red Skull didn't die but was merely transported across the galaxy. In Infinity War, this long-held theory has finally been confirmed. When Thanos and Gamora travel to Volmir in search of the Soul Stone, they meet a mysterious cloaked figure. It turns out to be Johann Schmidt, who reveals that he was transported here after he attempted to harness the power of the Tesseract. He believes that he was cursed into service of a greater power that he was doomed never to wield. It's worth mentioning that Red Skull's initial cloaked appearance is reminiscent of the Grim Reaper, too. In the comics, Thanos is obsessively infatuated with the personification of Death. In fact, his love for Lady Death is his motivation for getting hold of the Infinity Gems and proving what he can do with a snap of his fingers. With A Snap Of His Fingers... As revealed in the trailers, Thanos aims to wipe out half of all life in the universe. Though his goals are very different from the comics - he doesn't usually want to bring balance to the universe due to overpopulation issues - the method by which he goes about this is the same as perhaps the character's most iconic moment from the source material. This moment is teased throughout the film, too. Gamora says early on that Thanos can achieve his goal with a simple snap of his fingers if he gets his purple hands on all of the Infinity Stones. The villain himself later threatens Iron Man's team by saying the same thing. Finally, once he removes the Mind Stone from Vision's head, Thanos gets the chance to try this threat out and snaps his fingers. Sure enough, half of the people in the universe turn to dust. The fact that this event happens right at the end of the movie is a neat twist on how things play out in the comics. The Infinity Gauntlet storyline actually kicks off with Thanos doing the snap, as wiping out half the universe is just his first trick and not his ultimate goal. From The Panel To The Screen On the whole, the movie is a fairly loose adaptation of the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War comic books, but while it differs in its storyline, the Russos cleverly recreated iconic moments from those arcs on the screen as a homage to the film's inspiration. For one, Banner crashes into the Sanctum Sanctorum much like Silver Surfer does in Gauntlet, filling the role of the one who warns the Avengers that Thanos is coming. Speaking of Thanos, he uses the Reality Stone to turn Drax into blocks and unravel Mantis in much the same way as he does his brother Eros and Nebula in the comics. Thanos' method of killing Vision and slamming Spider-Man to the ground are also taken straight from the page. Lastly, the movie's final scene sees Thanos retire to a country home in the middle of nowhere on some alien world. Having finally completed his goal, he allows himself to watch the sunset and smile. This is a replica of his ending in the Infinity Gauntlet story. Captain Marvel Is Coming The question of whether Brie Larson's Captain Marvel would make her MCU debut in Avengers: Infinity War or not has long been a discussion for fans. Recently, it was confirmed that Marvel high-ups had decided that it would be best to keep Carol Danvers' introduction for her own solo movie next year. However, that doesn't mean the character has nothing to do with this one. The film's solitary post-credits scene sees the return of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) for the first time since 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. The pair are tragically affected by Thanos wiping out half of the universe, but before he turns to dust, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director manages to send an S.O.S. message. The icon on the screen of his device will be instantly familiar to Marvel comics fans, too. With the star symbol and the blue and red motif, it's clearly a nod to Captain Marvel, meaning Earth's Mightiest Heroes will be getting some help when Avengers 4 rolls around next year.