- 3 years ago
The Illuminati has been under our noses this entire time...
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00:00 One of the best things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how all these different projects
00:04 across movies, TV and one-shot short films speak to each other. A throwaway line in an older flick
00:10 might take on a whole new meaning 5 years down the line, like the Winter Soldiers on your left
00:15 creating an emotional punch in Endgame's portal scene. And it's this type of deep connective
00:20 tissue that makes the MCU feel rewarding for those who keep up with it. Whether these moments simply
00:25 have more depth than is apparent on the surface, or whether they have bigger implications for the
00:29 wider MCU that you didn't even think about, there's more going on in Marvel's big screen
00:34 universe than first meets the eye. And to borrow an analogy from a certain ogre, some scenes have
00:41 hidden onion-like layers of importance that even hardcore fans could easily miss. I am Marcus
00:46 Bronzi and let's kick off 10 MCU moments more important than you realized. Number 10. Proximia
00:53 Midnight's relationship with Corvius Glaive. Avengers Endgame. The members of Thanos' Black
00:59 Order weren't fleshed out very much during Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame,
01:04 with their backstories being removed from early drafts of the Infinity War script due to the
01:08 movie being too crowded. Still, there are various moments throughout both movies where we can glean
01:14 more information about their personalities, histories and relationships, like this one-shot
01:19 in Endgame where if you look closely, Proxima Midnight and Corvius Glaive hold each other
01:25 shortly after Tony's snap when Thanos and his forces are disintegrating. This is an easy to
01:30 miss detail that you might simply assume is a display of friendship as the two face their deaths,
01:35 but it's actually much more than that. As confirmed by Endgame director Joe Russo,
01:40 Proxima and Corvus are in fact married in the MCU, a detail lifted straight from the comic books and
01:46 one that was supposed to be shown in that aforementioned cutback story, making this a
01:51 tragic moment for the two lovers sharing one final embrace. Number 9. Klein's display of courage
01:58 earns him Fury's trust. Captain America The Winter Soldier. The MCU sometimes brings back minor side
02:04 characters years after we last saw them, like the "I'm not Tony Stark" guy from Iron Man returning
02:09 in Spider-Man Far From Home. And though many people realised it, the franchise did something
02:14 similar with a small moment in Captain America, The Winter Soldier. Towards the end of Cap's
02:19 second solo outing, there's a scene where HYDRA agent Brock Rumlow holds a SHIELD technician at
02:25 gunpoint, forcing him to launch the project inside helicarriers. This technician bravely refuses and
02:30 a scuffle quickly breaks out, and though the helicarriers are ultimately launched by Rumlow
02:35 himself, this random SHIELD member's courageous display is later rewarded when Nick Fury recruits
02:41 him to his inner circle. The technician's name is Cameron Klein, and in a moment that a good
02:46 deal of viewers probably didn't register, he returns in Avengers Age of Ultron assisting Fury
02:51 and Maria Hill in rescuing the citizens of Sokovia. Number 8. The touching story behind Drax's tattoos.
02:58 Guardians of the Galaxy. Another thing the MCU does very well is attention to detail. A perfect
03:04 example of this are the many tattoos emblazoned across Drax's body, which could have easily been
03:09 nothing more than random, unexplained markings, but are actually way more important than any of
03:14 us first realised. As revealed by Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn, Drax's ink is
03:20 the story of his life, with each tattoo symbolising a different memory about his family, the birth of
03:25 his daughter, his mother and father in his childhood, and his marriage to his wife, to name but a few.
03:31 In a deleted scene, Drax actually describes these meanings to Rocket, and when you consider that his
03:36 family was tragically murdered before the events of the first film, it's like Drax is literally
03:40 being consumed by his grief, adding so much more depth to a character who is so often used just
03:46 for comedic relief. Number 7. Tony and Steve prove each other wrong. The Avengers. Though they did
03:52 come to respect each other over time, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers rarely saw eye to eye, throwing
03:57 insults and punches at each other whenever they got the chance. One of their most famous bickering
04:02 moments occurs during the first Avengers movie, where a heated debate results in Steve telling
04:07 Tony "you're not the guy to make the sacrifice play" and Tony retorting "everything special about
04:12 you came out of a bottle". We couldn't possibly have known this at the time, and even in hindsight
04:18 it's easy to miss, but this moment works as a set up for each character's long term story arc,
04:23 hinting at where they'd ultimately end up in Avengers Endgame. Tony ends up sacrificing himself
04:28 to save the universe, proving Steve's earlier comment wrong, while Steve shows that he's a kind,
04:33 heroic and worthy soul by lifting Mjolnir. This clearly demonstrates that not everything special
04:39 about him came out of a bottle. Number 6. The museum voice is a real life military advocate.
04:45 Captain America The Winter Soldier. The Smithsonian scenes in Captain America The Winter
04:50 Soldier feature a museum narrator who tells guests about the history of Steve Rogers,
04:55 Bucky Barnes and the Howling Commandos. Though you probably don't think twice about this voice
04:59 whilst watching the movie, this is another one of those things that Marvel Studios went above and
05:04 beyond with, putting in way more care than they needed to. Rather than just roping in any old
05:09 voice actor, the studio went out of its way to hire Hollywood icon Gary Sinise, who you'll know
05:14 from his roles in The Stand, Of Mice and Men, Apollo 13 and of course Forrest Gump. Sinise is
05:21 a major advocate for America's servicemen and women and has created a foundation in 2011 dedicated to
05:27 helping wounded military veterans. As such, his role in The Winter Soldier wasn't just a cool way
05:32 for Marvel Studios to honour the bravery of Captain America and his allies, but was also a tip of the
05:37 hat to real life soldiers who served in the armed forces. Number 5. Tony saves Yinsen's town people,
05:44 Iron Men. Considering Tony's ultimate sacrifice in Avengers Endgame, Yinsen, the man who implored
05:49 the self-absorbed billionaire to not waste his life setting him on a more heroic path, is one of
05:54 the most important characters in the MCU. Tony doesn't waste any time in heading down the heroic
05:59 path either, strapping on his new and improved Iron Man suit midway through the original movie
06:04 and using it to free the citizens of a small town from the Ten Rings callous grip. But it gets diva.
06:09 The town that Tony liberates is actually the same town that Yinsen is from, a connection that isn't
06:14 obvious unless you're paying close attention when Yinsen mentions its name, Gulnira, during a cave
06:21 scene early in the movie, and again when Tony hears it whilst watching a news report. This means
06:26 that Tony isn't just helping these townspeople because the Ten Rings are stationed there with
06:29 stark weaponry, he's also helping them so he can honour the fallen friend who saved and changed his
06:35 life. Number 4. The remaining Avengers represent the five stages of grief, Avengers Endgame.
06:41 After Natasha Romanoff's sacrifice in Avengers Endgame, the five remaining OG Avengers gather
06:47 by the lake outside the Avengers HQ, taking a moment to mourn. They all react to her death
06:52 in slightly different ways, and though you perhaps didn't notice this at first, each of their
06:56 responses seem tailored to match the five stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression
07:02 and acceptance. Thor is clearly in denial, refusing to accept that Natasha is dead,
07:08 and telling his allies that they can use the infinity stones to bring her back. Hulk,
07:12 fittingly, displays a lot of anger, picking up a bench and tossing it into the distance.
07:16 Then there's Clint, who represents the bargaining phase by saying "it was supposed to be me" who
07:22 sacrificed themselves, and Steve, whose silent sadness is representative of depression. Finally,
07:28 we have Tony Stark who seems the most calm and collected of the bunch, whose line "do we know
07:33 if she had any family" indicates that he's accepted Nat's death. The brilliant thing about
07:37 this is that each of these reactions doesn't feel forced, they actually feel in character,
07:42 giving this moment an added layer of subtext which shows these god-like heroes reacting to their loss
07:48 in a very relatable, human way. Number 3. Asgard's extensive MCU history. Thor. After Asgard's
07:55 destruction, the surviving Asgardians relocate to a small village on the coast of Norway, dubbing it
08:00 New Asgard. The New Asgard iteration of this village, also known by its original name,
08:05 Tonspike, was first seen in Avengers Endgame, but what isn't readily apparent is that this
08:10 unassuming remote locale is something of a converging point for several centuries of the MCU
08:15 history, and this is far from the first time it's popped up in the franchise. Rather, Tonspike's
08:21 importance stretches all the way back to the first Thor movie, where an opening scene shows
08:26 that it was invaded by the Frost Giants in 965 AD, forcing Odin and his Asgardian army to intervene.
08:32 From here, Odin left the Tesseract on Earth for some reason, and the device was hidden deep within
08:38 Tonspike, where it remained safe for hundreds of years. That is, until Tonspike showed up once
08:44 again in Captain America The First Avenger, where the Red Skull ravaged the village in 1942 and
08:50 located the Tesseract hidden within a church. Basically, this place is low-key one of the most
08:55 crucial places in the MCU, and not just in the Prime Universe either, with the village also
09:01 appearing in the "What Ifs" Captain Carter episode, so don't be surprised if many more
09:06 important events take place here as the franchise continues.
09:09 Number 2. Red Skull prophesies the Flag Smashers, Captain America The First Avenger
09:15 Speaking of Red Skull and Captain America The First Avenger, that movie contains a small moment
09:19 that doesn't just foreshadow Cap's future, but the future of the entire MCU as we know it.
09:24 During the final battle between the two characters, just before Red Skull is teleported by the
09:28 Tesseract, the red-headed villain hits Cap with the following line. "You could have the power of
09:33 the gods, yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations. I have seen
09:38 the future. Captain, there are no flags!" Cap retorts with a "Not in my future", but as it
09:43 would turn out, Red Skull was totally right. Not only do the stars and stripes disappear from Cap's
09:50 outfits as he becomes more and more disillusioned with the modern world, but the damaged society we
09:55 see post-Endgame gives way to a group called the Flag Smashers, whose mission statement is to strip
09:59 away borders and create a more united world. Now, obviously both Red Skull and Marvel Studios
10:05 couldn't have known that the Flag Smashers would have one day featured in the MCU, but in hindsight,
10:10 Red Skull seemingly foreshadowed this widespread anti-nationalist movement with a single line of
10:15 dialogue and over 70 years in advance. Number 1. The Illuminati has been here all along,
10:21 Iron Man 2. With the MCU set to introduce the Illuminati in the upcoming Doctor Strange and
10:26 the Multiverse of Madness, there's a ton of speculation about who might be on the team,
10:30 with predictions ranging from Captain Carter to Black Bolt to Reed Richards. But if this moment
10:36 in Iron Man 2 is more than just a fun easter egg, then Marvel Studios might have confirmed
10:40 a future Illuminati member. During the court sequence in Iron Man 2, Tony Stark pulls out
10:45 his ridiculously advanced smartphone and uses it to hack the TV screens in the courtroom,
10:50 and in a blink and you'll miss it shot of his home screen, we can see an app called Illuminati
10:55 in the right hand corner. Without having a zoom and enhance in your own eyeballs,
10:59 it's virtually impossible to notice this detail, but given what we know about Doctor Strange 2,
11:03 the implications of it could be huge. Again, it could have just been a fun easter egg,
11:07 but what if it wasn't? What if Marvel Studios was thinking about the Illuminati all the way back in
11:13 2010 and Stark is going to be one of those people sat at the table in Doctor Strange 2? The
11:18 filmmakers could even retroactively say that this app was a clue, even if it wasn't their intent at
11:23 the time. The buzz on opening night would be insane if Robert Downey Jr. makes a triumphant
11:28 return and this throwaway moment could have been sowing those seeds from the very beginning of
11:32 this franchise. Spicy! What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below and of course don't
11:38 forget to give us a like and subscribe here and check us out on social media @whatsculture. I too
11:44 am there on all the socials @MarcusBronzy. Also twitch.tv/MarcusBronzy and my podcast
11:52 called Ain't Got A Clue is there wherever you listen to yours. Until next time, peace!