Every Marvel Easter Egg and Hidden Detail I Found in Spider-Man Homecoming

Spider-Man Homecoming is one of my favorite MCU movies, and watching the webhead wall crawl his way back over to Marvel in Civil War was one of the most exciting times to be an MCU maniac. This is my full breakdown of the Easter eggs and details in his first solo movie, including several I have not seen mentioned on other lists.

The movie opens in the wake of the Battle of New York with Adrian Toomes showing off his child's drawing of the Avengers. We later learn this was made by Liz, and Adrian remarking on her talent is the first clue that the two are related. The scene pulls back to show Stark Tower with only the A left on the sign, exactly how it looked at the end of The Avengers before it was renamed Avengers Tower. Toomes and his crew are salvaging Chitauri scraps in Central Station, and we can actually see the Leviathan that Thor and Hulk killed in The Avengers as a focal point of the area. Damage Control, the company introduced here, is a fictional construction outfit pulled from the comics. Toomes's theme in this scene is actually the Avengers theme played in minor tonality, which shows how he is a darker version of a hero. He is a blue collar worker who felt screwed over by the one percent, and that makes him one of the most relatable villains in the entire MCU.

The Timeline Jump Messes With My OCD a Bit

We then jump forward, and this messes with my OCD a bit, because Civil War takes place four years after Avengers, which happens in 2012. If that timeline is right, this movie should take place in 2020 instead of 2016. I kind of wish they would just replace this title card, since Disney added new scenes for Star Wars on Disney Plus, so someone could fix this one time.

Peter's Berlin Flashback Sets Up Several Future Payoffs

We see the trip to Berlin from Peter's point of view. He gets a new suit briefcase, which could be a reference to Iron Man 2 and Tony's suit case called the football. We also see the bruises Tony receives in Civil War, including his black eye in the exact same place. Tony calls Happy head of security, a callback to the job he did for the character in Iron Man 3, and he rejects Peter's hug. That hug gets closure in Endgame, when the first thing Tony does upon reuniting with Peter is hug him. We also see a hint of Peter's spider sense developing, as he looks back and forth nervously right before Happy honks the horn to avoid a collision.

Peter and Toomes Are Built as Mirrors of Each Other

Two months later, Peter is texting Happy and getting blanked. His phone has a crack that gets progressively worse throughout the movie until it looks like a spider's web. He mentions quitting band practice in a text, and later on the ferry Tony says Happy told him he quit six weeks ago, a nice subtle callback. Happy pretty much ignores Peter throughout the film, and thematically Peter is very much a mirror of Toomes, who was also overlooked by Stark and his employees. Tony and Happy only pay attention when Peter kicks up enough noise, similar to how the Vulture flies under the radar. I think both Tony and Happy end up regretting not paying closer attention, and through the Vulture's turn they realize that if you do not keep your eyes on the little things, it can blow up in your face. Spiders are little creatures we overlook, vultures are scavengers, and the Vulture is literally a scavenger in this film, so credit to Marvel for that bit of world building.

School Scenes Are Packed With Returning MCU Cast Members

Peter walks past a mural of famous inventors, and we can see Howard Stark, played by John Slattery, in the background. Bruce Banner also appears in a lineup of famous scientists. The principal is Kenneth Choi, who also played Jim Morita in Captain America The First Avenger, and we can see a photo of Jim in his office, tying the two characters together. Peter's science teacher is also the same actor who played a student in The Incredible Hulk. These returning faces really flesh out the MCU.

Ned's Death Star Invite Sets Up the Big Reveal

Ned invites Peter to build the Lego Death Star that night, but Peter, distracted by Liz, agrees without thinking, which is why he does not expect Ned to show up and accidentally reveals he is Spider-Man to him. In class, when the teacher asks about linear acceleration, Peter still works out the answer quickly despite not paying attention, because he is so used to calculating swinging angles through the city. The video he was watching was uploaded by Rocket Robinson67, a reference to Robbie Robertson, who debuted in the comics in 1967.

MJ's Reading List and the Decathlon Team's Tiger Motif

Peter makes his web fluid, then he and Ned watch Liz and Betty hang the homecoming sign. Ned stares at Betty, not Liz, which pays off in Far From Home when the two end up dating. MJ interrupts holding a pile of books, including Of Human Bondage, about an orphan living with his aunt and uncle, and Invitation to a Beheading, about a man sentenced to hang who keeps company with a spider in his cell. At Decathlon practice, school signs reveal the team is called the Tigers, and for a split second we see the tiger mascot running through the halls, with signs reading Go Get Em Tigers, a nod to Mary Jane's famous comic line to Peter. Flash also brags about a date with Black Widow.

Small Details Show How Much Care Went Into Peter's Gear

Peter orders his deli sandwich smushed down real flat, likely to stop the ingredients falling out while swinging through the city. He webs his bag up outside, and it later gets thrown out with the trash, which is why he is seen carrying books instead of a bag afterward. Slowing down the footage of him putting on his web shooters reveals a percentage indicator showing how much fluid he has left, which later flashes zero when he runs out.

An ATM Heist, a Thor Callback, and Peter's No Punching Rule

There is a Stan Lee cameo before Peter stops an ATM robbery carried out by people in Avengers masks, with a sign nearby reading identity theft, we have you covered. Peter tells Thor he thought he'd be more handsome in person, and in Infinity War Star-Lord makes sure everyone knows Thor was not that good looking either. One detail I love is that Peter never actually punches anyone in the entire movie, since his strength could seriously hurt someone, so he always uses his webs to redirect attacks instead.

Ferris Bueller, Batman, and Multiple Raimi Trilogy Nods

Back at Avengers Tower we see Tony's robot arm Dummy, the first thing Tony ever built in Iron Man, still getting mocked. Peter is shown climbing out of a portaloo on the news, footage that resurfaces in a news article at the start of Far From Home. Aunt May tells Peter to trust his instincts, which may set up his spider sense arc. Ned asks if Peter spits venom, a nod to Venom eventually joining the MCU, and says he'd shoot webs off a building to see how far they'd go, referencing Tobey Maguire doing the same in the Raimi trilogy. When the Vulture attacks with the glider, Peter jumps over it just like he did against the Green Goblin in the Raimi films, but the Vulture is smart enough to dodge. When a friend asks if Liz would still love Peter if he were seriously burnt, she says she'd love him for who he is inside, which might be a small nod to Deadpool. During the chase through backyards, which is a direct callback to Ferris Bueller's Day Off playing on a TV at the party, Peter is picked up by the Vulture, who flies over the moon in a shot that echoes Michael Keaton's Batwing scene from Batman 1989.

Iron Man's Rescue Suit Upgrades All Come From Past Mistakes

Iron Man rescues Peter and dries his suit with a built in heater, plus a tracker and parachute. The heater callbacks to Tony freezing in the wilderness in Iron Man 3, the tracker to Tony being kidnapped in the first Iron Man, and the parachute to what happened to Rhodey in Civil War. The parachute also reappears in Infinity War. The suit even mimics Tony's hand gesture when he orders a drink in India.

Aaron Davis Is Miles Morales's Uncle, Hiding in Plain Sight

At Vulture HQ, the Shocker's arm matches Crossbones's arm, suggesting it was salvaged after his death. The Shocker tries selling an Ultron gun to Aaron Davis, played by Donald Glover, who in the comics is Miles Morales's uncle and also appeared in Into the Spider-Verse. In one of the best Easter eggs I have ever seen, Aaron is shown watching Community, specifically the episode where Donald Glover's character wears Spider-Man pajamas, meaning Aaron is watching a multiverse version of himself while also being a version of himself. Aaron's alter ego the Prowler is name dropped when Peter later looks up his profile, and Aaron only gets interested in the deal once climbers are mentioned, the same gear the Prowler uses in his crimes.

Washington DC Brings Winter Soldier Callbacks and a Big Theory

On the road to the Decathlon competition in Washington, the same school extras later appear on the bus in Infinity War. A sign for Triskelion cleanup references Captain America The Winter Soldier, where the building was destroyed by a crashing Helicarrier. Peter and Ned remove the training wheels protocol, unlocking Karen, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, the real life wife of Paul Bettany who voices Jarvis and later Vision. Peter also unlocks instant kill mode, which I think is a Batman reference. During the heist Peter gets trapped in a Damage Control truck, and slowed footage shows a matter phaser rolling near his feet, explaining why the doorway closes on him. He ends up locked in deep storage for what feels like an eternity but is only 37 minutes, and finds an Ultron head with glowing red eyes, so who knows if that villain returns one day. The Washington Monument sequence echoes Sam and Cap's run at the start of Winter Soldier, which I admit is a bit of a reach.

After Peter saves the group in the elevator, Adrian watches a news report and clearly seems worried, since he knows his daughter is in Washington, another clue tying him to Liz, followed immediately by a shot of Liz's mom hugging her, which is definitely a reach. Peter later interrogates Aaron, who mentions a nephew, the same nephew who in the comics is Miles Morales. There is a theory that Miles survived the snap and could be brought into the MCU around Peter's age or older, though it remains to be seen if that is true.

A Scorpion Tattoo Teases Michael Mando's Future in the Franchise

On the ferry, Peter runs into Aaron's associate Mac Gargan, whose scorpion tattoo ties him to the villain Scorpion, and I really hope the tease Michael Mando gave on Instagram means he shows up in the third Spidey movie. Spidey performs the exact same roll that Cap did in Civil War, showing he learned it from him. When the ferry splits apart, Peter pulls it together in a move referenced in the opening of Into the Spider-Verse, and Tony saves the passengers wearing a suit that might be my favorite in the whole franchise.

A Handshake, a Prom Reveal, and a Callback Building Collapse

After his suit is confiscated, Peter seems happier building the Lego Death Star with Ned and does the same handshake that Miles later does in Into the Spider-Verse. Picking Liz up for prom, Peter discovers Toomes is the Vulture, and Toomes realizes Peter is Spider-Man, a reveal subtly hinted at when a traffic light turns green. After being dropped off, Peter leaves to stop the heist, and Happy mentions loading the old Hulkbuster armor, later replaced in Infinity War, while Cap's new shield, revealed in Endgame to have been made by Tony despite their falling out, is also referenced. Toomes says sorry before bringing the building down on Peter, catching him off guard, a moment I think Peter learns from since in Far From Home Mysterio says the same thing before trying to kill him, though Peter manages to stop it that time. Toomes removes structural joints, knowing how from his construction background. Peter sees his reflection in the water with half the mask off his face, classic Spider-Man iconography, and lifts the rubble in a shot resembling the famous comic panel from The Final Chapter.

The Plane Rescue, Toomes's Fate, and the Sinister Six Tease

Peter stops the Vulture from robbing the plane in a scene that always reminds me of the Dark Knight stopping a plane crash in Batman Rebirth, though I am not sure if that is a definite reference. Toomes gets impaled by arc reactor fragments, perhaps suggesting Stark built more suits after destroying them in Iron Man 3. Peter saves the Vulture and chooses not to give him up to Scorpion. Liz and her family are forced to move away, and Tony takes Peter upstate, where Vision's dislike of doors is referenced back to Civil War. One detail people have pointed out is that Pepper wears the same t shirt in bed in Iron Man 3 as Peter wears in this movie, which is a strange thing to notice but there it is. Peter turns down the Iron Spider suit, which resurfaces in Infinity War. Tony proposes to Pepper so the press stop bothering them, and she is later seen wearing that engagement ring in Infinity War. The movie closes with Aunt May discovering Peter is Spider-Man, mirrored at the end of Far From Home when his identity is revealed to the world and he reacts the same way. The post credits scene has Vulture and Scorpion meeting in prison, potentially teasing the Sinister Six.

Did I miss any Easter eggs from Homecoming that deserve a spot on this list?