10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About '90s Superman Cartoon
8. One Episode Features A Parody Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the first episode of Season 3, Where There's Smoke, Superman hunts a pyrokinetic called Volcana who is also being sought out by a mysterious government agency.
As soon as the rogue agency appears, it's unmistakable they are based on the counter-terrorist agency from Marvel Comics, S.H.I.E.L.D. The leader of this group has an eye-patch, just like the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury.
At first, you might think it's a coincidence. But it doesn't stop there. One of the operatives has a bowler hat and handlebar moustache much like Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan, who is Fury's right-hand man and former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent #1 is clearly based on Gabe Jones who debuted in the same issue as Nick Fury. One member has a blond crew-cut and glasses, just like Jasper Sitwell, who has appeared prominently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And as a final Easter egg, the workers in the underground facility wear uniforms which are almost identical to the Beekeeper outfits worn by agents of A.I.M; the first enemy S.H.I.E.L.D faced in the comics.