Top 10 Easter Eggs in Avengers: Infinity War

As you’re likely aware, the third Avengers film was inspired by a series of comic book miniseries: “The Infinity Gauntlet” and its sequel, “The Infinity War”. In a nice little homage to the source material, the film recreates a scene from the opening of “Infinity Gauntlet”, in which the Silver Surfer comes crashing through the roof of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, loudly proclaiming in a panic “Thanos is coming”. Now, Silver Surfer didn’t factor into “Avengers: Infinity War” for legal reasons, but Bruce Banner was tapped to fill his shoes and did so quite nicely.

Speaking of the good Doctor… did you happen to notice that he whipped out a specific spell pulled straight from the pages of the comic books? In fact, there were multiple ones. Fans might have recognized the self-replicating act as the Image of Ikonn, as well as the Bolts of Balthakk and the Winds of Watoomb. But the biggest moment of Doctor Strange fanjoy was surely when he busted out his iconic Crimson Bands of Cyttorak against the Mad Titan, using them to stop Thanos from closing his fist. Taken all together, “Infinity War” was quite the comic-accurate magic show for Doctor Strange.

Of course, not every easter egg is a reference to comic books. The moment in which Thanos confronts the Collector includes a great little knowing wink to fans of Guy Ritchie - or more specifically, his beloved crime comedy, “Snatch”. Though this British film has little in common with the reality-bending MCU event film, they do both benefit from a performance by Benicio del Toro and feature a plot that involves the pursuit of highly coveted stones. Early on in “Snatch,” del Toro’s Frankie "Four-Fingers" asks a jeweler “where is the stone?”. 17 years later, the tables have turned, and now its del Toro’s character on the receiving end of the intimidating question.

When bubbles are being used by an extraplanetary being trying to change the universe as we know it, they tend to stand out. In one of the film’s most dramatic moments, Chris Pratt’s Starlord is forced to make an impossible choice when Gamora asks him to kill her rather than let her be taken prisoner by Thanos. Robbing them of all agency however, the reality-stone wielding Thanos turns Pratt’s blaster into a harmless bubble gun. But why bubbles? Well… in the hugely popular fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Thanos’ attacks - for some strange reason - often involved bubbles. Regardless of the in-game logic, it was a nice touch within the film.

For the uninitiated, the fact that Vision lost his coloring and turned a pale shade of greyish white atfer his death probably didn’t get much thought. When a human dies, the loss of blood flow results in a notable loss of color in the face. So maybe they just applied the same concept to our android Avenger? Sure, but it was also a nod to a storyline from the comics. In the West Coast Avengers series from the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, Vision was kidnapped by the government and dismantled. Though he was eventually reassembled, he lost his emotional identity, which was coupled with a change in the color of his synthetic skin.

Honestly, this easter egg was so subtle, you were more likely to see its acknowledgement in the credits than the reference itself. As the credits roll at the of the film, there’s a line that thanks 20th Century Fox for the use of an Arrested Development character. Huh?! It turns out that the Russo Brothers thought a particular member of the extended Bluth family was the perfect fit for the Collector’s museum, and so a blue man sporting a moustache, glasses and cut off jeans shorts can be spotted in one of the glass cases. It’s not Tobias Funke actor David Cross, but it still makes for a wonderfully odd and specific easter egg.

Bucky Barnes was certainly a sight for sore eyes in “Avengers: Infinity War,” for both audience members and Steve Rogers. Of course, now that he’s apparently been deprogrammed, his cold war moniker, Winter Soldier, doesn’t really fit anymore - and so T’Challa refers to him as the White Wolf. This could just be interpreted as a fun play on Black Panther and term of endearment, but the name actually has history in the comics. First introduced in 1999 in the pages of Black Panther Volume 3, White Wolf was the name eventually adopted by an orphan who T’Challa’s father found and raised. Apparently the royal family has a soft spot for strays.

At the end of “Thor: Ragnarok,” the titular God of Thunder regained his power and mojo. But… he lost an eye in the process. Apparently the good folks at Marvel Studios weren’t interested in having one-eyed hero for long (apart from Nick Fury), and so Thor was almost immediately offered a high quality replacement by his new friend and ally, Rocket Raccoon. But why did Rocket have a spare eye on hand? Well, as you might recall, he’s got a bit of a habit of collecting spare limbs, and we actually saw him acquire it from a Ravager called Vorker in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Gotta love a raccoon with hobbies!

Now… credit where credit is due, Rocket would never have had an eye to give Thor had Baby Groot not gotten it for him. Unfortunately, by the time “Avengers: Infinity War” rolls around, Groot has entered his surly teenage years. The silver lining? His adolescent rebellion takes the form of a delightfully relevant retro video game: Arcade Defenders. This works on multiple levels. Most simply, the game centers around protecting earth from alien invaders, much like the plot of the film. More importantly though, the comic book team, The Defenders, has featured numerous Infinity War characters over the years, including Hulk and Doctor Strange, among others.

He might not have the name recognition of Uncle Ben, but it’s the obscurity of this lesser-known comic book uncle that makes his referencing such a great easter egg. When trying to pitch Pepper on the idea of them having kids (before he went off to an alien planet), Tony suggests that they could name their yet to be conceived (or even agreed upon) child “Morgan” - after an eccentric uncle of his. Morgan Stark made his debut in “Tales of Suspense” #68 in 1965, and was actually Tony’s villainous cousin, who, out of jealousy, was constantly trying to steal the company or otherwise ruin Tony. Eccentric indeed!