Marvel Cinematic Universe: Definitive Guide To Easter Eggs, In-Jokes And Foreshadowing

Iron Man 3

21. Dr. Yinsen Appearance

In the film's 1999-set opening we see Tony bump into Ho Yinsen, the man who save his life in that cave in Afghanistan. Back in Iron Man, the ill-fated doctor mentioned a previous meeting, meaning the threequel is seeing his character go full circle. Also note Tony's nametag - "You know who I am" is Robert Downey, Jr.'s Twitter description.

20. The Chinese Version

Dr. Yinsen is trying to introduce Tony to a Chinese scientist, Dr. Wu. In the normal version of the film, that's the end of it. In the Chinese release, however, it serves as the entry point to an extra four minutes where Iron Man travels to China. This doesn't add anything to the plot, but did increase the film's appeal to the international market; Iron Man 3 became one of the MCU's biggest movies, thanks in part to the Chinese box office.

19. The Ten Rings

Returning after a key part in Iron Man (and a cameo in Iron Man 2) are terrorist organisation The Ten Rings. After being named in a sly wink to the Mandarin in the first film, this time he's presented as the head of the group. The film's later ret-con that they're all a front for Aldrich Killian has some pretty major repercussions - it means he was behind Tony becoming Iron Man in the first place.

18. President Ellis Is Named After Extremis' Writer

POTUS in the Iron Man 3, Matthew Ellis looks set to be the the US leader going forward into the MCU. His name is in honour of Warren Ellis, who wrote the Extremis storyline, which was lifted from heavily for the film.