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How many of Easter eggs did you spot in Captain Marvel? If the answer is one, two, or "none, because I was swept away by the awesomeness of the movie" then don't worry, we've got you covered. We've searched every second of the movie for Captain Marvel Easter eggs, from comic book nods to cameos, and collected them all here, so you don't need to worry about being caught out at the next nerd-out in the office kitchen. Obviously, spoilers ahead.
Once you've digested this, check out our guide to the Captain Marvel post-credits scenes - what do you mean you had to pee? - and the Captain Marvel ending.
Stan Lee and Mallrats
First, one that was easy to spot. Captain Marvel arrives back on Earth in 1995, and sees Stan Lee on a bus holding a script for '90s cult classic Mallrats. This is a super meta Captain Marvel Easter egg, because Stan Lee's role in Mallrats is actually a cameo as himself anyway. In Mallrats he gives one of the heroes Brodie advice on romance, explaining his characters were created in response to a girl that got away. One of his final lines is "trust me, true believer," which is the line he's rehearsing on the bus.
After seeing Captain Marvel for himself Mallrats writer and director Kevin Smith posted an emotional response to the Easter egg on Instagram, saying: "Just saw @captainmarvelofficial. I am a blubbering mess. After a lifetime spent referencing the movies, the movies just referenced me!"
Read more: Every Stan Lee cameo from the MCU, X-Men movies, and more
The kickass Kelly Sue DeConnick
There's a nice - if brief - cameo from another comic book creator too. Keep an eye out for a woman with striking red hair in the train station scene. That's Kelly Sue DeConnick, who first wrote Carol as Captain Marvel in the comics. She was also a consultant on the film.
Swallowing Infinity Stones
Goose the cat/flerkin swallowing the Tesseract in Captain Marvel nicely foreshadows a scene in 2012's The Avengers when Bruce Banner is presented with a picture of the glowing cube of doom by Black Widow and he replies: "What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?" If only he knew...
Read more: The definitive guide to the Marvel Infinity Stones in the MCU: Powers, names, locations, and everything else you need to know before Avengers: Endgame
Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.
Did the name Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. sound familiar? In Captain Marvel it's the initiative run by Dr. Wendy Lawson, but Marvel maniacs will have seen it before in the MCU. In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark asks Jarvis for everything from Projects P.E.G.A.S.U.S., E.X.O.D.U.S. and G.O.L.I.A.T.H."
In The Avengers a subterranean Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. bunker, one that looks quite similar to the one in Captain Marvel, is where Erik Selvig is studying the Tesseract. It also gets a 'sneeze and you'll miss it' mention in the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when Daisy "Skye" Johnson is being questioned.
Costume capers
When Carol decides to swap the Kree colors on her suit for something else, the options she and Monica try out before settling on the iconic blue, gold and red aren't random. They actually hark back to Captain Marvel's comic history. The red and black is from her Ms. Marvel outfit, and the white and green is a nod to Captain Mar-Vell, the 1960s' Walter Lawson who became Wendy Lawson for the movie.
Eye don't believe it
Now that we know how poor Nick Fury lost his eye, fans might just remember a line from Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Fury tells Cap: "The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." He just so happened to skip the whole part about that person actually being a fluffy, ginger alien cat...
Star-Lord, is that you?
One of the crazier Captain Marvel Easter eggs revolves around some eagle-eyed fans who think they might have spotted a tie in with Guardians of the Galaxy. You can get the nitty gritty details here, but the TL;DR is that they think a shooting star that appears in the sky as Carol and Monica are spending some quality time together is, in fact, the spaceship that took Star-Lord away during the first scene of the original Guardians movie. The dates do seem to add up...
Photon blaster
One of the most important relationships Captain Marvel has is with her old Air Force buddy Maria Rambeau and her daughter Monica. Fans spotted during the flashback scenes that Maria's call sign is Photon (you can see it on the side of her jet). This is a nice little Easter egg that relates to her daughter Monica, who uses Photon as a codename when she becomes Captain Marvel in the comics.
Galaxy guys
Of course, there are some more obvious connections with Guardians of the Galaxy too. The most obvious is the appearance of Ronan the Accuser, who is the main villain in the first 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy, and is killed with the Power Infinity Stone at the end.
There's also Djimon Hounsou's Korath the Pursuer. He's in Guardians of the the Galaxy too, attacking Peter Quill in the opening scene, and honestly is a huge red flag that Captain Marvel's Kree buddies are operating in an ethical grey area.
Want more Captain Marvel? Dive into our must read guide to those Captain Marvel powers and a history of the Captain Marvel comics.
