Marvel Cinematic Universe: Definitive Guide To Easter Eggs, In-Jokes And Foreshadowing

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Definitive Guide To Easter Eggs, In-Jokes And Foreshadowing

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

21. The Old S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo

The Winter Soldier maintains the continuity of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s logo change from The Avengers; for most of the film the new version is used, but in the secret bunker you can see the old version from Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Thor, with the addition of a patriotic American emblem.

20. Photos Of The First Avengers Cast

Revisiting his old barracks serves as a nice way to remind Steve (and the audience) of his pre-Cap days. On top of the flashback, the secret bunker features portraits of some of Captain America: The First Avenger’s key players. Howard Stark and Peggy Carter are pointed out, but also there is Chester Phillips, Tommy Lee Jones’ colonel.

19. Another Nod To The Comics’ Zola

The reveal that Armin Zola has managed to transfer his consciousness into a computer shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise; that’s an essential part of his backstory from the comics. But that’s not the only part of the character’s appearance lifted from the page. Like his introduction in The First Avenger, the round shape of Zola’s head on the screen is a homage to the look of the character’s face on the belly of his robot body. An early draft of the script even had Zola in a robot body, but Marvel rejected it because it was too silly. Give it time.

18. Howard Starks Death

The opening of Iron Man revealed that Tony Stark’s parents, Howard and Maria, had been killed in a car crash, but the specifics weren’t elaborated on until The Winter Soldier; turns out that their deaths were orchestrated by Hyrda. As it was Roxxon behind it in the comics, does that mean the Oil Corporation is part of the Nazi offshoot (and thus, by extension, Killian was actually a good guy)?

17. Black Widows Hawkeye Necklace

It was established in The Avengers that Black Widow has something of a soft spot for Hawkeye (someone has to), the pair having shared some defining experience in Budapest. Although a rumoured Hawkeye cameo in the movie didn’t materialise, he still gets a subtle nod; Romanoff has an arrow necklace.