Marvel Cinematic Universe: Definitive Guide To Easter Eggs, In-Jokes And Foreshadowing
Captain America: The First Avenger
16. The Tesseract In Classic Imagery
In amongst Schmidt's books are some more examples of the Tesseract being worked into the history of the MCU (this was started in Thor). This time around they're classical images with the cube edited into them.
15. Hodge Is The Old-Style View Of Captain America
Hodge, the soldier who is favoured by Col. Phillips as an ideal candidate for the Super Soldier test, is rooted in comic lore, although he has been changed somewhat. Originally just another soldier who fought with Captain America in World War II, here Hodge is repositioned as a bullish patriot who follows orders without question. This is a role many mistake Captain America for embodying, with the film's complete dismissal of this mentality (Hodge is an unsuitable test subject) dispelling such myths.
14. Red Skulls Origin Expands On Abomination
When Dr. Reinstein reveals the Red Skull's backstory, he clarifies that Schmidt's deformity comes from his innate badness - he doesn't have the pure role of Steve Rogers and thus the serum amplified his bad qualities. A similar thing has happened previously in The Incredible Hulk; Blomsky, a soldier obsessed with power wound up becoming a literal abomination, possibly because of the serum's amplifying powers (and not just the cocktail of drugs in his blood).
13. Lucky Star Cab Company
A sly wink to the character's emblem, the taxi Dr. Reinstein's assassin escapes in is owned by the Lucky Star Cab Company, whose logo features the text circling a star. Geddit? This starts off as a background Easter egg, but by the time Rogers picks up the removed door and uses a shield even the most passive viewer can probably pick up the reference.
