First of all, let me say that "Spider-Man Homecoming" succeeds in many ways to finally bring this pivotal character back into the expanded MCU. The second reboot is nothing short of entertainment, and it never disappoints me. "Homecoming" is packed with the usual Marvel's stuff - that's offering both thrilling and exciting Spidey adventures. There are slight under-development in the character and story departments, but these are countered by an effective charm around the casts and an on-the-dot straightforward and yet funny plot all around. I give the latest Spidey adventure a solid 4.5 out of 5 (Rating: A-)
And now to the Easter eggs with SPOILER ALERT ahead.....
OPENING MARVEL STUDIO INTRO
The opening Marvel Studio intros is hardly a surprise since it has been rumored and later confirmed for a month that it will feature a Michael Giacchino's rendition of the 60s theme song. You know, the one that sounds like "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does whatever a Spider Can".
DAMAGE CONTROL
The Department of Damage Control (DODC) is heavily featured as the one, apparently set up by the government and Tony Stark, to deal with the artifact fall-out and restoration of New York City after the events of "The Avengers". Up until 2015, Marvel Studios had planned out a TV series entitled Damage Control, but that didn't pan out. Damage Control was also mentioned in "Iron Man series" and in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
CINDY MOON? SILK?
Sometimes MCU throws and cross-references names for the sake of fun, although they could end up being something meaningful. Take one, for instance, there is a character called Cindy, who is also a friend and schoolmate to Peter, Ned, Liz, Michelle, and Eugene. Yes, Cindy is the girl who is also part of the Peter Parker's Academic Decathlon team at Midtown High School. Cindy could be a direct reference to Cindy Moon or Silk, or it could mean nothing.
AARON DAVIS
Aaron Davis is a petty criminal who was "caught" in an arms deal with Herman Schultz (Bokeem Woodbine) and Jackson Brice (Logan Marshall-Green). During the interrogation scene with Spider-Man, he told Peter that he has a nephew - which of course, for many comic readers is a hint about Miles Morales. Morales is, of course, the Ultimate version of Spider-Man. In the same Ultimate version, Aaron Davis eventually becomes the anti-hero character Prowler.
THAT STAN LEE CAMEO
It was widely speculated that Stan Lee has always been one of the observers who reports to The Watchers - an interesting note from the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2". And in this movie, he called himself Gary. His cameo scene involves him and a few neighbors arguing about a car's alarm that went off following Peter's attempt to apprehend a guy trying to steal a car, only to mistakenly take down the owner.
By the way, RIP to Mrs. Lee, who passed away earlier this week. Stay strong, Stan.
"AVENGERS" ROBBING THE BANK
This scene is a cross-reference to an actual story from the comic Ultimate Spider-Man. Similar to the movie version, Peter Parker is given the first chance to deal with the bank burglars, who don the masks of Avengers characters. In one particular scene, Peter fights off "Thor", and in the process, Peter managed to grab "Thor's" elbow, making "Thor" punched "Hulk". It is clear that this is an homage to the first Avengers movie, sort of "revenge" when Hulk punched Thor out of nowhere. Also, there is a one-liner joke about identity theft at the background. Pun!!
THOR'S MAGIC BELT
When Happy is supervising the transfer of Stark's artifacts to the new Avengers facility in the upstate of New York, Thor's magic belt is mentioned along with many other kinds of stuff that are also to be transported; including Hulkbuster, new Captain America's shield (Oh, Tony made another one?), and et cetera. Happy is unable to pronounce it properly (Megi......!!??). It is actually spelled as Megingjörð and on the pronunciation, well, no comment. In the conventional Norse mythology, Megingjörð is the belt given by Odin for Thor to use in times of peril; which is one of Thor's three main possessions, along with the hammer Mjölnir and the iron gloves Járngreipr.
REFERENCES TO JOHN HUGHES CLASSICS
The characters of Peter and his high school pals do take some inspiration from John Hughes' classic "The Breakfast Club", although character-by-character references are quite obscure. But the most direct mention has to be in one particular scene in the movie; where Peter Parker gives the bad guys a chase throughout the suburban neighborhood while giving a nod to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" for being a great movie. Of course, the home running scene from that classic movie is being played on the TV of some ensuing teen party. Much love for John Hughes!!
THE TINKERER
Phineas Mason (Michael Chernus) is heavily featured in the movie and could play a major role in the future of Spider-Man series. Hailed as the guy who helped Adrian Toomes transformed and integrate the salvaged alien artifacts as their weapon of the heist, Mason helped to create many powerful suits for the Spidey villains, including the Sinister Six. With Gargan being in the movie, one can assume The Tinkerer will be back soon.
Mac Gargan is the psychopath murderer and ruthless criminal who makes a deal with Toome to buy the alien weapons from. He is mentioned by Karen during the weapon sale on the Staten Island ferry, and makes another brief appearance in the mid-credit scene, confronting Toomes about the real identity of Peter Parker. If you know your Marvel comic well enough, you would know who is he. In the comic, Mac Gargan lives as the villain Scorpion. Check out if you can spot his little Scorpion tattoo during the mid-credit scene too.
AUNT MAY IS NOT A FAN OF THAT TONY GUY
Marisa Tomei's character Aunt May isn't really a fan of Tony Stark, especially how "Stark's intern program" gave Peter a lot emotional and physical burden. At the Thai restaurant, Aunt May made that very clear that she doesn't like him. Not sure how much does this reference, but so that you know, the real life Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr once dated and featured in 1994 film "Only You". The rest they said, was history.
FOOD CRITICS
There are a few recurrent gags about food. First, Aunt May's "disastrous" meatloaf makes another mentioning in the movie - which references the scene from "Captain America: Civil War" where Tony Starks made a surprise visit to Peter Parker's home. He is clearly not a fan of Aunt May's meatloaf.
Then there is another one - the Branzino's reference. Flash Thompson is complaining about a bad branzino with his Homecoming date. That is a huge shout-out to one of the funniest scene in Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man".
That's it, folks. Discuss your favourite Easter Eggs scene from the movie in the comment section below.