Falcon and Winter Soldier credits Easter eggs tease two major Marvel cameos
Breaking down the major Easter eggs included in the premiere’s end credits.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is finally here and with it comes the start of Marvel’s latest Disney+ adventure. The premiere of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe series doesn’t waste much time setting up the journey to come for Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes either. While the episode itself is packed full of action and character development, the premiere’s credits have more than their fair share of Easter eggs and references as well.
There are three Easter eggs, in particular, in the credits of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s premiere that could signal big things on the way in the Disney+ series.
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Madripoor and Marvel
Madripoor.
One of the lines of text featured very briefly in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier end credits states, “Forces from neighboring Madripoor have… committing human rights violations.” The line appears to confirm what some fans have long suspected about the series — namely, that it will feature the island of Madripoor from the Marvel comics.
That’s a big deal for a couple of reasons, the biggest of which is that Madripoor is a place with big mutant ties, thanks to characters like Wolverine and Magneto both having spent time there in the comics. The island’s inclusion in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier could mean it will play a role in whatever Marvel’s mysterious mutant plans are for the MCU.
It’s also possible, though, that Madripoor’s presence in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is just a fun Easter egg for Marvel comics fans to enjoy, as Kevin Feige himself has previously hinted.
Cameo teaser #1: “Mutants”
The Power Broker
Curtiss Jackson in the comics.
One Easter egg featured in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier credits could hint at the upcoming MCU debut of a Marvel comics villain. The Easter egg in question features the phrase “Powerbroker Watching You,” which hangs over images of what appear to be vials of some kind of serum.
The phrase is a clear reference to Curtiss Jackson (aka, The Power Broker), founder of Power Broker, Inc., a corporation that uses technology to give paying customers superhuman powers through an augmentation process.
One of the people who goes through the Power Broker process in the comics? None other than John Walker, the character Wyatt Russell plays in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, who is seen taking on the Captain America mantle at the end of the premiere. The Power Broker reference could be a sign that the villain himself or a version of him and his corporation may play a role in the series.
Meanwhile, although it’s impossible to know what the liquid serum is featured in the credits, the blue tint of it could indicate that it’s a clone or variant of the super-soldier serum that was used on Steve Rogers back in the 1940s. If that’s the case, then the serum could be how the Flag-Smashers get their powers in the series.
And if the Power Broker really is in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, then that could explain not only how John Walker gets powers, but also how the Flag-Smashers get them as well.
Cameo teaser #2: The Power Broker
“Ready to Comply”
Sebastian Stan in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Most of the imagery in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier credits are pretty clear references to things we already know about the show and its characters. There are several homages to Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers throughout, as well as new images and in-universe promotional materials for Wyatt Russell’s John Walker. Scattered throughout the credits are also references to Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Sam, and Bucky’s respective pasts.
In that vein, one of the most interesting references is the list of words featured at one point in the credits, which happen to be the code words used by HYDRA to put Bucky in his Winter Soldier state. The last time those words were mentioned in the MCU was in Captain America: Civil War… when Daniel Brühl’s Zemo used them to extract information from Bucky.
Since we know Zemo is returning in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (the character is also referenced in the credits), the inclusion of the Winter Soldier code could be a hint that Zemo will attempt to use them to control Bucky again at some point in the series. Given what we see with Bucky in Episode 1 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we can only imagine he’d be even more upset about that than he was in Civil War… and that’s saying a lot.
The Inverse Analysis — It’s difficult to know, as of now, how much the Power Broker, Madripoor, and Winter Soldier Easter eggs will connect to the actual, overall story of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, the show’s head writer, Malcolm Spellman, says there are real Easter eggs in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier end credits.
When asked about secrets hidden in the show’s episode credits, Spellman jokes with Inverse, “I want to be careful about how I answer this, but I think Marvel will probably be pretty open about some stuff you should look for and that’s on them to tell you because I don’t want to get yelled at. No, I’m joking, they don’t yell. They treat me very well.”
In other words, feel free to read into these Easter eggs as much (or as little) as you want Marvel fans — and make sure to keep an eye on the future Falcon and the Winter Soldier credit sequences too. Based on Spellman’s comments, it seems very possible there will be more Easter eggs hidden in the credits of future episodes as well. Wouldn’t that be fun?
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is streaming now on Disney+.
