Spider-Man: Homecoming has arrived, and it's far more tangled in the massive web of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe than anyone ever expected, with references to over fifty years
of Marvel comics.
If the average spider can lay anywhere between ten and 1500 eggs, just how many Easter eggs
did Homecoming leave behind?
And if your Spidey-sense is tingling, that's only because there are spoilers ahead.
Damage Control
So, who cleans up after superheroes and their arch-villains have their mega-destructive
throwdowns all over the globe?
In the comics, that job goes to Damage Control, a government agency that's been around since
1988.
Marvel's been kicking around the idea of a Damage Control sitcom since 2015, but the
project never really made it off the ground.
So, while we may never see a Marvel sitcom a la DC's failed Powerless, Damage Control
has officially made it into continuity… and Adrian Toomes is not happy.
Betty Brant
Peter Parker's school has its own TV news program, starring none other than Marvel mainstay
Betty Brant.
Betty first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #4, way back in 1963, as newspaper mogul J.
Jonah Jameson's secretary.
Eventually, she becomes a pretty successful investigative reporter, and even has a fling
with the Hobgoblin.
She plays a pretty big part in Spider-Man's life, and a version of her even appeared in
Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, so it's not unlikely that she'll figure into the future, in one
way or another.
Spider-Signal
We saw it in Civil War's post-credits scene, but we see it again when Peter's tinkering
with his suit's devices in Homecoming.
Comic fans all felt a weird tingle when Peter briefly projected a Spider-Man logo onto the
wall, bringing back comic memories of Spider-Man's most hilariously useless device.
Contrary to Batman's awesome Bat-signal, which summons the Dark Knight from great distances,
Spider-Man's Spider-Signal doesn't do much more than announce his arrival to criminals,
and occasionally act as a flashlight.
Not every idea from the early days of Spider-Man was a good one.
Those armpit-webs, on the other hand, will always be pure comic book gold.
Summon the Sinister Six
The appearance of Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, definitely isn't an Easter egg, but it probably
takes a real comic fan to spot some of Spidey's other legendary foes.
While the Sinister Six has taken many forms over the years, the elderly Vulture has usually
been a core member.
Also pretty prominent in Homecoming is Shocker, who seems to be whoever's wearing an alien-tech-enhanced
glove.
But the reference to the comics' Shocker goes twofold when those same guys are seen wearing
the same distinctive, yellow quilted fabric that the comic villain wears.
"Shockeeeeeeerrrrrrrr!"
"You can't escape me!"
You'll also find Mac Gargan, aka Scorpion, played by Michael Mando.
In contrast to Homecoming's Gargan, comic book Gargan started out as an investigative
reporter whose life is messed up by the experimental process that gives him a giant, mechanical
scorpion tail.
If there was any doubt about these two Gargans being related, there's also that giant Scorpion
tattoo on big-screen Gargan's neck, too.
We also get a whole lot of Hobgoblin, and sorry to say, it's Peter Parker's biggest
fan and best friend, Ned.
While his full name is never given, Ned's last name has been given as 'Leeds' in a few
different publications.
Ned Leeds becomes one of at least seven different Hobgoblins after being brainwashed by the
original Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley, to take his place.
Let's say that things don't end well.
The Howling Commando legacy
If you think you're seeing a familiar face at Peter Parker's school, it's because actor
Kenneth Choi is playing his own grandson.
Way back in Captain America: The First Avenger, Choi played Jim Morita, a member of Cap's
Howling Commandos, a legendary group of Marvel Comics soldiers originally operating under
Nick Fury.
Choi returned in Homecoming to play Principal Morita, a guy obviously very proud of his
grandpa, given the photo of Jim that can be spotted in his office.
Morita Jr. Jr.'s love of history also possibly explains his affection for those terrible
Captain America instructional videos.
And speaking of cameos in photos around the school, the Incredible Hulk himself, Bruce
Banner, appears in one of the many posters of great scientists featured around the science
classroom.
And who's that on the school mural?
Howard Stark himself.
Spider-Man 2.0
Fans of Donald Glover know that he kind of campaigned to play Spider-Man in a big-screen
adaptation of the comic books.
"And then someone put a big picture of me in the comments and was like, 'Donald Glover
could play Spider-Man!
He's nerdy!'"
His interest in the role prompted Spider-scribe Brian Michael Bendis to create a new Spider-Man
inspired by Glover named Miles Morales.
And while Glover never made it to the big screen as Spidey, he did voice the character
of Miles Morales on the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series in 2015.
Glover returned to the Spidey-verse in Homecoming as Aaron Davis, a career criminal with the
alias of "Prowler," according to Spider-Man's files.
Sure, Marvel's main Prowler is some guy named Hobie, but in the Ultimate Universe, it's
a guy named Aaron Davis.
His nephew?
A guy named Miles Morales, the very same nephew that Prowler refers to during his parking
garage confrontation with Spider-Man.
And if that wasn't confirmation enough, check out his license plate: UCS-M01, which is short
for Ultimate Comics, Spider-Man #1.
Karen
Once Spider-Man has accessed his suit's full capabilities, he's treated to a very JARVIS-like
computer which is able to cater to his every need, which he names Karen.
Avengers fans know that within the MCU, JARVIS is Tony Stark's personal computer, which then
merged with a robot body, becoming Vision.
Along the way, JARVIS was always played by Paul Bettany, even as the Infinity Stone-wielding
Vision.
In real life, Bettany is married to Jennifer Connelly, who plays the voice of Karen in
Homecoming, keeping the pair of companion computer programs as close as the people who
actually play them.
True to the page
One of Spidey's most memorable scenes came in Amazing Spider-Man #33.
The comic's cover spells out Spidey's peril pretty clearly, and it's nearly identical
to the scene in Homecoming when Vulture causes the roof to cave in on Parker.
For five pages, Spider-Man struggles under wet rubble, thinking of his responsibilities
as the wall-crawler… and that gives him the strength to set himself free.
It's pretty much comic book perfect.
Credits due
Blink and you'll miss it among the countless scrawls of graffiti decorating Peter Parker's
New York City, but eagle-eyed viewers have spotted the word 'Bagley' emblazoned amid
the colorful chaos.
Mark Bagley is noted in the Marvel Comics universe for being a huge contributor to Spider-Man,
co-creating the villain Carnage, and illustrating Venom's early turn as an anti-hero in the
Venom: Lethal Protector miniseries, so his quick mention is no mistake.
And casual comic fans might be left wondering why Jack Kirby is given any credit at all
for Spider-Man during the film's credits sequence, since Spidey is one of the few 1960s comic
characters that Kirby was never really associated with.
Comics history reveals that Kirby and Lee sat down together to come up with Spider-Man,
and Kirby even drew the first batch of pages for the hero, using his own designs, before
Lee rejected the concept and changed it a bit to fit his own vision.
Kirby ended up pencilling just the covers of Spidey's debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 as
well as Amazing Spider-Man #1, before moving on to other projects, but his impact on Spider-Man
being acknowledged by Marvel is a pretty big deal.
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