The MCU is vast and ginormous. And it does not shy away from dropping a DC Comics Reference here and there. Every DC Comics reference the MCU has dropped till now are pretty iconic (and ironic, so to speak).
Iron Man 3 – Happy Hogan Calls Iron Man’s Avengers Pals “Super Friends”
Super Friends remains a cult classic children’s animated superhero show even today. it aired back in 1973 till 1986 on ABC. Although a DC animated show, Super Friends has become a global pop culture phenomenon. The show is so respected even the MCU cannot get over it. In Iron Man 3, Happy terms Iron Man’s Avengers pals as his “Super Friends”. The movie – Iron Man 3, may have not been up to the mark but it did have some pretty groovy Easter eggs and references.
Eternals – The Superman Reference
The scene in question comes when Ikaris comes to visit Phastos and his family. As he is landing on the front lawn, Phastos’ kid shouts “Dad, that’s Superman!! With the cape, and you were shooting laser beams out of your eyes!” This is how Marvel Studios confirmed DC Comics exists in the MCU. And that was a pretty slick DC Comics reference too. Not many Marvel Studios movies have been bold enough to pull of such a direct trick on the big screens.
Spider-Man: Homecoming – The Parking Lot Interrogation Scene
This scene is actually pretty entertaining. In the scene in Homecoming, Spider-Man traps Donald Glover’s Aaron Davis and activates his Enhanced Interrogation Protocol. The mechanism activates and distorts Tom Holland’s Peter’s voice electronically, making it sound grave and intimidating. But on such a tiny body, the heavier sound with more bass only makes him look more hilarious. The distorted voice technique was clearly a DC Comics reference. Christian Bale’s Batman used the same technique to intimidate his opponents in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy.
Eternals – The Alfred Connection
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To top it off, Eternals did not end the DC Comics reference barrage with that Superman bomb. There was one more DC Comics reference to a classic DC character. When Gilgamesh meets Kingo after a long time, Kumail Nanjiani‘s character’s valet – Karun (Karish Patel) enters the scene. Gilgamsh jokingly refers to Karun as Kingo’s ‘Alfred’. In DC Comics, Alfred is the trusted butler of and mentor to Bruce Wayne aka the Batman. So in one movie, MCU just put a DC Comics reference for the two greatest DC heroes to ever exist.
Luke Cage – Luke Stopping A Car Looks Similar To Action Comics #1
We refuse to believe it was a fluke. The show creators knew what they were doing. And the scene is too eerily similar to a fault to make people think otherwise. It was Den of Geek that pointed it out first. In the first season, there is a scene early on in the show when Luke lifts a car with his bare hands.
The scene evokes feelings similar to the one that the cover of Action Comics #1 does. Fun fact – Present day Luke Cage has the roughly the same level of strength as the Golden Age Superman did. Like Luke, Superman also started out as a street level, community champion before the latter moved on to bigger and grander things.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – Flash Thompson Name Drops Flashpoint
It’s a ‘blink and you miss it’ scene. but we assure you it is there. After Peter Parker’s secret is out in the public, Flash Thompson cashes in on the news and publicizes him as Parker’s best friend. His life story is then turned into a book with the title “Flashpoint“. The name of the book is the same as the iconic comic book storyline – The Flashpoint Paradox. The upcoming Flash movie will also heavily feature the story arc. This DC Comics reference certainly takes the cake.
