Almost half a decade on, the first Guardians of the Galaxy continues to draw the scrutiny of the internet, as fans seek to discover the last remaining Easter Egg. And in a new piece from Giant Box of Comics, the case is made that director James Gunn may have hidden a key Marvel character right before our eyes.
You might recall the post-credits scene of the 2014 flick, which introduces us to Howard the Duck. This cigar-smoking fowl first made his comic book debut in a 1973 issue of Adventure into Fear, a horror series that served as a vehicle for the swamp monster named Man-Thing.
With that in mind, you may want to pause the below video around the 3-second mark. On the left of the shot, as part of Taneleer Tivan’s collection, you’ll notice a plant-like design that Giant Box of Comics has argued bears a resemblance to the Man-Thing himself.
One misty, dimly lit image certainly isn’t a lot to go on, and it may well turn out that this theory is based on little more than projection. Still, you probably couldn’t put it past Gunn to include such an Easter Egg, so here’s hoping he can provide a little clarification somewhere down the line.
In any case, it looks like the third Guardians is still at least a couple more years away from reaching theaters, but Avengers: Endgame has already dropped a few hints of what to expect from the upcoming film. Meanwhile, speaking of post-credits scenes, the ending of Vol. 2 implies that Adam Warlock may finally make his MCU debut in the third movie, and recent rumors even suggest that Zac Efron might be in the running for the part.
As for Man-Thing, we’ve spotted no sign of him since the first Guardians of the Galaxy, if then, but feel free to dream.