We are all aware that the MCU loves to hide an Easter egg or two for fans to find, but some of them really fall under the radar, and are not discovered until years later. And it looks like that has happened with Captain America: Winter Soldier as one super-fan has spotted the most obscure yet brilliant Easter egg that references a 1990 Marvel flick.
Posted on Reddit, the fan revealed their favorite unnoticed reference: “The line in Winter Soldier where Nat asks ‘Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car? You'd have to ask the writers, but I like to think that it's a nod to the 1990 Captain America movie where Cap literally steals a car from Ned Beatty.”
The fan is referring to a scene in the 1990 movie Captain America directed by Albert Pyun, starring Matt Salinger as Captain America himself. The film follows Steve Rogers, a WWII soldier who undergoes experiments to become a super soldier (Captain America) but winds up frozen until 1990.
In the scene, President Kimball’s journalist friend Sam Kolawetz (played by Ned Beatty) finds Captain America wandering around aimlessly after being unfrozen and helps him, informing him about everything that has happened over the last 50 years. However, Cap does not believe him and instead steals Kolawetz's car, starting a long journey back home to California.
Sadly when Cap arrives home, he finds the city has changed and his family is gone, realizing that Kolawetz was right and he has been missing for 50 years. Captain America later reunites with Kolawetz later in the movie, but the journalist then dies from a heart attack.
Below the post, other fans shared their favorite references to older Marvel films and comic. “The bank robbery scene in (Spider-Man:) Homecoming is ripped straight out of BMB's Ultimate Spider-Man. It's issue number 42” said one user. Whilst another added “One thing that most people - including me - didn’t catch is that Garrett Morris has a cameo in Ant-Man because he was the first person to play Ant-Man in live action, in a 1970s SNL sketch.” We never noticed that one either!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is available to watch on Disney Plus right now. Stay up to date with the MCU with our guide on how to watch Marvel movies in order, and make sure to mark your calendars with all of the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows on the way in 2024 and beyond.
