20 Marvel References That Were Years In The Making

    Only Marvel would make a reference that pays off six years later.

    Tessa Fahey
    by Tessa Fahey

    BuzzFeed Staff

    We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us their favorite callbacks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and compiled all the best callbacks in Endgame. Now here are some of the best non-Endgame callbacks:

    🚨 Spoilers ahead! 🚨 Also, not all submissions are from Community users.

    1. A Stark-designed ship in Thor: Ragnarok requires that Thor use the name "Point Break," a reference to Tony using the nickname in The Avengers.

    Tony saying, "No hard feeling, Point Break," in The Avengers and then Thor struggling to get access to a ship's controls until he says, "Damn you, Stark, Point Break," and gets access in Ragnarok
    Marvel

    Suggested by: pipermurreyj

    2. A case described in Doctor Strange seems to match Justin Hammer's failed attempt at re-creating Iron Man in Iron Man 2.

    A knock-off Iron Man twisted 180 degrees at the waist in Iron Man and someone saying, "I've got a 35-year-old Air Force Colonel, crushed his lower spine in some kind of experimental armor," in Doctor Strange
    Marvel

    Suggested by: intercept & christinaf30

    3. Marvel Cinematic Universe TV shows have a running joke of messing up that famous Spider-Man quote, "With great power comes great responsibility."

    Agents of Shield quote: "With great power comes a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with," Jessica Jones quote: "With great power comes great mental illness," and Cloak and Dagger quote: "With great power comes even more power"
    ABC / Netflix / Freeform

    4. Captain Marvel teases people who saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier by implying Fury will lose his eye by trusting a Coulson lookalike, only for him to actually lose his eye by petting a cat.

    Fury saying, "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye," in Winter Soldier, then in Captain Marvel injuring his eye in a car accident after trusting a disguised alien and then losing his eye while petting an alien that looks like a cat
    Marvel

    Suggested by: goosethekitty

    5. Captain America references his catchphrase from Captain America: The First Avenger in Captain America: Civil War.

    Steve Rogers saying, "I can do this all day," twice in First Avenger and then once in Civil War
    Marvel

    Suggested by: jerminator356

    6. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Happy turns on "Back in Black," the song that the Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man opens with, but Peter Parker is too young to recognize who it's by.

    A boombox playing AC/DC's Back in Black in Iron Man and Happy turning on Back in Black in Spider-Man: Far From Home with Peter responding, "Aw, I love Led Zeppelin"
    Marvel / Sony

    Suggested by: mjwatson92

    7. In Agent Carter, we meet the Stark Labs scientist Anton Vanko, who we learned in Iron Man 2 helped create Stark's arc reactor technology and also fathered Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash.

    A screen in Iron Man 2 describing Ivan Vanko's history, including an espionage conviction, and Anton Vanko in Agent Carter wearing a name tag
    Marvel / ABC

    8. In Infinity War, Loki makes a reference to something Tony said to him all the way back in The Avengers, making it clear he's really switched sides.

    Tony answering Loki's "I have an army," with "We have a Hulk," in The Avengers and Loki saying, "And for another, we have a Hulk," in Infinity War
    Marvel

    Suggested by: megana459810788

    9. Both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home end with a cutoff "What the f—?"

    Aunt May saying, "What the f—" in Homecoming, and Spider-Man saying, "What the f—" in Far From Home
    Sony

    10. Black Panther's UN speech scene parallels the press conference at the end of Iron Man.

    Tony Stark saying, "I am Iron Man," in response to a dismissive reporter and T'Challa just smiling in response to a man asking, "With all due respect, King T'Challa, what can a nation of farmers have to offer the rest of the world?"
    Marvel

    Suggested by: jlb6

    11. Loki cheering when Hulk smashes Thor in Thor: Ragnarok is a reference to Loki getting similarly smashed in The Avengers.

    Hulk smashing Loki in The Avengers and Hulk smashing Thor in Ragnarok with Loki yelling, "Yes, that's how it feels"
    Marvel

    Suggested by: benevolentspirit

    12. In The Incredible Hulk, we meet a pizza-craving grad student who grows up to become Peter Parker's teacher.

    Mister Harrington sitting at a computer and holding pizza in The Incredible Hulk and then in front of a school bus in Spider-Man: Homecoming
    Marvel / Sony

    Suggested by: putzik47

    13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier mentions Stephen Strange as a target of Project Insight two years before the release of Doctor Strange.

    Sitwell saying, "A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA"
    Marvel

    14. Thor's failed attempt to soothe Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok is a reference to what Natasha does to soothe Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

    Natasha saying, "Hey, big guy, the sun's getting real low," and touching Hulk's hand in Age of Ultron and Thor doing the same thing in Ragnarok
    Marvel

    15. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter unknowingly mimics the way Tony interacts with holograms in Iron Man, which gets him a fond look from Happy.

    Marvel / Sony

    Suggested by: maiziehurst123

    16. A map in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in Iron Man 2 seems to label significant places in both past and future MCU movies.

    A fuzzy map with circles that's been labeled with Greenland; Norway or Sokovia; Wakanda; New Mexico; Malibu; and New York, New Jersey, or Virginia
    Marvel

    Suggested by: christopherf4a0d0a2c4

    Greenland is where Cap crashes the Valkyrie, Malibu is where Tony lives at the time, New Mexico is where Thor's hammer lands, and Wakanda is where T'Challa lives. The other locations are a little unclear. The one on the US East Coast could be New York, a reference to the battle of New York; New Jersey, where Camp Lehigh is; or Virginia, where Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk. The one in Europe could be Norway, where the Tesseract was hidden for a long time, or Sokovia, where the Maximoffs are from.

    17. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. references Wolfgang von Strucker and the fact that he gave Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver their powers, which we saw in the credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

    Wolfgang von Strucker looking at the imprisoned Maximoff twins in Winter Soldier and someone saying, "I know Strucker has been experimenting on powered individuals," in Agents of Shield
    Marvel / ABC

    Suggested by: everlea

    18. The first episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. casually mentions Project Pegasus, which we later find out was the secret Tesseract experiment that gave Captain Marvel her powers.

    Skye saying, "Shield covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus," on Agents of Shield and a scene in Captain Marvel that says, "Project Pegasus, joint NASA USAF facility"
    ABC / Marvel

    Suggested by: dizzytooth81

    Plus, "New Mexico" is a Thor reference.

    19. Captain Marvel explains how Fury came up with the Avengers Initiative presented in Iron Man 2, as well as where the name Avengers came from.

    A folder in Iron Man 2 that says The Avengers Initiative, a document in Captain Marvel that describes The Protector Initiative, and Carol in front of her plane that says Avenger
    Marvel

    Suggested by: megana459810788

    20. And finally, the MCU starts with Tony saying "I am Iron Man" at the end of Iron Man, so it's fitting that MCU's Phase Three ends with "Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker" in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

    Marvel / Sony

    Suggested by: its_just_pretty_great

    Did we miss your favorite callback or reference? Leave it in the comments below!