‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Includes Hilarious Nod to ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’

Leading up to the debut of Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel Studios went on record saying it was their most ambitious film to date. It even spawned a viral meme in which people compared crossovers throughout entertainment history they thought were more ambitious.

When Infinity War finally hit the silver screen on Friday, fans got a pretty funny treat when one of the movie’s character inadvertently created an ambitious crossover of his own.

Major Avengers: Infinity War spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you may want to stop reading. If you don’t mind being spoiled, keep on keeping on.

After Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is abducted from New York City by Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), a member of Thanos’ Black Order, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Spider-Man follow the spaceship into space.

While in space and trying to hatch out a plan on how to save Strange from Ebony Maw’s tortuous grasp, Stark makes note that the alien captor reminds him an awful lot of Squidward Tentacles from Spongebob Squarepants.

Of course, since Ebony Maw was in the process of torturing their newfound colleague, Ebony Maw isn’t quite the happy go lucky character typically found in Bikini Bottom.

The character’s roots are actually quite opposite of Spongebob’s melancholic neighbor. After a quick cameo in The New Avengers #8 (2013), Ebony Maw’s first full comic book appearance came in Infinity #1 (2013). He was created by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena.

Joe and Anthony Russo and the powers that be at Marvel Studios decided to change up the character’s powers a bit when adapting him for the silver screen. While he is primarily a telepath in the comics who can control the mind of his enemies, Vaughan-Lawlor’s portrayal of the character featured more telekinetic-based powers rather than telepathic powers. He also apparently didn’t have the ability to control other’s minds as he was forced to torture Strange in an attempt to extract information on the Time Stone’s whereabouts.

Talking about the Black Order — and more specifically, Ebony Maw — on the Infinity Warpress tour, the Russo Brothers explained what Ebony Maw’s role in the film was.

“We really were looking for actors to embody these characters of the children of Thanos, called the Black Order,” Joe said. “This character Ebony Maw in particular is like Thanos’ herald. He’s a little bit of his hype man. And Thanos is sort of a culty character. Ebony Maw, the character who Tom plays, is the one that builds up the cult.”