Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Deadpool & Wolverine
Summary
A couple ofDeadpool & Wolverineeaster eggs open the door for a new generation ofMCUAvengers. The MCU paid homage to Fox’s Marvel movies withseveralDeadpool & Wolverinecameosby popular and unpopular characters who were introduced in Fox’sX-Menmovie franchise and other pre-MCU Marvel movies such asBlade,Elektra, andFantastic Four. And instead of destroying Fox’s Marvel timelines in order to streamline the MCU multiverse,Deadpool & Wolverine’s endingsaved Deadpool’s Earth-10005 and made it possible for any of the X-Men to return in a future MCU project through multiversal means.
The MCU’s homage to Fox’s Marvel movies also includedDeadpool & Wolverine’s dozens of easter eggs, which included subtle nods to other MCU, Fox, and even DC projects likeMoon Knight’s ice cream truck,X-Men: Days of Future Past’s Sentinel leg, and Deadpool’s jabs at Henry Cavill’s Superman and Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. Among Deadpool’s non-stop barrage of references to all sorts of movies, shows, and real-life events and people (including Kevin Feige and Will Smith), it may be hard to realize that some easter eggs might carry more meaning than it may seem at first sight.
Steve Rogers' Son’s Weapon And Biggest Enemy May Be Sitting In Happy Hogan’s Office
Several ofDeadpool & Wolverine’s MCU easter eggs appeared at the beginning, when Wade visited Happy Hogan’s office in Earth-616 to apply for a spot in the Avengers. Happy’s office included memorable objects from previous MCU movies, such as Phil Coulson’s Captain America cards fromThe Avengers,Peter Parker’s helmet fromIron Man 2,and Peter’s picture with Tony Stark fromAvengers: Endgame.The fact that an Ultron Sentry head andTony Stark’s prototype Captain America shieldare still stored in Happy Hogan’s office means they could eventually become key elements in an MCU version ofNext Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.
Deadpool & Wolverine Post-Credits Scenes Explained
Deadpool & Wolverine has two credits scenes, so we break down what they both mean for the future and historic legacy of Marvel movies.
In the 2008 Marvel animated featureNext Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, the Avengers’ children assemble to fight back against Ultron, who has killed the original Avengers and taken over the world. Guided by an old Tony Stark, an old Hulk, and Vision, the Next Avengers proudly take up their parents' mantles and face an army of powerful Ultron Bots. James Rogers, son of Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff and leader of the Next Avengers, wields a high-tech Captain America energy shield designed by Tony Stark.
Deadpool & Wolverine’s Ultron Easter Egg Is A Reminder That Ultron Can Return
The MCU Continues To Prove That Ultron Wasn’t Completely Destroyed In Phase 2
The Avengers eliminated Ultron surprisingly quickly in Phase 2’sAvengers: Age of Ultron, destroying every Ultron Sentry one by one. Ever since Vision dismantled the last sentry, there haven’t been any signs of Ultron’s return. However, it’s only logical for Ultron to store a back-up of himself somewhere on the internet, programmed to reactivate at the right time.Given that at least two Ultron heads still exist in the MCU — one in Happy Hogan’s office and one in Damage Control’s deep storage vault — Ultron could download a back-up from the internet into his Sentries and try to destroy the world again.
The MCU’sVision Questshow may reveal that part of the original Vision survives in White Vision’s body. Likewise, part of Ultron may still exist somewhere out there
Vision has also proved how easy it is for the MCU’s AI characters to return. Thanos killed Vision before Shuri could download a full back-up of his consciousness, yet Wanda Maximoff created a perfectly conscious recreation of her husband in Westview. This Vision disappeared completely when Wanda undid her spell, but not before transferring his memories to his previous body, which SWORD rebuilt as a weapon. Although White Vision’s whereabouts are unknown,the MCU’sVision Questshowmay reveal that part of the original Vision survives in White Vision’s body. Likewise, part of Ultron may still exist somewhere out there.
Tony Stark Found The Perfect Way To Finish His Captain America Shield After Deadpool’s MCU Visit
Tony Stark Developed What His Captain America Shield Needed The Same Year Deadpool Visited Happy Hogan
Deadpool & Wolverinereveals that Wade Wilson used Cable’s time travel device to visit Earth-616 in 2018. Happy tells him that Tony Stark is no longer overlooking the Avengers' administrative duties, and suggests that Stark is busy somewhere else. At this point inTony Stark’s MCU timeline, Iron Man had developed nanotechnology, which he unveiled in the form of the Iron Man Mark 50 armor when he faced Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian.Iron Man’s nanotechnology might be the perfect finishing touch for Tony Stark’s Captain America shield, which would work similarly to James Rogers' energy inNext Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.
InNext Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, James Rogers' shield is made of solidified energy that comes out of a gauntlet designed by Tony Stark. James Rogers' Captain America shield is transparent, solid enough to work as a skateboard, and strong enough to withstand attacks from Ultron, but also dependent on energy, which means that it disintegrates soon after it’s thrown. In the MCU, Tony Stark might have finished his Captain America shield either with nanotechnology or with a more accurate, solid form of energy, which Stark unveiled inAvengers: Endgamewhen he used an energy shield to protect Hawkeye and himself from Hulk’s Snap.
What The Next Avengers Line-Up Would Look Like In The MCU
The MCU Has Already Set Up A Team Of Next-Generation Avengers
A fully accurate MCU adaptation ofNext Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrowmay not be possible, as some character couples ended up being different in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For instance, the MCU’s Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff never were anything more than friends, andSteve stayed the rest of his life with Peggy Carter. Similarly, T’Challa always loved Nakia and died before meeting Storm. The MCU’s Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne only had one daughter, Hope, instead ofNext Avengers' Henry Pym Jr., and Clint Barton had three children with Laura Barton: Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel Pietro — not Francis.
If the MCU ever adaptsNext Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, James Rogers would likely be Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter’s son, Black Panther would be T’Challa and Nakia’s son Toussaint instead of Storm’s son Azari, and Hawkeye Jr. would be Nathaniel Pietro Barton. Henry Pym Jr.’s parents could be Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne instead of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, and Torunn could still be Thor and Sif’s daughter, asJane Foster died and went to Valhallasoon after reuniting with Thor in Phase 5. These MCU Avengers would be the ones to join forces to fight Ultron ifDeadpool & Wolverine’s Ultron and Captain America easter eggs become important in the future.
