21 Incredibly Obscure Marvel Movie Easter Eggs

12. A Leaked Set Photo Is Used In The Actual Movie - Iron Man

Iron Man Leak
Marvel Studios

Near the end of Iron Man, Tony Stark is reading a newspaper which features the headline "Who is the Iron Man?", complete with a crude, candid image of the superhero. Seems perfectly normal for a superhero movie, right?

Well, there's a little more to this one. The image of Iron Man was actually a spy photo that a fan snapped during the movie's filming and ended up leaked onto the now-defunct movie website IESB.net back in May 2007, a full year before the film hit cinemas.

In addition to threatening legal action against the website, Marvel Studios had time to include the image in the movie itself in an hilariously meta moment.

It gets even better, though: the photographer who snapped the picture, Ronnie Adams, filed a lawsuit against Paramount for using his image without permission, and as such it had to be digitally replaced for the home video version of the movie, pictured below. Madness.

Iron Man Tony Stark Pepper Potts
Marvel Studios
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.