Easter Egg Hunt: Iron Man (2008), Part Three

Part One can be viewed here.
Part Two can be viewed here.

THE AVENGERS

The Avengers were originally established in the 1960s as a response to DC's Justice League of America. In their first adventure, they assemble to battle Thor's mischievous arch-enemy Loki. While this is interesting, we might be better served by looking at the variation of the Avengers featured in Marvel's Ultimate Universe. Here they are known as the Ultimates, and they were assembled by Nick Fury of SHIELD.

It is through the government organization known as SHIELD that we first encounter hints of the Avengers in Iron Man. Prior to Tony Stark's press conference that he calls upon returning from Afghanistan, Pepper Potts is pulled aside by Agent Phil Coleson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division. Pepper says, "That's quite a mouth full." Coleson replies, "I know. We're working on it." This is the first of many references to this lengthy division title that is just dying for an acronym. It is not until Pepper Potts feels threatened by Obadiah Stane that we see some SHIELD agents in action. Agent Coleson and four other agents unflinchingly take on Stane in his Ironmonger armor despite the fact that this villain is so far out of their league.

During the credits, there is a full picture of the SHIELD logo.

Of course, the existence of SHIELD does not necessarily prove the future existence of the Avengers. Maybe SHIELD is just an organization in this universe, and maybe they will even have their own movie. The only way I could believe that is if I didn't watch the clip following the credits of Iron Man. After the credits, Tony Stark returns to his house only to find that the security alarm is going off and JARVIS is malfunctioning. A shadowy figure stands facing his picture windows. He says, "I am Iron Man. You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet." He comes into the light and reveals himself as Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD. He finishes by saying, "I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers initiative."

FIN FANG FOOM

Fin Fang Foom is an ancient Chinese dragon and also an alien from Maklu IV. But most importantly, he is one of Iron Man's most powerful adversaries.

You're probably saying to yourself, "I didn't see any dragons in the film Iron Man and I most certainly didn't see any giant aliens." Honestly, I didn't see Fin Fang Foom in the film for the first couple of times I watched it. I owe IMDB for pointing it out to me. You see, after Tony Stark recovers from the Iron Man Mark II suit freezing at high altitude, he flies past a poster featuring Fin Fang Foom in the downtown area.

In case you can't see it there in the background, I was able to find a blown up version of this artwork on the internet.

WHIPLASH

Whiplash is yet another of the villains who make up Iron Man's gallery of rogues. (Are we only allowed to call Batman's villains the gallery of rogues or is that term applicable to all groups of villains?) Don't worry: It's not just a clever name. You see, Whiplash attached whips to his arms, and becomes an enforcer for Justin Hammer.

This easter egg was hard to find. In fact, if you blinked - or rather, if you did the ear equivalent of blinking - you might have missed it. When two jets engage Tony Stark under James Rhodes's command, their call names are Whiplash 1 and Whiplash 2. Yeah, that's it.

ROXXON

Die-hard Marvel fans will recognize Roxxon as a massive corporation in the Marvel Universe. I'll admit, I recognize it more from the Ultimate Universe than the regular Marvel Universe, but then again, I've read every Ultimate comic and I'm pretty far from reading every Marvel comic.

Well, die-hard Iron Man viewers will recognize the Roxxon Corporation building that can be seen in the background of the highway scene where Iron Man and Ironmonger do battle.

This concludes my exploration of Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter eggs in the 2008 film Iron Man. Will we see Mandarin, Fin Fang Foom, and Roxxon in the future of the Iron Man franchise? I don't know. But I do know that the Easter egg hunt will continue soon in Easter Egg Hunt: The Incredible Hulk. Stick around.

Easter Egg Hunt: Iron Man (2008), Part Two

Part One can be viewed here.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Steve Rogers was a scrawny kid who was bothered by the rise of the Third Reich. When his size kept him from enlisting in the American war effort, he volunteered for a program called Operation: Rebirth in which he was transformed into the super-soldier Captain America. In most of the stories, Captain America is frozen in ice near the end of World War II. The world believes that he is dead until someone discovers his frozen body and brings him back to life in modern times.

The biggest reference to Captain America in Iron Man - the biggest reference to further Marvel films - is shown when Pepper catches Tony Stark removing the damaged Iron Man armor. In the background one can see a modernized version of Captain America's shield. It is still under construction, so we can assume that this is some sort of government contract that Tony has been working on. This may be the biggest reference, but it is certainly not the only reference.

You may have noticed that Tony's father Howard Stark was referenced quite often in Iron Man. His mention in this story doesn't necessarily point to anything beyond Tony's own back story, but it is worth noting that he is often mentioned in reference to World War II. When Howard Stark is featured in a montage regarding Tony's origin at the Apogee Award for Design & Engineering Excellence, he is described as a "legendary weapons developer" and shown in front of a diagram of a World War II era warplane. Tony tells the reporter that his father was a hero because of his work on the Manhattan project and defeating the Nazis, and this is confirmed by the treacherous Obadiah Stane, who talks about Howard's work on the atomic bomb while removing Tony's life support.

Howard is also memorialized by a World War II era propeller Tony keeps by the television in his laboratory, and the Howard Stark Memorial Parkway that is visible from the highway where Iron Man battled Ironmonger. Like I mentioned above, referencing Howard Stark during a film surrounding Tony Stark is not entirely weird, but when Tony Stark is contracted to build Captain America's shield it seems very likely that Howard Stark was the one who originally got the contract. Thus, when we learn more about Howard Stark it seems wise to ask, "Who exactly is Howard Stark and what is his relationship with Captain America?"

WAR MACHINE

Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes is the best friend of Tony Stark/Iron Man. In the comic books, he uses one of Tony's armor suits and becomes the hero known as War Machine. The mere presence of Terrence Howard as James Rhodes in Iron Man is, in itself, a hint that we are likely to see War Machine in future installations of the Iron Man movie franchise.

Of course, to say that James Rhodes' appearance in Iron Man assures the existence of War Machine in future Iron Man films is similar to saying that Thaddeus Ross's appearance in The Incredible Hulk assures the existence of Red Hulk in future Hulk films. In other words, the one does not guarantee the other. However, when James Rhodes espies a silver armored suit as he exits Tony Stark's house, shows obvious temptation to don the armor, and then proclaims, "Next time, baby," it seems pretty clear that there is a War Machine story coming soon.

Let's not forget that War Machine was also important enough to be featured in the end credits animation. I seem to remember an animated armor suit with a shoulder-mounted gatling gun appearing while the Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" played.

Part Three can be viewed here.

Iron Man 2 Trailers

I get to watch this movie opening weekend in New York City! Jealous?