Ever since Samuel L. Jackson waltzed into Tony Stark’s not-so-humble abode in the post-credits scene for Iron Man, the MCU has become synonymous with easter eggs as Marvel builds upon this most unprecedented shared universe. It’s a trait that has only evolved in the years since Nick Fury first teased the Avengers Initiative back in 2008, and with no less than 11 feature films slated for release across the next four years, we can only expect the company to double down on its grand, interwoven narrative.
Now, with Avengers: Age of Ultron hitting theaters across Europe and other PAL regions and Ant-Man set to conclude Marvel’s Phase Two in July, the long-discussed transition to Phase Three – a transition that will introduce moviegoers to Doctor Strange, Black Panther and, crucially, Spider-Man among others – is almost upon us.
What delightful teases has Marvel served up in Age of Ultron to seed this evolution? We already know that director Joss Whedon had planned to introduce Captain Marvel during the end sequence of the sequel, which exemplifies just how crammed full his follow-up really is, and without a post-credits sequence to call its own – there is a mid-credits sting, mind you – the vast majority of references are shoehorned into the Ultron‘s 142-minute running time.
So, without further ado, Liam Dunn and Michael Briers of We Got This Covered’s UK team were fortunate enough to see the hotly-anticipated film ahead of its release in the States on May 1. Here, they recount several things to watch out for in the film as Marvel has gone ahead and laid down many seeds for Phase 3 throughout. Please note though that there may be some minor spoilers.