Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers forDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessTypically, every comic-book movie is littered with Easter eggs for hardcore fans to find, but when you’ve got a comic-book movie that takes place throughout an exploding multiverse where literally anything is possible, you wind up with more obscure references, fist-pumping callbacks, and tantalizing teases than you may shake an Amulet of Agamotto at. So it’s not exactly a surprise that directorSam Raimi’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sixth featuringBenedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme, contains a good number of Easter eggs. We’ve included as many as we could find right here in this comprehensive list.
The Illuminati Feature Some Familiar Faces
The various trailers and promotional materials forMultiverse of Madnesshave been steadily teasing this movie’s version of the Illuminati – a group of Marvel superheroes who work behind the scenes to help keep world order. The film reveals that the MCU Illuminati are a small group of heroes from Earth-838, one of the parallel universes Stephen visits during the film. Intent on protecting their world, the Illuminati feature their universe’s best and brightest. Among their roster are alternate versions of five Marvel characters whose faces we recognize: Doctor Strange’s friend-turned-nemesis Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor); Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), the 838 variant of Peggy Carter who, much like herWhat If…?counterpart, ended up receiving the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers; Black Bolt (Anson Mount), the Attilan ruler with a voice that can literally kill who last appeared on the ill-fated Marvel TV seriesInhumans; Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), Carol Danvers' BFF who became Captain Marvel in this world; and Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the telepathic leader ofFOX’sX-Menmovies. The sixth member of the Illuminati, however, is a brand new MCU version of the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, played here byJohn Krasinski(The Office), who Marvel Studios almost cast as Captain America way back when and has long been a fan-favorite for the role. Does this mean that Krasinski will also be playing Richards in Marvel’s upcomingFantastic Fourmovie (and possibly bringing his real-life wifeEmily Bluntalong for the ride)? Or is this just Marvel poking the fans by casting Krasinski as a Reed variant for an amusing one-off? Time will tell.
I Understood That Reference
If you’re going to bring back several Marvel characters from the MCU and beyond, you might as well have some fun with them. So inMultiverse of Madness, we don’t just get Professor Xavier, we get a version of him that rides around in a hover-chair that looks like it popped straight out of the popular animated X-Men TV series that ran from 1992 to 1997 (and that Disney+will soon be reviving). His telepathic powers are also visually realized in a way that’s extremely similar to how they’ve always looked in cartoon and comic form. Meanwhile, Black Bolt gets an upgrade to his costume that might look silly to casual viewers but will no doubt make comic-book fans very happy. The Illuminati have a close working relationship with the Baxter Foundation, which is clearly a nod to the Fantastic Four’s business and scientific affairs across a bunch of other media. (The Baxter Building typically serves as the super team’s base of operations.) If those robot troops the Illuminati use as guards look familiar that’s because they are an alternate-universe version of the Ultron bots fromAvengers: Age of Ultron. And, best of all, it turns out Peggy didn’t just inherit Cap’s shield and powers in this universe. She also inherited his catchphrase, confidently telling an attacking Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), “I can do this all day.”
Reading Is Fundamental
There are two different books that play a key role in the film’s plot. The first is theDarkhold, a powerful tome written by the Elder GodChthon(who gets name-dropped in the movie) that is full of dark-magic spells and can corrupt the mind of the sorcerer or witch who dares to use it. In the comics, the Darkhold has beena highly coveted mystical artifactsince Marvel first introduced it way back in 1972. It made its first live-action appearance in Marvel TV’sAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where its power was used to craft an elaborate virtual reality. It then showed up as a plot point on theRunaways, a Marvel TV series that streams on Hulu. Your mileage may vary on whether those things count as MCU canon. Regardless, the book next showed up in Agatha Harkness' lair at the end ofWandaVision, but Wanda absconded with it at the end of the series and uses it inMultiverse of Madnessto attempt to reunite with her children. The movie also features The Book of Vishanti, another book with a long comic history dating back to the 1960s that is the “white magic” counterpart to the Darkhold.
Marvel Comics Deep Cuts
There are a couple of references to locations and characters that should ring a bell for long-time fans of Marvel Comics. A majority of the film’s climax takes place at Mount Wundagore, a foreboding location where the spells inside the Darkhold were originally carved into the walls. In the comics, Wundagore is actually Wanda’s birthplace, so it’s not surprising that the movie version of the Mountain also seems to be a place built to worship the Scarlet Witch. The creatures that guard the Mountain are unique in appearance but play a role similar to the comics' Knights of Wundagore. Meanwhile, the tentacled, one-eyed creature that Strange battles at the beginning of the film is namedGargantosafter a minor Namor the Sub-Mariner villain, though it might have more in common with Shuma-Gorath, a Lovecraftian beastie that’s a longtime Strange nemesis. We also learn about “incursions” in this movie, a calamitous event when two realities slam into each other, destroying both. Incursions have been a plot point on the page in bothNew AvengersandSecret Warsstorylines. Reed mentions his children, which means, at least on Earth-838,FranklinandValeriaare around. We also get the first MCU mention of Strange’s sister, Donna, who, in the comics,drowns when she cramps up while swimming. (In the film, this is slightly changed, as it’s explained she fell through a frozen lake and got trapped under the ice.) The Minotaur-like, bull-headed dude who helps guard Kamar-Taj isRintrah, who first appeared in the pages of theDoctor Strangecomic in the ’80s. And that torch-looking thing Christine (Rachel McAdams) uses to fight off the lost souls is theBrazier of Bom’Galiath.
What Universe Are We in Now?
During the film, Doctor Strange passes through a number of alternate universes, including a black-and-white one wherea HYDRA insignia on a blimphints that the terrorist organization had taken over that world. However, Strange spends most of his time in two specific parallel universes: Earth-838, where the Illuminati protect the people and red lights mean go, and another darker reality where an incursion has left the place in apocalyptic limbo. (Strange asks who did this, but the answer never comes. Hmmm, mightKang the Conquererhave been involved?). We also learn that those who track the multiverse have the MCU’s Earth labeled as Earth-616, which is also the designation of “Prime Earth” and the main continuity from Marvel Comics. If you’re wondering where you’ve heard this before, it’s because inSpider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio(Jake Gyllenhaal) also identifies the Earth of the MCU as “Earth-616.” But the funny part is Mysterio was just completely making shit up at the time. So what are the odds that he actually got it right?
Name That Tune
There are a couple of brief but hard-to-miss musical callbacks inMultiverse of Madness. During an early scene featuring Wanda and her children, Billy and Tommy, the motif that recurs throughoutWandaVision’s various theme songs makes an appearance. Captain Carter’s arrival is accompanied by a variation ofAlan Silvestri’s originalCaptain Americatheme. And when Professional Charles Xavier first enters the Illuminati chambers in his hover-chair, it’s not theX-Menmovie theme that plays on the soundtrack, but rather the iconic theme song from the animatedX-MenTV series. So plan on having that earworm stuck in your head the rest of the day.
Yeah, but Where’s Mickey?
During a scene set in an alternate reality, Wanda’s kids are seen watching an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon. Don’t know who Oswald is? That’s because, in the real world, Oswald was an early Walt Disney creation who,because of rights issues, was eventually replaced by Mickey Mouse. But apparently in Earth-838, things turned out differently, and it’s quite possible that Oswald – and not Mickey – became the face of Disney.
Sam Raimi’s Old Buddy Makes an Appearance
NoteverySam Raimi movie features a cameo from hisEvil Deadleading man,Bruce Campbell. But most of them do, and since he so memorably cameoed in all three of Raimi’sSpider-Manmovies, most expected him to show up again here. Those people will not be disappointed, as Campbell plays Pizza Poppa, a sidewalk food vendor in Earth-838. Instead of pizza slices, Pizza Poppa sells pizza balls (it’s an Earth-838 thing) and soon learns you don’t heckle a former Sorcerer Supreme. Strange puts a hex on him, which leads to Campbell punching himself in the face – a gag that recalls a similar fight Campbell had with his own hand inEvil Dead 2and extends all the way to the film’s second post-credits scene. Also showing up inMultiverse of Madnessis “The Classic” – Raimi’s yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta that first turned up onscreen in the originalEvil Deadand has made a cameo appearance in nearly every Raimi movie since. You can spot it floating in the air when Strange and Christine visit the dark, incursion-afflicted universe.
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