Did You Catch the ‘Spider-Man 2’ Reference in ‘Deadpool 2’?

It’s no secret that Deadpool 2 has a deluge of Marvel and DC Comics references, but it looks like one line may have slipped under the radar.

Mild spoilers for Deadpool 2 below!

Sure, some of Deadpool’s Marvel references were a little more point-blank, referencing characters like Thanos, Black Panther, and Black Widow directly by name. But in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the film’s third act, the Merc with a Mouth (played by Ryan Reynolds) pays homage to a line that’s pretty regularly associated with Spider-Man.

In the third act, Deadpool, Domino (Zazie Beetz), and Cable (Josh Brolin) are facing off against Juggernaut (Ryan Reynolds), and quickly realize they need more reinforcements. Thankfully, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), and Yukio (Shioli Kutsana) arrive, and Deadpool essentially tags them in to fight Juggernaut, telling Colossus to “Go get ’em, tiger!”

Granted, the expression was used pretty regularly in the 1960s, but those in the nerd world most likely associate it with the ending of Spider-Man 2. In that film’s closing moments, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) delivers the line to Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), after police sirens in the distance interrupt their romantic moment.

Is it the most profound Spider-Man reference that Deadpool 2 could make? Not necessarily. But it’s still a pretty fun homage – one that has another layer to it, when you consider the relationship that the two heroes have in the comics.

Over the years, the “SpideyPool” dynamic has become a beloved part of the Marvel Comics canon, with some fans (and even comic writers) wanting the pair together on a platonic or romantic level. And in the years since Reynolds’ Deadpool has come into the mainstream, the two characters have certainly been linked in some pretty unusual ways. For one thing, Reynolds notably kissed former The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield at the 2017 Golden Globes. And even within the fictional world of Deadpool, some have hypothesized that the antihero accidentally killed Peter’s iconic Uncle Ben.

“That’s a really interesting question,” David Leitch, who directed Deadpool 2, said in a previous interview. “I think that people should continue to theorize who that old man was.”

What do you think of the Spider-Man Easter egg in Deadpool 2? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Deadpool 2 is in theaters now.