10 Comic Book Movies You Didn't Know Were Linked

1. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Acknowledges The Existence Of Superman & Doctor Strange

The world of superhero movie rights are a delicate legal minefield, so it's little surprise that most comic book films play it safe by not even bothering to acknowledge other superheroes outside of their wheelhouse for fear of blowback.

But Sam Raimi's Spider-Man had no such fear, and as is uncharacteristic for the genre, directly referenced heroes from two distinct, closed-off universes, seemingly implying that they actually exist within this world.

First of all in the original 2002 Spider-Man, Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) tells Peter (Tobey Maguire), "You're not Superman, you know."

Then in Spider-Man 2, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) ponders what name to give Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), and when his underling Ted Hoffman (Ted Hoffman) suggests "Dr. Strange," Jameson knowingly replies with, "That's pretty good, but it's taken."

In both cases the comments don't seem outwardly flippant, but actually plausibly point to a universe where Raimi's Spider-Man is swinging around in a New York with the Sorcerer Supreme in active operation, and a world where Superman - most likely Brandon Routh's version from Superman Returns - is a firmly established superhero.

The logistics don't match up at all of course, especially in the case of the MCU's Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), but it's still fun to imagine the wider world of superheroism that Raimi's films hinted at - and as were independently realised in the years that followed.

At least we did finally get that Spidey/Strange team-up in the end, right?