Avengers: Endgame isn't even a week old, but already fans have started to pick apart nods, winks and references to the wider Marvel Universe featured in the film.
For as much as the fourth Avengers was about closing the book on the three previous phases of the MCU, it also had to set-up future movies along the way, whether that be in Thor joining the Guardians of the Galaxy, Sam Wilson becoming Captain America or by namedropping Captain Britain in a covert Easter egg.
The stage is set for a 'distinctly different' era of the franchise, and with the likes of The Eternals and Shang-Chi set to join the MCU in Phase Four, it's clear Marvel don't have a shortage of heroes to call upon to replace their departing stars. The acquisition of Fox and their partnership with Sony effectively means that no character is off limits, and with dozens of 'essential' heroes and villains still yet to feature in the films, it's understandable as to why each tease is met with excited chatter.
Endgame dangled plenty of future plot threads throughout its runtime, but one that may have coasted beneath the radar actually teases the arrival of a major Marvel hero - Namor the Sub-Mariner. But where does it happen? And why is all the fuss warranted? Let's dive in.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
