MCU: 20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Avengers

With Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars set to close the book on the Multiverse Saga at the end of Phase Six, and after the juggernaut end to the Infinity Saga that was both Infinity War and Endgame, you may be forgiven for forgetting just how big The Avengers was.

In 2012, no cinematic franchise had ever truly attempted to do what Marvel Studios was doing, but in bringing together the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk on the big screen for the first time, the MCU started something unprecedented.

The movie itself was a resounding success, and everything you could possibly want from a crossover of its magnitude. The huge action sequences, the interaction between the previously solo heroes, and of course the smaller moments. These were the Easter eggs, callbacks, and blink-and-you'll-miss-them intricacies that have been invaluable to the MCU for so many years.

Now, ten years on, certain parts of the movie have retrospectively taken on deeper meaning within the confines of the wider universe. It's fair to say that there's a lot to see within the runtime of The Avengers, and there are some things that many fans will have undoubtedly missed.

There are so many nods and references to other corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe within each and every project that it can become impossible to keep track of them all. This is particularly true when such a moment relates back to one of the most forgotten pieces of the MCU puzzle.

Marvel Studios is currently all in on its Disney+ series, but what about the TV shows that came before it? Namely Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which debuted a year after The Avengers and had more ties to it than just the appearance of Phil Coulson.

When Phil was trying to get through to Tony at Stark Tower, Iron Man answered his phone and pretended to be a Life Model Decoy. This may have been a throwaway line, a bit of classic Stark wit, but it actually connects back to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a huge way, despite coming first. Life Model Decoys became a huge part of the series, and were one of the biggest threats Coulson and co. faced.

The AI was developed by S.H.I.E.L.D., and Stark clearly knew about it well enough to reference it to Agent Coulson. It’s a shame he couldn’t have created Ultron as well as the likes of AIDA were created, though both ended up turning evil so, swings and roundabouts I suppose.