Deadpool & Wolverine is the epitome of fan service. Here’re the major easter eggs and surprise clues decoded (No spoilers)

• Deadpool & Wolverine was released on July 26 and took the global box office by storm
• The film raked in $434 million over its first weekend
• The movie is a goldmine of easter eggs for MCU & X-Men Fans

Disclaimer: If you are a superhero fanatic who has been disappointed with the content out there of late, Deadpool & Wolverine is likely to be a breath of fresh air for you. I have skipped major spoilers here, which I believe you should enjoy firsthand in cinemas near you.

Since Avengers: Endgame, we have seen a constant decline in quality and fan following for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and shows. The reasons are plenty — a pandemic that crutched the production quality, added focus on TV shows, expansion of the Universe for secondary characters and a lack of clear vision for the future.

While all this was at play, Fox was acquired by Disney with the rights to the Marvel characters coming back to the ‘sacred timeline’ or as we call it, MCU. Since then we have seen references to the X-Men in Marvel's latest work — from the X-Men animated theme being played out in Ms. Marvel (2022) to Beast’s cameo in The Marvels (2023).

But it wasn’t until Deadpool & Wolverine that we had our first taste of what this connected universe would look like. In fact, Deadpool, being the merc. with the mouth, made for the perfect character for this merger. So unsurprisingly, Deadpool and Wolverine saw a ton of 4th-wall breaks, references from past Fox and MCU releases, and enough fodder for me to write this piece.

Easter eggs that I spotted in Deadpool & Wolverine

MCU X Deadpool

We get at least six easter eggs in the first scene of the movie. This is where we see Wade meeting with Happy Hogan played by John Favreu. He is applying to become an Avenger, only to get rejected eventually. But in that room, we see the following:

-Iron Man Mark II Helmet

-Table Clock from Ironman 2

-A replica shield of Captain America

-Peter Parker’s Ironman helmet from Ironman 2

-Peter Parker and Tony Stark’s picture from Spiderman Homecoming

-Tony Stark’s simulation of time travel algorithm

We then move to Deadpool being brought to TVA, the Time Variance Authority. This is where we meet familiar characters from Loki. It shouldn’t bother you if you haven’t seen the series since there are no references made to that.

Here we see Deadpool with Thor, a scene which is actively being shunned throughout the movie. I can only assume that we will see it in its entirety in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Then we are introduced to another set of easter eggs from the MCU in the second half. This is where we see:

- A dead corpse of Giant-Man

- Thanos’ ship

- Red Skull car from Captain America: The First Avenger

- Doctor Strange’s ring

A final goodbye to Fox’s Marvel Universe

In the early 2000s, we saw many 20th Century Fox films around Marvel characters. Yes, just like Spider-Man with Sony, Fox had the rights of the Fantastic Four and X-Men. With that universe being dissolved, Deadpool & Wolverine gave us a final glimpse of the series with many easter eggs.

Fox Easter Eggs from the void

The easter egg hunt isn’t difficult, especially if you are familiar with the Fox universe. But to help you out, here is everything you can spot:

• Fantastic Car from the Fantastic Four
• 20th Century Fox logo
• Logan’s military dog tags
• Katanas used in The Wolverine
• Professor X’s chair
• Magneto’s Helmet being mentioned by Cassandra

But no fan service is complete without mentioning the characters that were reintroduced in this movie. I don’t want to get into details and what they did here, but here is a list of characters you might or might not remember.

Character	Actor	Movie
X-23	Dafne Keen	Logan (2017)
Elektra	Jennifer Garner	Daredevil (2003), Elektra (2005)
Gambit	Channing Tatum	Unreleased Gambit Movie
Blade	Wesley Snipes	Blade (1998)
Human Torch	Chris Evans	Fantastic Four (2004, 2007)
Sabretooth	Tyler Mane	X-Men (2000)
Pyro	Aaron Stanford	X-Men 2 (2003)
Aaron W Reed	Juggernaut	X3 (2005)
Mike Waters	Blob	X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

There were other notable characters in the movie which were reprised by unknown actors. The list includes:

• Toad
• Calisto
• Azazel
• Lady Death Strike
• Bullseye
• Psylocke

Overall, Deadpool and Wolverine is a film that unabashedly embraces fan service. It’s a love letter to comic book enthusiasts, packed with Easter eggs, cameos, and references that will delight longtime fans. The film revels in its meta-humour, breaking the fourth wall and winking at the audience with every opportunity. While some critics argue that this excessive fan service overshadows the plot, there’s no denying the film's entertainment value for those who appreciate a good dose of nostalgia and comic book absurdity.