Ant-Man Movie: Easter Eggs And Marvel Universe References

Marvel’s tiniest hero has finally arrived on the biggest of platforms – the silver screen – and his debut was loaded with Easter Eggs and references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe outside of his colony.

We’ve compiled a list of everything we caught in the film but if you think you found something which isn’t listed, be sure to leave it in the comment section so we can update our list!

Tales To Astonish

While presenting his technology, Darren Cross uses the line, “Tales to Astonish” which is a throwback to the early days of Ant-Man and his first appearance in comic books. Fun fact: Ant-Man first appeared in issue 27 of Tales to Astonish in 1962 with Hank Pym donning the shrinking suit.

“Redeem Yourself”

Much like Tales to Astonish, this line is a reference to an Ant-Man comics title. Ant-Man’s run in comics has often been under the title, The Irredeemable Ant-Man.

Howard Stark

Maybe not an Easter Egg but certainly a fun cameo. What really enriched Ant-Man was it’s connections to the Marvel Universe right off the bat as it planted it’s own seeds to build a franchise in itself. Nevertheless, one of those Marvel connections came when John Slattery appeared as Howard Stark, father of Tony and founder of Stark Industries. Hank Pym and Howard had been doing business together and while the two couldn’t exactly come to terms in Ant-Man’s opening flashback scene, that may be an indication to who’s side Ant-Man will take come Civil War.

Peggy Carter

Another fun cameo came in the same opening sequence with Howard Stark in the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter popped up during a point in her life we hadn’t yet visited. We’ve seen the character in Captain America: The First Avenger as Steve Rogers’ love interest and again when she became the title character of her own TV series: Agent Carter. We’ve also seen the character in what appeared to be her dying days during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It seems Peggy may become a staple in the Marvel universe, much like Nick Fury was throughout Phase 1, as far as timelines are concerned.

The Milgrom Hotel

After prison, Scott Lang found himself living in a lovely establishment called The Milgrom Hotel. This is a nod to Al Milgrom, who wrote Avengers West Coast.

Burig Laundry

Burig Laundry was a reference to Ant-Man‘s lead graphic designer, Susan Burig. Maybe she even put that one in there herself!

“Dropping Cities Out Of The Sky”

Here’s one that was spoon fed to audience’s who watched Avengers: Age of Ultron but any connection to the greater Marvel Universe is always fun. Hank Pym criticized the Avengers, saying they were busy “Dropping cities out of the sky,” a reference to Ultron’s attempted mass genocide by lifting Sokovia into the sky only to launch it back into the Earth.

HYDRA

Apparently, HYDRA isn’t hurting so bad following Age of Ultron. The buyer of Darren Cross’s ultimate weapon, Mitch Carson, is a representative of HYDRA offering double the asking price. They must be thriving under Ward.

Civil War

The post credits scene sets the stage for Captain America: Civil War with the first clip from the film. “The accords won’t let him help,” Cap says to Falcon about Stark. The accords, are government accords in place by the Registration Act which forces super heroes to register with the government and act on its behalf and only its behalf. Tony Stark is for it following Age of Ultron, Steve Rogers is against it. Civil War.

It’s A Small World

A playful nod to the iconic Disney World ride came when Luis whistled to “blend in,” as a security guard even after Scott told him, “No whistling!” He hummed the tune, “It’s a small world, after all!” Don’t forget, Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Disney, so the nod is no mistake!

This is the second time a Disney song has been featured in a Marvel Studios film this year, following the “No Strings,” of Pinocchio which was a prominent theme of Age of Ultron.

Janet van Dyne

Hank Pym’s wife was not seen nearly as much as she was referenced but we got to see the Marvel character as The Wasp (and maybe again during Scott Lang’s trip through the quantum barrier) as she and Hank tried to stop a nuclear missile. Ultimately, she shrunk between the molecules and sacrificed herself to save those the missile would have massacred. She was seen again in a photograph at the end of the film but her face was covered by a hat, likely to leave the door open for casting. Hopefully, this means Marvel has plans for Hank Pym and future Ant-Man movies. If Marvel does go forward with the Wasp character, what actress would you like to see take on the role?

Eternity?

As mentioned above, there was an outline of somebody or something seen when Scott Lang traveled into the quantum realm. It was extremely quick and easy to miss, but Ant-Man director Peyton Reed confirmed something was there. Considering Ant-Man‘s story, it is likely a reference to the trapped Janet van Dyne but there’s another possibility: Eternity. The Marvel character represents all time in the universe. As Scott shrunk down to what seemed to be a horrid fate, Hank Pym’s voice spoke in his head, reiterating the word, “Eternity,” which may turn out not to be a coincidence.

The Ten Rings

Remember in the first Marvel Studios film, Iron Man, there was the terrorist organization called The Ten Rings? A nod to the big bad Mandarin’s wearing of 10 powerful rings? Well, we know from Iron Man 3 we never got a Mandarin which was true to the comics, but in the All Hail The King short film on Thor: The Dark World‘s blu-ray features, we learn there is a “real Mandarin” somewhere. Ant-Man fuels that fire a bit by having a Ten Rings logo tattooed on one of the men’s necks who tries to deal with the big bad Darren Cross.

New Avengers Facility & Falcon

Captain America must not have been home but we did get to visit a location established in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Scott Lang had to retrieve something from the New Avengers Facility in order for the heist to workout but it wasn’t as simple as planned. The Falcon showed up and attempted to thwart Ant-Man’s thieving plan (to no avail).

Hulk

In the finale’s tip montage, the “Super fine” chick Luis is referring to allegedly tells Falcon, “We’ve got one that jumps,” which seems to best fit a description of the Hulk unless there are even more characters coming into play.

Thor

During the same tip montage, the “Super fine” chick is quoted again, saying, “One that swings,” which is likely a reference to Thor swinging his hammer but could also be in combination with the next reference.

Spider-Man

During Luis’ monologue, he quoted the “Super fine,” chick Sam Wilson spoke with as saying, “We’ve got one that jumps. We’ve got one that swings. We’ve got one that crawls up the walls.” Clearly, “Crawls up the walls,” a reference to Spider-Man, the wall crawler, who was recently cast and will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time in Captain America: Civil War.

Stan Lee

A Marvel movie would hardly be complete without it’s cameo from Marvel mastermind Stan Lee. In Ant-Man‘s case, Stan the Man was a bartender at the very end of the film who, according to Luis, agreed that the journalist in connection with the Falcon was “super fine!”

What Easter Eggs or Marvel Universe references did you notice in Ant-Man? Leave them in the comment section and check back as we update our list!