Thunderbolts* 50 Marvel Easter Eggs & References Explained

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Warning! This put up incorporates SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*Marvel’s Thunderbolts* is stuffed with some fairly spectacular and thrilling Easter eggs and references. Debuting a brand-new crew of acquainted MCU faces who finally try to see if they’ve what it takes to be heroes, Thunderbolts* is an action-packed journey that is additionally deeply character-driven. Alongside the way in which, there are some actually enjoyable connections to the unique comics and the larger cinematic universe.

Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Crimson Guardian, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Lewis Pullman as Bob aka Sentry, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegrea de Fontaine, and Geraldine Viswanathan as Mel. Bringing all of those pre-existing MCU characters (and Bob) collectively, Thunderbolts* has plenty of ties to the MCU at large. Holding that in thoughts, listed here are the highest 50 greatest and most enjoyable Easter eggs and references we present in Thunderbolts*.

The Void Takes Over The Basic MCU Opening – Whereas Thunderbolts* opens as standard with the opening fanfare and Marvel Studios emblem, the music progressively turns into distorted and all the colour is overtaken by black shadows, foreshadowing the Void.
O.X.E. Group – Within the comics, the mysterious O.X.E. Group was an organization technically based by Valentina within the comics (particularly her Life Mannequin Decoy).
Bucky Representing Brooklyn – First established in Captain America: Courageous New World, Thunderbolts* confirms Bucky is a congressional consultant representing Brooklyn, the place he and Steve Rogers grew up.
Rogue Nations With Superior Tech – Throughout her impeachment proceedings, Valentina references her considerations over a number of rogue nations with superior know-how, nations like Wakanda and Talokan with their shops of vibranium (Val was final seen in 2022’s Wakanda Endlessly).
The Crimson Hulk – Val additionally mentions that their final president not too long ago became “a large purple superhuman rage monster”, referencing Courageous New World’s President Ross and his transformation into The Crimson Hulk.
“The Avengers Not Strolling By These Doorways” – Valentina confirms it has been fairly a while for the reason that MCU has had its Avengers, and that they’ve but to reassemble by the beginning of this new film.
Crimson Guardian‘s Glory Days – When Yelena visits Alexei at his residence, the Crimson Guardian is watching previous footage from the Soviet Union the place he is proven standing subsequent to Stalin throughout a parade. A number of Crimson Guardian propaganda posters will also be seen throughout Alexei’s residence.
Venture Sentry Costume Designs – Contained in the O.X.E Group’s vault, Yelena finds hair and numerous costume design concepts for the Sentry, and one of many “S” logos is strictly as its depicted within the unique comics.
Honoring NYC Heroes – Valentina holds a gala “Honoring NYC Heroes”. A number of artifacts from the Battle of New York are proven, together with promotional banners that includes Captain America’s defend, Iron Man’s helmet, and extra.
Loki’s Scepter – A notable piece on show on the gala is Loki’s scepter. As soon as utilized by the God of Mischief throughout 2012’s Avengers, the scepter was later revealed to deal with the Thoughts Stone as seen in Age of Ultron.
Chitauri Cuffs – A pair of Chitauri cuffs can be on show. Bucky later makes use of these similar cuffs on Ghost to maintain her contained regardless of her powers.
The Large Avengers A – The most important merchandise on show on the gala is the large letter “A” from Stark Tower, the one letter nonetheless connected to the longer term Avengers Tower following the Battle of New York.
A SHIELD Reject – Ghost is known as “a SHIELD reject”, referencing her previous when she labored as a covert agent for SHIELD (first talked about in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp).
“Blew Up Budapest” – Taskmaster’s historical past with Yelena and Natasha Romanov’s Black Widow is referenced, particularly their battle in Budapest as was seen in 2020’s Black Widow.
Dime Retailer Cap – John Walker’s previous as Captain America can be referenced as a diss, chatting with his transient time wielding the enduring defend earlier than he used it to publicly execute a person in broad daylight.
“On Your Left” – Whereas attempting to interrupt out of the O.X.E. vault, Walker makes use of his defend to interrupt the sonic weapon conserving Ghost from escaping, inadvertently calling again to Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson with a basic “On Your Left“.
“I Was In Excessive College When The Aliens Got here” – Mel shares with Bucky simply how lengthy it has been for the reason that Avengers first assembled, and the way unusual it has been that they are now not round.
A Nod To Emperor’s New Groove? – Bob will get the concept that everybody ought to go back-to-back and begin climbing up the shaft with their legs. Nevertheless, it is actually laborious not to consider The Emperor’s New Groove when Kuzco and Pacha needed to do the identical factor to keep away from falling right into a river filled with crocodiles.
“He is Had a Tough Go” – Mel confirms Bob’s historical past, citing his delusions of grandeur, despair, abusive mother and father, and, most notably, his historical past of habit. This mirrors the comics when Bob Reybolds was additionally a down-on-his-luck drug addict earlier than ingesting the “Golden Sentry Serum”.
The Basic Disguise Trope – A basic film trope, Yelena, Bob, and John carrying the uniforms of O.X.E brokers to flee the vault brings to thoughts scenes like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo disguised as stormtroopers in A New Hope, or Dorothy’s buddies dressing up as guards in The Wizard of Oz.
The Energy Of 1000 Suns/Golden Guardian of Good – The strains learn aloud by Yelena from the Venture Sentry recordsdata come straight from the unique Marvel Comics, citing Bob’s unbelievable energy and supposed heroism.
Disposable Delinquents – Ghost refers to this new MCU group as “Disposable Delinquents,” which seems like a refined nod to DC’s Suicide Squad, an identical crew of anti-heroes.
The Thunderbolts’ Hilarious Namesake – The brand new MCU film confirms the Thunderbolts’ title comes from Yelena’s Pee Wee soccer crew from when she was a child: The West Chesapeake Bay Thunderbolts.
Bucky Goes Full Terminator – Bucky’s arrival and saving the Thunderbolts have to be an intentional reference to The Terminator. How might it not when Bucky is using a bike, makes use of a shotgun, and is carrying a leather-based jacket and sun shades?
Winter Soldier’s Disc Grenades – Bucky additionally makes use of his basic disc grenade launcher, a weapon he first used throughout his Hydra agent debut in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, having been ordered to kill Nick Fury.
The Watchtower – Valentina confirms she’s renamed Avengers Tower to “The Watchtower”. It is a reference to the unique comics the place Sentry’s Watchtower was constructed on prime of Avengers Tower.
The Steve Rogers Serum Argument – Not sure about Bob and his energy, Mel makes the identical argument heard a number of instances within the MCU’s previous about the way you solely get a hero like Captain America utilizing one thing just like the Tremendous Soldier Serum when you’ve got somebody like Steve Rogers, enhancing what was already there to start with.
Mel’s Necklace – Whereas surprisingly not outright confirmed in Thunderbolts*, Mel is proven carrying a fowl necklace, supporting the concept that she’s the MCU’s Melissa Gold aka Songbird, an unique Thunderbolt within the comics.
Alexei and Bucky: Co-Leaders – Alexei stating his similarities with Bucky and his want to change into co-leaders with the Winter Soldier seems like a enjoyable nod to their animated team-up episode in Marvel’s What If…? season 3.
Bucky Utilizing A Truck Door As A Protect – Crashing into the entrance doorways of the Watchtower, Bucky makes use of one of many truck’s doorways as a defend, mirroring Steve Rogers’ public debut as Captain America in 2011’s The First Avenger.
“All The Monumental Fights That Occurred Right here” – Ready for the Thunderbolts’ on the tower’s prime ground, Val references the constructing’s previous when it was nonetheless the Avengers’ base of operations, calling again to their fights with Loki, Ultron, and even their celebration the place the heroes took turns attempting to carry Thor’s hammer.
Val Saved The Avengers’ Bar – Humorously, Val saved the bar that when belonged to the Avengers, regardless of having renovated almost the whole lot else within the constructing.
“Earth’s Mightiest Hero” – Val refers to Sentry as “Earth’s Mightiest Hero”, a singular time period sometimes utilized to the Avengers.
Bucky’s Signature Knife Flip – Whereas making an attempt to struggle The Sentry, Bucky makes use of his signature knife flip transfer, first seen preventing Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
“At Least One God” – Questioning why he has to take heed to Val when he is a god, Bob says Val herself advised him he is extra highly effective than all of the Avengers mixed, which did have “a minimum of one god“, the god in query naturally being Thor.
“I Misplaced My Sister Twice” – Yelena tells Alexei she misplaced her sister twice. The primary was seen in Black Widow after they have been separated as kids to be skilled as assassins, whereas the second was after Natasha sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame.
Crimson Room – Yelena additionally references her darkish previous within the Crimson Room, the Soviet Union program that skilled younger ladies to change into a number of the world’s most threatening killers.
Yelena Mirros Natasha With Basic Avengers Transfer – When Sentry turns into the Void and begins attacking New York, Alexei provides Yelena a lift to assist her bounce and save close by civilians, mirroring when Rogers’ Captain America did the identical for Natasha in 2012’s Avengers so she might hijack a Chitauri hovercraft.
The Void Assault New York – The Void’s all-consuming assault on New York mirrors one among its debut emergencies within the comics, when the darkish persona was answerable for killing over 1,000,000 New Yorkers. Whereas nonetheless brutal, the MCU’s Void does not rating almost as many kills, as its energy was to ship civilians to a darkish shadow realm, trapping them of their darkest moments and traumas.
The New Avengers – Saving her personal neck, Valentina publicly declares the Thunderbolts to be her “New Avengers”, explaining the title’s asterisk whereas additionally making the group one other basic comics crew solely.
Avengers Theme – Showing earlier than the general public because the New Avengers, Alan Silvestri’s basic Avengers theme could be heard because the film cuts to the credit.
An Precise Wheaties Field – The primary Thunderbolts* post-credits scene sees Crimson Guardian at a grocery retailer attempting to persuade a woman to purchase a field of Wheaties that has the New Avengers faces on it, calling again to his dream from earlier within the film.
“Nothing’s Gonna Cease Us Now” – The music taking part in within the grocery retailer is Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Cease Us Now”, which transitions straight into the remainder of the credit. The identical music was additionally used within the film’s first trailer.
Sam Wilson Is not Completely happy – Within the second Thunderbolts* post-credits scene, Yelena and Bucky verify that Sam Wilson’s Captain America is not too glad that they are now often known as the New Avengers, particularly contemplating that he apparently has his personal crew (and humorously has the “Avengers” title copyrighted), connecting to Captain America: Courageous New World which ended with Sam desiring to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
“House Disaster” – Yelena says nobody is telling them about an ongoing “house disaster”, which probably has to do with the multiversal battle that may quickly be imminent in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
New Avengers Emblem – A brand-new Avengers emblem could be seen utilized by the New Avengers, and it virtually seems to be just like the design used for John Walker’s “A” when he was briefly Captain America in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Bucky’s New Go well with Revolution – Bucky lastly will get his personal official costume within the MCU, and it seems to be prefer it might need been impressed by Barnes’ current “Revolution” outfit within the comics.
Sponsors On Supersuits – Crimson Guardian has a horrible “New Avengerz” go well with with a number of sponsors on the back and front. This isn’t not like Chris Evans’ Human Torch who had an identical concept in 2007’s The Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is ironic contemplating the ultimate reveal of the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene.
“Can’t Have Sentry With out The Different Man” – Bob remains to be with the New Avengers, although he is with out his powers because of considerations that he cannot change into The Sentry with out risking the emergence of The Void, just like the comics.
The Unbelievable 4’s Rocket and Theme – An extragalactic spacecraft is proven with a giant quantity “4” emblem as Michael Giacchino’s Unbelievable 4: First Steps theme performs, teeing up the following MCU film releasing in July, whereas additionally hinting at how the film will finish with Marvel’s First Famliy touring to Earth-616.