All the Easter Eggs we spotted in 'Wonder Man'

In the first episode, Simon Williams has booked a gig on (and promptly gets let go from) an episode of American Horror Story. We’d love to know what AHS looks like in the MCU. Was there ever “American Horror Story: The Blip?”

Rogers: The Musical

When Simon is walking on the backlot in episode one, we see a billboard for Rogers: The Musical. This is, of course, the Broadway musical about the life of the OG Captain America, Steve Rogers. Good to see it’s having a long Broadway run and a tour in the MCU.

Sons of Anarchy, Castle Rock, and Twilight

Simon compliments Ashley, the director of his AHS episode, on her work on several real-world series we now know also exist in the MCU, like Sons of Anarchy and Castle Rock. Twilight also gets a shout-out. So Blade exists in a world that also has Twilight. We see possibilities here.

Midnight Cowboy

When Simon meets Trevor in the movie theater, it’s a revival theater showing the 1969 Best Picture, Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. The movie will foreshadow the unlikely friendship of Simon and Trevor throughout the series.

Deadline

The real-world Hollywood trade publication Deadline exists within the MCU, something we learn when Simon reads it and learns they are looking for a fresh face and not a star to headline the Wonder Man film.

Episode 2 “Self-Tape”

Damage Control

The Government’s Department of Damage Control, which first appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming and then in Ms. Marvel, shows up in this episode to give Trevor Slattery a choice. He must help them expose and arrest Simon Williams as an unregistered enhanced being, or go back to prison for his crimes posing as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. 

M3GAN

The agent from the Department of Damage Control mentions that there’s an audition for M3GAN 3.0 they can use to lure Simon out in the open. What’s funny is that when this was filmed, a third M3GAN probably seemed like a sure thing. Now, the joke lands differently.

Coronation Street

In Trevor’s apartment, we see a poster for King Lear, and a VHS of the long-running British television series Coronation Street. The suggestion being that, probably at some point, Trevor had a role in one or both.

Joe Pantaliano Movies

When Trevor and Simon visit Joe Pantaliano’s house, we see posters for two of his films on the wall. One is the serious Oscar-bait 1982 film Monsignor, and the 1994 critically derided bomb, Baby’s Day Out. Both show that Pantaliano has had a career with many ups and downs. We did not see a Goonies poster, sadly.

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson gets a name-drop in this episode, which makes sense, as we know American Horror Story is a big show in the MCU.

Episode 3: “Pacoima”

The Rookie

In the third episode, we learn that Simon’s concussive powers once caused a porta-potty to explode on the set of the ABC procedural show The Rookie. That mental image is the stuff of nightmares.

Eli and Peyton Manning

Simon’s agent mentions that they are signing Eli and Peyton Manning, probably for a commercial endorsement.

The Go-Go’s

Trevor references Belinda Carlisle and her iconic Go-Go’s hit from 1981, “Our Lips Are Sealed.”

YouTube

YouTube gets mentioned when Simon’s mom doesn’t realize that AHS is not streaming there. Like many olds, she doesn’t know one streaming platform from another and relies on her grown kids to navigate.

Captain America

Simon’s cousin at his mother’s birthday party mentions loving Captain America, calling him the full package. Simon says he’s just a regular guy who throws a shield. We can assume they mean our current Cap, Sam Wilson, and not Steve Rogers, the super soldier.

Episode 4: “Doorman”

Josh Gad/Frozen

Josh Gad appears in this episode as himself, or at least, a parody of himself. We see how he attempts to create a hip hop song based on his Olaf from Frozen song “In Summer,” and it’s kind of hilarious.

Doorman

This episode is all about DeMarr Davis, a.k.a. Doorman. He’s a very obscure Marvel Comics character who can create portals, and is another example of a mutant in the MCU. In the comics, he was a member of the misfit team, the Great Lakes Avengers.

Imagine Dragons

We learn that pop rock band Imagine Dragons exists in the MCU, because we learn in this episode that their DJ works at the same nightclub DeMarr Davis does. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is entirely up to you.

Mario Lopez

Mario Lopez is a TV host on Earth-616 just as he is in ours. Some things are constant throughout the Multiverse, it seems.

Episode 5: “Found Footage”

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Trevor makes up a lie and says “a friend from a pocket dimension” is calling him. Of course, as we know from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Trevor does actually know people who live in the pocket dimension of Ta Lo. We doubt he’s on any of their speed dials, though.

The Hollywood Bowl

Trevor mentions seeing both Cher and Chaka Khan at the Hollywood Bowl. This will not be the only Chaka Khan reference Trevor makes, proving he has good taste in music at least.

Wicked

A Wicked billboard can be spotted when Trevor and Simon are running around Hollywood looking for the guy with the GoPro.

Beavis and Butthead

Esteban calls Trevor and Simon “Beavis and Butthead.” We don’t think that’s fair, they are way more like Bert and Ernie to us.

Episode 6: “Call Back”

Christopher Nolan

At the big Wonder Man audition at Kovac’s house, one of the actors mentions wrapping a Christopher Nolan film. Marvel was wise to name-drop Nolan, a director who will almost certainly never direct an MCU movie.

Paul Thomas Anderson

Speaking of prestige directors who will likely never make a superhero movie, another actor at Kovak’s house mentions being Paul Thomas Anderson’s surfing instructor.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Von Kovak plays “The Midnight Special” by Creedence Clearwater Revival for the auditioning actors, which he says will be the opening music to Wonder Man. Is this a Guardians of the Galaxy meta-reference? We think so.

Pretty Woman

At Kovak’s house, Simon hilariously recites lines from Pretty Woman where Vivian and Edward argue. Kovak clocks what movie the lines are from right away.

Chaka Khan

Trevor starts reminiscing about a 1986 concert at the beach he once went to, and that he wasn’t excited to see Robert Palmer, but Chaka Khan. We hope Chaka Khan played her 1984 Prince-written hit “I Feel For You” at this concert.

Episode 7: “Kathy Friedman”

Shonda Rhimes

At the dinner with Janelle and Simon’s agency, they make him an offer to be in a Netflix Shonda Rhimes-produced show. Maybe the next Bridgerton spin-off? It seems in the MCU, Shonda is just as big a deal in the TV world as she is in ours.

Joseph Godron-Levitt

New York Times journalist Kathy Friedman skewered Joseph Gordon-Levitt over a pigeon incident in the fifth grade. This reference will make reality collapse if JGL ever takes on an MCU role.

Glenn Howerton

The same New York Times writer once exposed It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howertown as once stabbing an arugula salad.

Planet of the Apes

We see a Planet of the Apes 1968 poster in Trevor’s trailer. This isn’t just a reference to the iconic sci-fi classic, but also a reference to Shang-Chi. In that movie, he mentions how he became an actor after seeing Planet of the Apes as a kid. We’re pretty sure he still doesn’t realize the apes were men in suits.

Episode 8: “Yucca Valley”

Pierce Brosnan, Antonio Banderas, and Robert DeNiro

When Simon breaks Trevor out of the high security prison, Trevor asks him who replaced him as the character Barnaby in the movie Wonder Man. He name drops some very prestigious actors, like  Pierce Brosnan, Antonio Banderas, and even Robert DeNiro.

Wonder Man, the Marvel Comics Hero

The Wonder Man costume Simon wears in the film is just like his most famous black and red costume from the comics. And when he rescues Trevor from prison, he flies emitting ionic energy, just like his comic book counterpart.

All 8 episodes of Wonder Man are now streaming on Disney+.