So today James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, came out and said that there was a HUGE easter egg hidden in his space opera that is yet to be found.
Naturally, people on the internet are flocking to their dvds, blu rays, VHS probably, old comics definitely and even other corners of the internet to try and crack the mystery egg. As of the time of my writing this, it has not been found, and while there is a chance that this might be a wild goose chase, fans will scour all the same.
(I’m just going to take a second now to pause from all the egg-related puns I just skimmed over there. Something something, Howard the Duck)
The true believers out there, young and old, are off freeze-framing a world with Cosmo, Adam Warlock’s cocoon and possibly Beta Ray Bill to track down something bigger but somehow more elusive than any of those listed above.
I unfortunately have nothing to offer on the Guardians front other than the advice that you should read Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest if you haven’t already. I do, however, have an Easter Egg that I believe has gone unnoticed until now, from a more recent Marvel property that is really, really teeny-tiny.
No, not the movie, The Easter Egg.
That’s right, it’s from the Avengers: Age of Ultron, where right in the middle of James Spader, flying cities and the second best onscreen Quicksilver, Joss Whedon managed to hide a reference to the first ever gathering of Earth’s mightiest heroes.
I’ll say it again now, it’s itty-bitty. This is a nicotine patch for the cigarette that is the GotG secret. Don’t get your hopes up.
Having been ambushed by the mind-altering powers of the Scarlet Witch (that’s how chaos magic works right?) the Avengers are in the midst of their dream states that ultimately prompt Thor to go for a swim and Black Widow to piss off feminists. Its effect on the Hulk though, is decidedly more destructive.
The Hulk goes on a rampage, but thankfully Bruce Banner and Tony Stark have devised a failsafe that can stop him in just such an event. They fight, it’s funny and exciting and there’s even a tiny Easter Egg hidden in the middle of it. Two, in fact if you count the ‘Betty and Veronica’ reference.
But before the actual fighting, Veronica’s tactic is to trap the Hulk. One by one, great big bits of steel land around The Hulk and he is trapped in an impenetrable circus tent of sorts.
He can’t go through it. So he doesn’t.
Instead of staying trapped, however, The Hulk escapes, not by futile smashing, but by tunnelling. The cage sinks into the ground and we see that The Hulk got out by using his brain.
How is this an Easter Egg? Well, because something very similar happened in the first ever issue of The Avengers in 1963.
Having been tricked by Loki into chasing The Hulk in a trap that was meant for Thor, Iron Man corners his foe in a factory and the following exchange ensues when he tries to trap him with a steel girder.
It’s the same thing! Sort of. Take it or leave it really, I said it was small.
But in defense of this tiny Easter Egg, both situations features a Hulk V. Iron Man fight, wherein the former traps the latter who then escapes via the surface to which he is pinned.
And it wouldn’t be the first time Whedon referenced issue one, either. In fact, the original Avengers movie shared a loose frame with the issue, in that it featured the team uniting over a plot by Loki whereby the focal point of his machinations is The Hulk.
And that’s it. Small, but (hopefully) interesting and I haven’t seen it pointed out anywhere else at the very least! Hopefully it distracted you from the GotG race for a few seconds. Or not at all, and you’re annoyed because I wasted your time (which is cool with me. As far as I’m concerned, any Marvel conversation not focused completely on Ant Man and how they de-aged Michael Douglas is time wasted completely, so I’m with you there.)
Nuff said, I guess. By all mean, tell me what you think, positive or otherwise. Am I crazy, stupid or somewhere in between? Until next time Easter Egg-celsior!!!
Play on words 
