10 Amazing Easter Eggs To Look Out For In Spider-Man: Homecoming

At last, Spider-Man is back where he belongs - standing among his fellow Marvel heroes as part of the MCU. As the mega-positive reviews suggest, Spider-Man: Homecoming is perhaps the most faithful rendition of the friendly neighborhood wallcrawler we've had on the big screen yet, and we couldn't be happier about it. This commitment to bringing the Spider-Man of the comics to life in the MCU extends to stuffing the movie full of easter eggs and references to the character's adventures on the page, as well as nods to previous Marvel films. MCU efforts always love their easter eggs, but Homecoming is arguably more fuelled by them than most. Spider-Man has had such a full and famous history over the decades that there are a lot more awesome things to squeeze into the narrative than perhaps with any other Marvel hero. With a massive spoiler warning in place - as we will be diving in to the full plot of the movie - join us as we run through 10 amazing easter eggs you should look out for in Spider-Man: Homecoming. If you'd rather go into the film cold, feel free to bookmark this page and come back later. Still here? Good, let's begin. 10) The Vulture's Arsenal In contrast to the, let's be honest, fairly lacking original comic book version of the Vulture, Homecoming's take on Adrian Toomes is a clever play on his supervillain name. Like a real vulture, Toomes is a scavenger who pinches alien or advanced technology leftover from Avengers incidents. Which obviously leads to lots of nods to past Marvel movies. The most obvious one occurs at the beginning of the film, when Toomes is clearing up after the Chitauri invasion of New York in The Avengers. This first haul of tech is what starts him on his mission. Later on, we see him wielding a gun taken from one of Ultron's drones. A head of one of these robots is also seen at one point. Another bit of familiar tech that's mentioned are black hole grenades. Fans of Thor: The Dark World (if there are any) will know that these were used by Malekith and his Dark Elves during their attack on London during that movie's climax. 9) Midtown High References The setting of Midtown High, Peter's high school for gifted science students, and the scenes set there contain a whole host of easter eggs that call back to both previous movies and the comics. In keeping with the scientific theme of the school, the walls of Midtown are adorned with some of the great scientists. Alongside real-life geniuses can be found a couple of Marvel know-it-alls. A photo of Bruce Banner can be seen hanging up in Peter's chemistry class and Tony's father Howard Stark can be seen painted in a mural. There are also a couple of throwaway verbal references that are easy to miss. One of the questions Liz asks Peter's science quiz team in practice for the Nationals is to do with Vibranium. This rare fictional metal is, of course, what Cap's shield is made out of. It also hails from Wakanda, the home country of Black Panther. Likewise, a teacher is doing a lecture on the Sokovia Accords, whose creation was the inciting incident of Captain America: Civil War. A bunch of students of the high school are inspired by comic characters as well, but one who hardly gets any screen time is Angourie Rice as Betty Brant, the co-host of the school's news show. In the comics, Betty is the secretary at the Daily Bugle and Peter's first girlfriend. 8) Peter Parker's Day Off Back when Spider-Man: Homecoming was being first developed, much was made about it being a throwback to John Hughes' teen movies of the 1980s. As it is, there isn't a great deal of the director's influence on the reboot, but there are a few moments where that comes out. In particular, one scene pays respect to one of Hughes' most popular films. When Peter is chasing Vulture's goons through Queens, he has to race through the backyards of the suburban area, breaking down fences, crashing parties and scaring kids with his malfunctioning eye lenses. As he sprints through one backyard, the kids in the pool are watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Specifically, the scene where Matthew Broderick is running through backyards. "Good movie," quips Peter. Another nod to Ferris Bueller occurs at the end of the credits. Just like that movie saw Ferris pop up at the end of the credits and break the fourth-wall by asking why the audience is still there, Captain America does something similar by talking to the audience about patience and how it sometimes isn't worth it. It's less obviously a homage then Deadpool's own post-credits scene, but it's clearly inspired by it. 7) Karen's Connection To J.A.R.V.I.S. Homecoming makes a major innovation for Spider-Man by giving him his own artificial intelligence that controls his suit. After a while of calling her "Suit Lady," Peter names the A.I Karen and the pair get along pretty well. Karen is basically Peter's version of Tony's old A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. - which makes the casting for the character very clever. Karen is voiced by Jennifer Connelly of Labyrinth and Requiem for a Dream fame. She also has a couple of superhero movies under her belt as well. Namely, 1991's The Rocketeer and Marvel's own Hulk - the 2003 Ang Lee version where she played Banner's love interest Betty Ross. What's so fun about her casting here though is that Connelly is the wife of Paul Bettany - otherwise known as the man behind the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. and, more recently, Vision. Maybe Connelly could graduate to playing an android herself in future - maybe Jocasta, Ultron's other "child" in the comics who has feelings for Vision? 6) Happy Hogan's Cargo A subplot in the movie sees Tony's pal Happy Hogan organizing the transition from Avengers Tower to the Avengers' new facility upstate. Towards the end of the film, Happy is seen listing off crates of items that need to be moved. Unsurprisingly, they contain some familiar nick-nacks. First of all, Happy mentions Iron Man's Hulkbuster armour, previously seen in Avengers: Age of Utron when Tony summoned it down from its pod in space in order to take out a rogue Bruce Banner in South Africa. This is the first time the armour has been referred to by its comics-accurate moniker. In Ultron, Stark jokingly nicknamed it Veronica. Next up, we get a mention of a second prototype shield for Captain America. Presumably, this is a callback to half-completed shield glimpsed in 2010's Iron Man 2. At the time, its inclusion was a fun reference to the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger. Looking back at it, though, it didn't really make sense that Tony had Cap's shield in his lab. At least now we have an explanation for it. Finally, Happy struggles to say "meg..." something before just calling it "Thor's magic belt." Presumably, he's referring to Megingjörð, the God of Thunder's belt in Norse Mythology that's said to double his strength. It's never appeared in the movies before, but has been known to pop up in the comics. 5) "If This Be My Destiny...!" When Peter goes to confront Vulture at his bunker, the pair have a face-off before Toomes leaves his teenage enemy for dead when he causes the roof to collapse on top of him. For a while, Peter is left without hope, but eventually he summons the strength and the force of will to get himself out and chase after Vulture. It's a great punch-the-air moment in the movie itself, but it gets even better when you realize it's a homage to a classic moment from the comics. The visual of Spidey trapped under fallen masonry, with water dripping down on him, before he manages to lift himself up and escape it is taken from "If This Be My Destiny...!", an iconic story arc from creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko back in 1965-66. The exact scenario is different (in the comics, machinery is pinning him down, the room is filling with water and it's Doctor Octopus who traps him), but the core of the scene is the same, as both showcase Peter Parker's incredible inner strength. 4) Iron Spider Suit At the end of the movie, after Spidey has defeated Vulture and delivered him to justice, Peter Parker gets everything he ever wanted when Tony Stark offers him an official place as one of the Avengers. The offer even comes with the unveiling of a brand new suit. The costume is largely a fresh design. It's similar to Peter's current suit but with more black detailing and a golden outline to the spider logo on the front, which is much larger than the small one Peter currently sports. Though it is a fresh design, some of its features and its origins suggest that it's inspired by a popular costume from the comics. When Peter teamed up with Iron Man around the time of the Civil War conflict, Stark decked him out with the Iron Spider armour - a gold and red outfit with extra appendages in the style of spider legs. Though Peter doesn't accept the armour here, they aren't going to go to the trouble of creating this new costume and then not do anything with it. Spidey is bound to change his mind about the upgrade when he helps the Avengers face Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. 3) The Prowler And His Nephew For a long time, Donald Glover's role in Spider-Man: Homecoming was shrouded in secrecy, with various rumours spreading about who he could play. Was he the Prowler? Was he an older version of Miles Morales? As it turns out, there's some truth in both. Glover's character's name in the movie is given as Aaron Davis. As fans will know, Aaron is a small-time criminal who goes by the supervillain handle the Prowler in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. Though he doesn't suit up at any point during the film, his alias is briefly seen in Peter's heads-up display screen about the guy when he goes to interrogate him. During this interrogation, Davis agrees to help Spidey locate Vulture and his goons, as he also doesn't want Toomes' dangerous weaponry in the neighborhood. "I got a nephew who lives round here," he says. It's easy to miss, but this is actually a reference to Aaron's famous nephew in the comics. None other than Miles Morales, the second Spider-Man! Yes, everyone, Miles totally exists in the MCU. Whether this is just a harmless easter egg or a clue that he'll eventually turn up is unknown, but it's definitely exciting. 2) Michelle's Real Identity Even more so than Donald Glover's character, who Zendaya was really playing in Spider-Man: Homecoming sparked a lot of chatter online. Though she was credited as Michelle, rumours stated that she was really Spidey's greatest love interest Mary Jane Watson. Later, though, other reports said she was the daughter of Adrian Toomes. As it turns out, the original rumours were correct. At the end of the movie, Michelle is named team captain of the quiz team. The loner girl then reveals that her friends call her "MJ." Yes, Zendaya is playing the MCU version of Mary Jane! While this is a massive reveal to Spider-Man fans, it's so subtly dropped into the movie that we feel we can count this as an easter egg. Perhaps a bit of foreshadowing about Michelle's true identity is hidden earlier in the film as well. As Peter is walking through the school hall, the camera pans up and focuses on a poster saying something along the lines of "Go tigers!" This has to be a reference to MJ's famous line in Spider-Man 2 - "Go get 'em, tiger." 1) The Scorpion's Boys Though he's only given a brief role here, Michael Mando is playing a significant character in Homecoming. Credited as Mac Gargan, he's seen to have a scorpion tattoo on his neck. The tattoo is a nod to Gargan's alter ego in the comics - the supervillain Scorpion. What's the betting that Gargan returns all suited up in the sequel? Speaking of which, the movie's first post-credits scene teases something big to come in the next instalment. It sees Adrian Toomes encounter his old crony Mac Gargan in jail. Gargan informs him that he has a plan to get revenge on Spider-Man. "I've got some boys on the outside who would love to slit his throat," he says. This has to be an oblique reference to the fact that a certain supervillain team will be forming in the sequel. Namely, the Sinister Six. Scorpion, Vulture and Shocker, who also appears Spider-Man: Homecoming, are all members in the comics. All it needs is three new villains to be introduced and the Six would be a go.