Top 10 Kingsman References in The King's Man

When the remaining Kingsman agents were backed into a corner in the second movie, they traveled to America to find the Statesman. This US-based secret agency used its foothold in the whiskey industry to help fund their operation. The Statesman distillery was so well regarded that one of their bottles ended up in the oval office. However, that wasn’t the first time they got into the White House. During “The King’s Man” prequel, a bottle of Statesman whiskey is present in President Wilson’s office. It seems like no commander-in-chief is quite complete unless they’re close to this spy agency’s popular product.

Orlando spends a lot of time in “The King’s Man” trying to keep his son Conrad out of World War I. However, the young man eventually gets onto the battlefield and gets his hand on vital information the heroes needed. In a shocking twist, Conrad is fatally shot by a soldier before reuniting with his father. We wouldn’t have been caught so off guard if we remembered Harry’s words from the first film. While he’s explaining the origins of the Kingsman to Eggsy, he mentions the tragic reason why people were motivated to fund the agency. Seeing Harry’s sobering speech play out in “King’s Man” was the movie’s most grim callback.

After heroes realize Clara could help them find the shady Golden Circle in the second movie, they proceed to get close to her. Statesman Agent Whiskey initially volunteers to seduce her. But when she rejects him, Eggsy goes to extreme lengths to keep the plan on track. “The King’s Man” provides an extremely unexpected twist on this scene. When the heroes want to take out Rasputin, they send Conrad in to seduce the villain. However, the Russian monk was more interested in getting close to Orlando. The hero and villain go on to appear in one of the most awkward sequences in the entire franchise. Both “The King’s Man” and “Golden Circle” make it clear that spies aren’t always fond of the old seduction cliche.

The U.S. presidents have had pretty bad luck throughout the “Kingsman” franchise. In the first film, the commander-in-chief literally lost his head in an explosive sequence. Bruce Greenwood’s president initially looked like he would make it through the sequel unscathed. However, he was impeached before the credits rolled. Since two American leaders met horrible Fates, we were concerned when we saw President Wilson being blackmailed in “the King’s Man.” The franchise could’ve easily leaned into its slightly alternate history angle and had the historical figure get impeached or worse. But thanks to the actions of Orlando, Shola and Polly, Wilson became the luckiest President in this movie series.

Since Rasputin’s fond of desserts, Orlando’s able to convince the villain to eat a treat full of poison. Unfortunately, the Monk already built up a resistance to dangerous substances like cyanide. Rasputin’s realization that Orlando tried to assassinate him leads to a wild and dangerous brawl. But this wasn’t the only time poison didn’t work out in the franchise. In the first film, the Kingsman agency head Arthur attempts to take out Eggsy with a tainted drink. However, the young spy ensures that the corrupt leader consumes the fatal glass of liquid instead. Seeing two prominent Kingsman members fail to deliver poison makes us hope Eggsy doesn’t try to slip his enemies fatal substances in the future.

Although the knife shoe seemed like a ridiculous accessory to have in Eggsy’s arsenal, it became incredibly important. He used the poisoned blade in his footwear to defeat the dangerous assassin Giselle before saving the world. The “King’s Man” pays homage to this shoe at a climactic moment. When Orlando’s landing on the big bad’s mountain goes south, he struggles to stop himself from falling to this doom. During this hectic sequence, he makes a prototype knife shoe that helps keep him feel more secure as he climbs. The franchise is clearly trying to tell us that knife shoes are awesome and crucial to saving the world.

While Roxy was undergoing trials to become the new Lancelot, she came face-to-face with her fear of heights. If Eggsy didn’t push her to face her acrophobia, she might have never passed her tests. Roxy’s bad feelings towards heights mirror the fears Djimon Hounsou’s Shola has in the prequel. Although he’s willing to rush into battle while he’s on the ground, he hesitates to take risks in the air. When Shola is asked to jump from a plane to infiltrate a bad guy hideout, he completely refuses. His justified fears are the reason why Orlando had to parachute from a plane in the end. Roxy could definitely teach Shola a thing or two about overcoming one’s fears.

One of the most memorable scenes in the franchise began with Harry saying 3 iconic words. There was something satisfying about seeing a composed spy talk about manners before absolutely wrecking a couple of goons. While the catchphrase seemed like it was exclusive to the heroes, it returned as a villainous line in “The King’s Man”. The big bad shepherd shockingly says the phrase while taunting Orlando before their final battle. Maybe the Kingsman reclaimed this idiom about manners as a way to remember the first major villain they defeated. Honestly, the phrase just sounds better when it's coming from a well-dressed spy.

Both Captain Morton and Charlie were supposed to be allies to our main character. But their time in the series is seemingly cut short. While the captain appears to die when a boat he’s on is destroyed, Charlie seems to perish due to a supervillain’s plot. But Morton reveals he faked his demise and returns as a sadistic Shepherd. And in the second film, it’s revealed that Charlie survived to become a ridiculously dangerous foe. These villains come very close to ending the heroes before losing everything. After seeing two supposed good guys survive brushes with death to become antagonists, we’re a little worried Roxy could become evil. If she miraculously survived the second movie’s explosion, she could return for an emotional fight with Eggsy.

During “The King’s Man”, Conrad asks a soldier named Lee Unwin to deliver a message. Although the messenger isn’t in a ton of scenes, he comes back in a huge way when he’s chosen to become a Kingsman agent named Lancelot. This prequel’s World War I setting points to Lee Unwin being Gary "Eggsy" Unwin’s great uncle or grandfather. Knowing that generations of people from the same bloodline were connected to the “Kingsman” is a cool piece of series lore. And since we’ve seen Aaron Taylor-Johnson play soldiers in action movies before, his appearance creates an exciting possibility. We’d love to see a spinoff or prequel sequel that gives us more time with the first Unwin to become a Kingsman.