All of the Easter Eggs in the Captain America Movies

Our recaps of the Easter eggs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe continue with the Star Spangled Man, Captain America! Played by Chris Evans, the character has lead three solo movies in the MCU and each of them are loaded with Easter eggs, some of them repeating! Check them out in the gallery below.

The first Captain America film was Captain America: The First Avenger. Released in 2011, and the final Marvel Studios movie released by Paramount Pictures, the film was Evans’ debut as the title character and also starred Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving as the villain Red Skull. Joe Johnston directed the film.

Three years later, Captain America: The Winter Soldier debuted. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the film featured Sebastian Stan as thought-to-be-dead Bucky as the title villain. Evans’ Cap also teamed up with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Anthony Mackie’s Falcon in the film. Also starring in the movie are Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert Redford.

The Cap trilogy rounds out with Captain America: Civil War, the Marvel ‘solo’ movie that has featured the most other Avengers. The Russos returned to direct the movie, which featured Evans with Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, and Paul Rudd. The film also featured Daniel Brühl as villain Barron Zemo and the MCU debut of two key Marvel characters with Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and Tom Holland as Spider-Man.

Marvel Movie Easter Eggs: Captain America Series

Captain America: The First Avenger
About That Village...

The village that we see at the beginning of Captain America: The First Avenger is the same one from the beginning of the first Thor movie.
Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil, The World Tree from Thor, is pictured in this carving.
'Trinkets in the Desert'

This is in reference to the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark, wherein the Nazis are looking for the Ark of the Covenant in Egypt.
OG Stark Expo

We saw one Stark Expo during the events of Iron Man 2, but this confirms that Tony's father held his own version of the event decades earlier.
Where Are We Going?

This is a meta-joke to the fact that both Steve and Bucky will find themselves frozen and living in the future.
Modern Marvels

A cheeky reference to Marvel itself.
The Synthetic Man

This is a deep cut reference to the original version of The Human Torch, who made his debut in the pages of Marvel Comics #1 published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics. That version of The Human Torch was actually an android created by Professor Phineas Horton, who also gets a shoutout at the top of the display.
Flying Car

Flying cars were a staple of SHIELD's equipment in the comic books, and they made their MCU debut in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. The car seen here even looks like a 1940s version of Agent Coulson's 'Lola.'
Zola Tease

The villain Arnim Zola is most well known for living inside of a robot body that has a giant face in its center, this shot is a reference to that (and what he will later become).
'Vita Rays'

The Vita Rays that get a shoutout here are the exact things said in the original Captain America story about how he got his powers.
The Original Costume

This version of the Captain America costume is the first we see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the one thing it has that none of the others do (which is a staple of Cap's comic book look) are the protruding wings on the head.
Serials

In the montage we see Captain America filming a serial as the character, a reference to the fact that there were actual Captain America serials in the 1940s where actor Dick Purcell played the character.
Punching Hitler

This is a live-action creation of the cover of Captain America Comics #1 featuring the hero knocking out the Nazi leader.
Captain America Comics #1

And speaking of the cover of Captain America Comics #1, there it is!
Zola's Suit

Earlier there was the reference to Zola's suit in the form of a shot of his magnified face, well as the character makes his escape we see him quickly grab a set of blueprints for the actual suit.
'Wah Hoo!'

As The Howling Commandos make their escape, Dum Dum Duggan yells out their trademark catch phrase.
Stan Lee

Though Stan Lee didn't actually co-create Captain America, he still gets his trademark cameo.
Vibranium

We finally hear the first name drop of the rare metal, with a tease of how little has made its way out of Wakanda.
The Howling Commandos

The crew finally assemble in one shot of the film, though they were actually lead by Nick Fury in the comics.
Bucky holds the shield....

This is a reference to the fact that Bucky one day became Captain America in the pages of Marvel comics.
And Then Bucky Falls Down...

At the time this was a tragedy to watch, but it's also planting the seeds for Bucky's inevitable return as The Winter Soldier.
Shield on the Cycle

Perhaps unintentional, but this is in reference to the 1979 Captain America movie where he had a motorcycle with his shield on the front.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Cap's List

You may not have time to read it all while watching the movie, but the list of things Steve keeps to catch him up from 1940s to present day is full of essential pop culture.

Worth noting, Star Trek and Star Wars exist in the MCU, so does that mean Chris Hemsworth (Thor/Captain George Kirk) and Mads Mikkelsen (Kaecilius/Galen Erso) also exist? Who is to say?
Lumerian Star

In the pages of Marvel Comics, Lemuria was a rival nation to Atlantis, though it was settled in the Pacific Ocean.
No Parachute

This dialogue exchange is a riff on a similar incident from The Ultimates, the comic series that heavily inspired the MCU.
Gary Sinese

Actor Gary Sinese narrates the Captain America exhibit at the museum, so it's confirmed that Gary Sinese lives as himself in the MCU.
At the Museum

On the commentary for the film, directors Anthony and Joe Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely confirmed that most of the people running around the Captain America museum exhibit are related to The Russos.
RMG Attorneys at Law

This is an Easter egg that you'll never notice when watching the movie and would have to go searching for later. As Steve chases The Winter Soldier down after shooting Nick Fury, he crashes through a glass window for the RMG Law Offices, named for Second unit director Spiro Razatos, second unit director of photography Igor Meglic, and second unit stunt coordinator Angry Gill.
Widow's Necklace

Black Widow's necklace, though seen better in set photos for the film than the actual movie, is an arrow, likely meaning it was a gift from her BFF, Hawkeye.
Two-Eye'd Fury

This is the first instance of seeing Nick Fury with two eyes in the MCU.
D.C. Pierson

This is comedian D.C. Pierson, who previously worked with the Russo brothers on the TV series Community.
'It's from a Movie'

Black Widow cheekily references War Games here.
Zola

Teased in The First Avenger, this is in reference to villain Arnim Zola living in a robot/computer body in the original source material.
Doctor Strange

As Agent Sitwell explains HYDRA's plans, he gives a name drop to future hero, Doctor Stephen Strange.
Bucky Cap

We get another tease here of the fact that Bucky becomes Captain America in the original source material.
Director Cameo

Co-director Joe Russo appears here as the SHIELD Medic.
Arm Off

Every Phase 2 movie from Marvel Studios features a character losing an arm/hand. Bucky losing his arm here is the reference in The Winter Soldier.
Ed Brubaker

Behind Robert Redford in this shot is comic book scribe Ed Brubaker, who turned Bucky into The Winter Soldier and whose comics the film is derived from.
Stan Lee

Lee appears as a security guard in the Smithsonian.
Danny Pudi

Another Community alum, and friend of the Russo bros., Danny Pudi also appears in the film.
Tony and Avengers Tower

As Hydra makes note of its targets, Tony Stark and Avengers Tower appear on screen.
Pulp Fiction

On Nick Fury's tombstone is the bible verse Ezekial 25:17, the verse his character in Pulp Fiction recites to his victims.
Captain America: Civil War
Darth Vader

This scene of The Winter Soldier being taken out of his stasis chamber is a direct reference to Darth Vader's Meditation Chamber from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.
'Homecoming'

There's no real way to know if this was an Easter egg, but given the fact that Spider-Man: Homecoming arrived after this film many have speculated why this word was included.
Crossbones

Frank Grillo returns as former SHIELD agent Brock Rumlow, now in his true supervillain persona, Crossbones.
You Know That Guy

You may not THINK that you've seen this one actor playing a Crossbones mercenary in Civil War, but you have. This is Damion Poitier, who played Thanos in the post-credit scene of Marvel's The Avengers.
Redwing

The name of Falcon's drone in the film is a reference to The Falcon's actual pet bird from the comic books.
Jim Rash

Academy Award winner Jim Rash appears in the film, having previously collaborated with directors Anthony and Joe Russo on the TV series Community.
Alfre Woodard

Actress Alfre Woodard appears in the film as Miriam Sharpe, partially kicking off the events of the film. Woodard at the time also was appearing on Marvel's Luke Cage as a different character, Mariah Dillard. Making her one of the few actors to play two different characters in the MCU.
King T'Chaka

This is the first appearance of the important Black Panther character in the MCU. Played by John Kani in the film and in Marvel's Black Panther.
Vision Wears Clothes

The Vision sporting a new outfit in an effort to fit in actually has precedent in the comic books.
Return of 'Thunderbolt' Ross

William Hurt reprises his role of Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross, with a promotion from general in the military to Secretary of State for the United States.
Avengers Incidents

Shown on the map are instances of international incidents involving The Avengers, including New York and Sokovia from the two Avengers films plus a notation in South America for The Incredible Hulk, California for the Iron Man films, but also two dots in China and one in Australia... which don't seem to be anything from the films.
Vasily Karpov

The HYDRA agent that first reads the trigger words to Bucky at the start of the film is later interrogated by Baron Zemo, but in this scene we see his name, Vasily Karpov. Karpov was actually a character from the comic books as well.
Bast and Sehkmet

The two main Gods of Wakanda are name dropped by T'Challa and would later go on to have a bigger part in Black Panther.
Everett Ross

An important character in Black Panther stories, Everett Ross made his MCU debut in Civil War.
D23

There's almost no way that this isn't a reference to Disney's official fan club and convention, D23. It simply HAS to be.
Homemade Spider-Man suit

Another example of an Easter egg you won't see unless you pause the film. Here we see our first glimpse of Peter's Homemade Spider-Man costume.
Dora Milaj

This is our first hint of the Black Panther's personal bodyguards, the Dora Milaj.
Arrested Development's Stair Car

Every stair car in airport scene of Civil War is made to look like the Bluth Company stair car from Arrested Development, another TV series that Anthony and Joe Russo worked on.
Ant-Man & Hawkeye

The cover of Avengers #223 was recreated in the film with Ant-Man riding an arrow.
The Raft

The supermax prison from the comics usually held super villains but when it makes its debut in the MCU it's for the heroes.
Joe Russo

Co-director Joe Russo makes another cameo as Dr. Broussard, the man who was supposed to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of Bucky but was killed by Baron Zemo.
FRIDAY as a redhead

One might think Tony pictures a redhead for FRIDAY because of Pepper Potts, but when FRIDAY has appeared in Iron Man comics she has primarily been a redhead.
The Futurist

When Tony enters The Raft, Hawkeye greets him by applauding him as 'The Futurist' which is a reference to Robert Downey Jr.'s only attempt at a studio album.
Civil War #7

The cover to Marvel's Civil War #7 is recreated in the film here.
"I Can Do This All Day"

Steve repeats the line he says to the bully that is beating him in the alley in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Stan Lee

Lee appears as a FedEx delivery driver in the film, bringing Tony an important item.
Wakanda

The first tease of Wakanda, beyond an appearance on a map, comes in the mid-credit scene for the film.
Spidey Signal

This is a reference to the seldom-used Spider-Signal gadget, now provided by Tony Stark in the MCU.