Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man’: Check Out 15 Easter Eggs And Inside Jokes About The Avengers, Other Heroes, And More

Every single movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has a lot of hidden stuff in it. Some of it pertains to the next film or films, and other things are just hidden for fun. The same can be said for Marvel’s Ant-Man which has now been released in theaters, and it includes some great Easter Eggs and inside jokes. There’s even the first mention of the new Spider-Man.

Please be known that there are and will be SPOILERS for Ant-Man after this paragraph. If you haven’t seen the film yet and don’t want to know what will happen before you do, then stop reading now.

The mid-credits scene and post-credits scene for Ant-Man are already out there and available to learn about. Check those out and realize how awesome they are, but the Easter Eggs make it even better.

1. Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) talks of rumors of Ant-Man going on missions during the Cold War and says they are simply “tales to astonish.” In 1962, Hank Pym debuted as the original Ant-Man in the comic book Tales To Astonish issue number 27.

2. Scott Lang is sent on a mission during his training and he has to access the new Avengers’ headquarters. During the mission, he comes face-to-face with Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and that’s a lot, but Marvel big-wig Kevin Feige says there is much more.

“If you were to freeze the frame when Ant-Man is flying over the Avengers facility, there are new landmarks and buildings in that frame that you won’t see until Captain America: Civil War.”

Look fast because they fly by as Lang rides down on the back of a flying ant. What could these new buildings and landmarks possibly be?

3. Scott Lang does his time at San Quentin and that just so happens to be the same prison that once housed The Punisher aka Frank Castle. Jon Bernthal has recently been cast as The Punisher for Daredevil on Netflix.

4. Janet Van Dyne, aka The Wasp, is a founding member of the Avengers, but it is revealed she died in the MCU before Ant-Man. Come to find out, she is alive and trapped in the Quantum Realm just waiting to be released. More on Wasp is shown in the mid-credits scene.

5. Once released from Sam Quentin, Scott Lang crashes at The Milgrom Hotel. That hotel gets its name from veteran Marvel writer, editor, and artist Al Milgrom.

6. Scott Lang’s daughter, Cassie, does show up in the film and she is very young at this time. In the comic books, she ends up developing the same shrinking ability as her father and joins the Young Avengers.

7. Even though The Mandarin ended up being an actor named Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), we did learn in the Marvel One-Shot “All Hail the King” that there really is a Mandarin somewhere. At one point, a businessman that goes to bid on the Ant-Man technology actually has a “Ten Rings of The Mandarin” tattoo on his neck.

8. Scott Lang asks Hank Pym to call the Avengers to help them stop Cross and his evil ways. Pym states that they are currently busy “dropping cities” which refers to the actions taken in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

9. In the comics, Pym actually can’t stand Tony Stark, and it has to do with Howard Stark, Tony’s dad. Pym is angry about the “Pym particle” and this is a sign of which way Ant-Man will side in Captain America: Civil War.

10. Martin Donovan plays the role of Agent Mitch Carson who was an adversary of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) when they worked at S.H.I.E.L.D. Carson later reveals himself to be with HYDRA.

11. In the comics, Yellowjacket is actually an alternate costume and codename for Hank Pym which is eventually stolen by Rita DeMara. In the movie Ant-Man, Cross uses Pym’s research to build the Yellowjacket costume.

12. During the last act of the film, Ant-Man goes subatomic and during this time, a tribute is paid to Disneyland‘s lost “Adventures Through Inner Space” attraction which closed in 1985.

13. Another Disneyland attraction is mentioned as well when Luis (Michael Pena) is whistling the familiar tune of “It’s a Small World.”

14. Hope Van Dyne doesn’t exist in the world of Marvel Comics, but Hope Pym does. In the comics, she is a lesser-known supervillain known as the Red Queen. She even has a twin brother named Henry Pym, Jr. Looks like the MCU took a different course with Hope. For more on that, check out the spoilers for the post-credits scene.

15. The new Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is mentioned for the first time in the MCU. At one point, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) asks about a “guy who gets small.” That’s when he is told “We got guys who jump. We got guys who swing. We got guys who climb up walls.” That’s an obvious nod to the web-slinger.

There are at least 15 Easter Eggs and inside jokes from Ant-Man, the latest sure-to-be hit film from Marvel. Paul Rudd has landed himself a hit and a long-term job, so hopefully, you enjoyed Ant-Man as much as many others surely will. Keep a watchful eye as there are likely more to be found.

[Images via IMPAwards/Marvel]