Like every other Marvel Studios movie before it, Avengers: Endgame is riddled with cameos and subtle callbacks to MCU past.
It’s a three-hour event movie directed by the Russo Brothers, so we really didn’t expect anything less. But there is one cameo, in particular, that really took us by surprise. Needless to say, said cameo appears at a particularly spoiler-sensitive moment in the movie, so if you’ve yet to see Endgame with your own two eyes, look away now – lest we ruin the surprise.
Because perhaps more so than any other MCU film before it, Endgame really ought to be seen on the biggest screen you can find. Not just for the visual effects, but there’s something to be said about seeing a movie so emotionally impactful in the company of fellow Marvel fans.
So without further ado, let’s discuss that callback to Iron Man 3.
Did you spot him? At the funeral of Tony Stark, hidden amongst the superheroes and deities, is Harley Keener, the little boy who helped Tony during the throes of Iron Man 3. He’s all grown up, which is why I had to look twice before realizing that it was, in fact, Harley, paying his respects to the late, great Tony Stark.
It’s another example of Avengers: Endgame catering to those fans who have been with the MCU since the very beginning. Taken as one collective whole, this film is the ultimate payoff to a 22-picture saga, and we can say with some confidence that Endgame and the legacy on which it stands will be discussed, analyzed and indeed celebrated for a very, very long time.
Avengers: Endgame is out now, and its quest for the box office throne has well and truly begun.