#30. Scarlet Witch/Quicksilver
One of the power couples of the Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who are twins. In one of the comic storylines, specifically in Marvel Ultimates, it seems like they had more than a brother-sister relationship.
Fortunately, this storyline was dropped in the following comics as well as in the films. These characters first appear in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, but even though a little bit of fraternal love appears in the film, these two mutant brothers share an ordinary brother-sister relationship.
#29. The Avengers
One of the main characters of the film Ant-Man and the Wasp
is The Wasp, portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. In the comic’s storyline, The Wasp is the one that comes up with the name for the superhero group, The Avengers, but this is not so in the film’s storyline.
Even though The Wasp is not the one who came up with the name of The Avengers, the character itself is one of the most appealing ones in the MCU. In the films, though, the one that comes up with the name is Nick Fury, with a little help of Captain Marvel.
#28. Iron Man
One of the most important characters of both the Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the one who started everything in the film series, is Iron Man, portrayed in the films by Robert Downey Jr. As we all know, Tony Stark does not have any superpower by himself, but he has a hell of a suit!
This high-tech suit was created by Tony Stark, first in an underground laboratory, and then in his own house. What most people may not know is that the first suits in the Marvel Comics had to be plugged into wall sockets to be charged, like a cellphone!
#27. Black Panther
Tony Stark is not the only multimillionaire character in the world of comics, sharing that title with Bruce Wayne from DC Comics. But inside the Marvel Comics and MCU, he has to share his wealthy position with the superhero Black Panther.
Black Panther, whose name is T’Challa, comes from the fictional kingdom of Wakanda, which was mentioned for the first time in Avengers: Age of Ultron. For those who pay really close attention, in the film Iron Man 2, Wakanda is shown in a map of Nick Fury.
#26. Ultron
The main antagonist in the second installment of The Avengers films is Ultron, a misdriven creation by Tony Stark. At first, he was created as an Artificial Intelligence that would help the superhero group to fight with the villains they were encountering.
Sadly for the group, the creation turned against them and started attacking every human in sight. Ultron believes that humanity is the only thing wrong with the planet and that their extinction would solve every bad thing happening on earth.
#25. The Hulks
The first actor to portray The Hulk was Edward Norton, but for reasons that may remain largely unknown, he was not cast to reprise the role in the first of The Avengers films. Instead, he was replaced by the actor Mark Ruffalo.
It seems that the directors of the first Avengers film did not want Edward Norton to continue in the role; instead, they were hoping for more of a change. The thing is, even though Norton is famous and has been awarded several awards for films like American History X, he is also known for intervening in film screenplays.
#24. To-Do List
Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, is a soldier who was genetically modified to become a super soldier in World War II. After the Nazis’ defeat, he is kept on ice and wakes up in the 21st Century. In the notebook kept by him, there are several things that he wants to do in our century.
The most amazing thing about this is that the list (shown above) changes in almost every country where the film has been released. It seems that the Captain will have to spend a lot of his time trying to catch up with everything he has to do!
#23. Arctic Circle
One of the most amazing things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how the directors, or should we say masterminds, created several intertwined films. Every single one of the Marvel movies makes a reference to a previous or an upcoming film.
One of the examples of this occurs in Iron Man 2, in the scene in which Tony Stark checks the stuff that his father, Howard Stark, has in his suitcase. It can be seen in the suitcase that there are a Captain America comic and a map of the place where his plane went down, just in the middle of the Arctic Circle.
#22. Thor
Wanna hear about another curious fact about Iron Man 2? Not only does this film make a reference to Captain America, but there is also a clear reference to the Thor film that came out a year later.
In one of the scenes of Iron Man 2, Nick Fury talks to Tony Stark and says that they are facing much bigger problems in the Southwest. When he says this, he is referring to the appearance of Thor and his mighty hammer, the Mjolnir, and how Coulson is dealing with that problem.
#21. Bifrost
The MCU is also known for including very subtle references in their films. In Norse mythology, the bridge that used to connect Asgard with the rest of the world is known as the Bifrost bridge, which is protected by a deity known as Heimdal.
In the first Thor film, the main character is exiled to Earth and lands in the country of Mexico, in the small town of Puente Viejo, which translates to Old Bridge, a very subtle reference to the Bifrost bridge in Asgard.
#20. Dr. Blake
Let’s continue with the references, this time between Marvel Comics and the MCU. In the first Thor film, when the main character and that of Dr. Jane Foster (portrayed by Natalie Portman) meet each other, Thor crashes one night at Jane’s place.
As Thor has no human normal clothes that may fit him (don’t forget he came exiled from Asgard), he is given a shirt that belonged to a person by the name of Donald Blake M.D. For those that read the Marvel Comics, that name should ring a bell, as it is Thor’s alter-ego.
#19. Huginn and Muninn
As you can see, it’s impossible to get bored with the references that are contained inside the first of The Avengers films! In fact, this movie contains the most references of all the MCU films. This one here is also connected to Thor. When he is abducted by Loki, two ravens are seen flying by. But what does this symbolize?
In Norse mythology, and in the Thor comic books, Odin used to have two Ravens that were his spies in the field and which used to gather intel for him. It seems then that Odin had a lot of information about Loki’s plans, but he decided to keep quiet!
#18. Odin’s Speeches
More Thor references are on the way. In both Thor and Thor: The Dark World (the ones that happen in Asgard), Huginn and Muninn are seen atop the throne of Odin whenever the Allfather is giving any kind of speech.
Imagine for only a moment what it would be like if any President of any country in the world was surrounded by some kind of bird when delivering a speech in open television. It would probably look really cool if you ask me!
#17. Korg
In the opening sequence of the second installment of Thor, Thor: The Dark World, the protagonist is seen fighting against a big and menacing rock enemy, which is Korg the Kronan. In Marvel Comics, Korg and Thor appear for the first time in the same comic, Journey Into Mystery #38.
The comic Journey into Mystery #38 marks the debut of the character of Thor in the Marvel Comics. After being defeated by Thor in the second film, Korg reprises his role in the third installment, Thor: Ragnarok, while he is forced to fight as a gladiator by order of the Grandmaster.
#16. Alien
In the first of The Avengers films, there is a very clear reference to another science-fiction cult movie, Alien. When the character of Bruce Banner falls into a deposit, the security guard (who is portrayed by Harry Dean Stanton) asks if he is an alien.
For those that have not understood the reference, here is the explanation. In the first Alien film, Harry Dean Stanton portrays one of the crew members of the Nostromo, the ship that is invaded by the Xenomorph. In the film, the actor is one of the characters killed by the creature!
#15. Ozzy Osbourne
In several scenes in the MCU, Tony Stark is seen wearing a T-shirt from the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, but the most notable appearance takes place in the film The Avengers. It is known that the lead singer of the band, Ozzy Osbourne, is a fan of comics.
One of the most notable songs of the band is the hit Iron Man, that even though it has nothing to do with the character from the comics, it is played in the ending credits of the first Iron Man movie, just after Tony asserts “I am Iron Man“.
#14. Hulk
We already talked about how Edward Norton was kept out of The Avengers and was replaced by Mark Ruffalo, who took his part as the green giant, Hulk. In one of the scenes of this film, Bruce Banner refers to a failed suicide attempt.
This is a direct reference to a deleted scene from the film The Incredible Hulk that premiered on 2008. In that same deleted scene, you could see Captain America frozen in the snow! A shame that it did not get to the final cut!
#13. JARVIS
We all know that one of the most important “sidekicks” of Iron Man is his computerized artificial intelligence system known as JARVIS. “He” is first seen helping Tony Stark while wearing his Mark suit for the first time in the first Iron Man film.
What most of us did not know is that J.A.R.V.I.S. is actually an acronym that stands for “Just A Rather Very Intelligent System“. Although this is not explicitly stated in the films, it is established in the comics!
#12. Captain’s Shield
During one scene in Iron Man 2, Tony Stark is building a kind of particle accelerator in his workshop basement (because he is Iron Man and he can do it). He needed this device for his reactor core that maintains his heart. Meanwhile, Agent Coulson is there next to him.
Coulson then sees and grabs a disassembled prototype of Captain America’s shield and wants to know why Tony Stark has it in his possession. When Iron Man 2 was released, the first film from the Captain America series was still in the works. It seems like it was to see how the public reacted!
#11. Roxxon
Roxxon Energy is a very important business in the Marvel Comics and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they are featured in each of the three Iron Man films. Therefore, these films show the facilities and several trucks from the oil company.
It is very crucial for Iron Man as the company is allegedly responsible for the murder of Howard Stark (Tony’s father) in Marvel Comics. Roxxon Energy is also featured in every Marvel TV series, including Daredevil, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Cloak and Dagger.
#10. Billionaires
We all know Iron Man not only for being one of the most famous Marvel superheroes but also for being, in his own words, a “genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist“. Sadly for Tony Stark, he is not the richest superhero in the Marvel universe.
As a matter of fact, the richest superhero is Black Panther, who has a net worth of approximately $90.7 trillion, thanks to the vibranium that can only be obtained in his own country, Wakanda. It seems that Tony has a long way to go to compare to T’Challa.
#9. Red Skull
One of the most famous villains that Captain America faces in the comics and in the MCU is the Nazi leader, Red Skull. In the MCU he first appears in the film Captain America: The First Avengers, the first film to feature Chris Evans as The Captain.
There is a very subtle reference to the film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. When the villain finds the Tesseract, he states that the Fuhrer is busy digging relics in the desert. In the Indiana Jones film, the Nazis dig up a relic that completely melts their faces.
#8. Arnim Zola
Another of the most famous villains that Captain America faces is the evil Nazi scientist Arnim Zola. He is featured for the first time in the film Captain America: The First Avenger.
During the film, one of the Hydra fortresses is destroyed and Dr. Arnim Zola is seen escaping from the base with a set of papers in a suitcase. One of those papers happens to be a blueprint for a robotic body, the same one that he uses in the comic books. Nonetheless, in the films, he is later seen inhabiting a computer!
#7. Crossbones
Let’s continue talking about villains, but now, about those that appear in the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The character Brock Rumlow first appears acting as a S.H.I.E.L.D operative, but then he reveals to be a H.Y.D.R.A undercover agent, whose aim was to sabotage every S.H.I.E.L.D operation.
At the end of the Battle of Triskelion, when the helicarrier of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been completely damaged and was free-falling, Brock Rumlow could not run away and was crushed under it. Afterward, he is seen in a bed with two straps across his chest, a clear reference to his comic book character Crossbones.
#6. Samuel L. Jackson
Actor Samuel L. Jackson is known for having acted in several action films, and one of the most famous of those films is Pulp Fiction. In this film, he plays the part of Jules Winnfield, one of the protagonists and hitmen of the film.
During the film Pulp Fiction he is seen reciting a Biblical passage, Ezekiel 25:17, that reads “The Path of The Righteous Man...”. In the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury faked his death and in his grave, the same Biblical passage can be read.
#5. Brothers
One of the last films in Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn. Gunn had already directed the post-credit scene of Thor: The Dark World.
One of the most endearing characters of the film is the blue-skinned space pirate Yondu, who is also the adoptive father of the hero Starlord. What many fans don’t know is that the Yondu’s second-in-command is portrayed by Sean Gunn, the brother of the director!
#4. Rocket Raccoon
One of the heroes in the Guardians of the Galaxy film is the little Rocket Raccoon, who has a close relationship with everything related to weapons and technology. Without a doubt, he’s one of the film’s most hilarious characters!
Every one of us knows that the voice actor for Rocket Raccoon is Bradley Cooper, known for films like The Hangover. Even though he gives the voice to the Guardian, the one that made the motion-capture is, once again, Sean Gunn, James’ brother!
#3. More Guardians
In the first installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, when the team enters the Collector’s hideout (also known as Knowhere), you’ll see that the room is full of all type of objects. However, there are two things that will pop to the eye of the comic fans.
In two of the cages that are located in the Collector’s hideout, people may see two of the original Guardians of the Galaxy members from the comics, Cosmo the Dog and Howard the Duck. Sadly, they were left out of the films!
#2. Foreshadowing
In one of the opening scenes in The Guardians of the Galaxy, we see Peter Quill, also known as the hero Starlord, entering a room that holds the orb, which is nothing less than the Power Stone.
On the floor of that same chamber, there is some kind of scriptures that present the four Cosmic Entities of the MCU: Death, Eternity, Entropy and Infinity. Not only that, but the mural also shows each of the Infinity Stones!
#1. Mjolnir
All of those who are into Marvel Comics or who have seen any of the Avengers films are acquainted with the idea that the Mjolnir, the hammer wielded by Thor, is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.
This hammer is so powerful that it may only be wielded by a pure and worthy. In fact, this weapon may even create magnetic fields that could destroy entire galaxies. Although Thor is its original owner, in the MCU, Captain America is also worthy of using it!