12 Fiendishly Clever Comic Book Movie In-Jokes You Probably Missed

11. Smallville Spartans

There are a fair few Easter Eggs in Zak Snyder's Man Of Steel, and a lot of them point towards Smallville, the TV show that Superman fans tend not to think of as canon. Firstly, Pete Ross, who plays a key role in the TV show, makes an appearance as the red-headed Smallville townsman who witnesses Clark's feat of strength in saving the school bus, and grows up to work in the IHOP.

He is also of course a major character in the Superboy comics, playing a similar role to his appearance on Smallville, as best friend and ally, and while he has a stripped down role in Man Of Steel, it's still a worthy nod, especially as it seems he helps Louis Lane break Clark's secret (unlike his usual role of protector of Superman's identity.)

And then of course there's also the background appearance of Sullivan's Truck & Tractor Repair, a reference to Clark's Smallville friend Chloe Sullivan, as confirmed by Snyder, who stated he didn't want to "homage it too hard" while recognising that "it's in the mythology, so you have to give it a little bit of love." And there's also an appearance for the teenage Lana Lang (Jadin Gould) and a mention of Whitney Fordham, her traditional Smallville love rival.

But the best Smallville reference, which counts more as an in-joke is the decision to call Smallville's football team the Smallville Spartans, in homage to Snyder's 300.