The Illuminati has been under our noses this entire time...
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00:00One of the best things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how all these different projects
00:04across movies, TV and one-shot short films speak to each other. A throwaway line in an older flick
00:10might take on a whole new meaning 5 years down the line, like the Winter Soldiers on your left
00:15creating an emotional punch in Endgame's portal scene. And it's this type of deep connective
00:20tissue that makes the MCU feel rewarding for those who keep up with it. Whether these moments simply
00:25have more depth than is apparent on the surface, or whether they have bigger implications for the
00:29wider MCU that you didn't even think about, there's more going on in Marvel's big screen
00:34universe than first meets the eye. And to borrow an analogy from a certain ogre, some scenes have
00:41hidden onion-like layers of importance that even hardcore fans could easily miss. I am Marcus
00:46Bronzey and let's kick off 10 MCU moments more important than you realized. Number 10. Proximia
00:53Midnight's relationship with Corvius Glaive. Avengers Endgame. The members of Thanos's
00:59Black Order weren't fleshed out very much during Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame,
01:04with their backstories being removed from early drafts of the Infinity War script
01:08due to the movie being too crowded. Still, there are various moments throughout both movies where
01:13we can glean more information about their personalities, histories and relationships,
01:18like this one shot in Endgame where if you look closely, Proximia Midnight and Corvius Glaive
01:24hold each other shortly after Tony's snap when Thanos and his forces are disintegrating.
01:29This is an easy to miss detail that you might simply assume is a display of friendship as the
01:34two face their deaths, but it's actually much more than that. As confirmed by Endgame director
01:39Joe Russo, Proxima and Corvius are in fact married in the MCU, a detail lifted straight
01:45from the comic books and one that was supposed to be shown in that aforementioned cut backstory,
01:50making this a tragic moment for the two lovers sharing one final embrace.
01:55Number 9. Klein's display of courage earns him Fury's trust. Captain America The Winter Soldier.
02:01The MCU sometimes brings back minor side characters years after we last saw them,
02:06like the I'm not Tony Stark guy from Iron Man returning in Spider-Man Far From Home,
02:11and though many people realised it, the franchise did something similar with a small moment in
02:16Captain America The Winter Soldier. Towards the end of Cap's second solo outing, there's a scene
02:21where HYDRA agent Brock Rumlow holds a SHIELD technician at gunpoint, forcing him to launch
02:26the project inside helicarriers. This technician bravely refuses and a scuffle quickly breaks out,
02:32and though the helicarriers are ultimately launched by Rumlow himself, this random SHIELD
02:37member's courageous display is later rewarded when Nick Fury recruits him to his inner circle.
02:42The technician's name is Cameron Klein, and in a moment that a good deal of viewers probably
02:47didn't register, he returns in Avengers Age of Ultron, assisting Fury and Maria Hill in rescuing
02:53the citizens of Sokovia. Number 8. The touching story behind Drax's tattoos. Guardians of the
02:59Galaxy. Another thing that MCU does very well is attention to detail. A perfect example of this
03:05are the many tattoos emblazoned across Drax's body, which could have easily been nothing more
03:10than random, unexplained markings, but are actually way more important than any of us first realised.
03:15As revealed by Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn, Drax's ink is the
03:20story of his life, with each tattoo symbolising a different memory about his family, the birth
03:25of his daughter, his mother and father in his childhood, and his marriage to his wife, to name
03:30but a few. In a deleted scene, Drax actually describes these meanings to Rocket, and when
03:35you consider that his family was tragically murdered before the events of the first film,
03:39it's like Drax is literally being consumed by his grief, adding so much more depth to a character
03:44who is so often used just for comedic relief. Number 7. Tony and Steve prove each other wrong.
03:50The Avengers. Though they did come to respect each other over time, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers
03:55rarely saw eye to eye, throwing insults and punches at each other whenever they got the chance.
04:01One of their most famous bickering moments occurs during the first Avengers movie,
04:04where a heated debate results in Steve telling Tony, you're not the guy to make the sacrifice
04:09play, and Tony retorting, everything special about you came out of a bottle. We couldn't
04:14possibly have known this at the time, and even in hindsight it's easy to miss, but this moment
04:19works as a set-up for each character's long-term story arc, hinting at where they'd ultimately end
04:24up in Avengers Endgame. Tony ends up sacrificing himself to save the universe, proving Steve's
04:30earlier comment wrong, whilst Steve shows that he's a kind, heroic and worthy soul by lifting
04:36Mjolnir. This clearly demonstrates that not everything special about him came out of a
04:40bottle. Number 6. The museum voice is a real-life military advocate. Captain America The Winter
04:46Soldier. The Smithsonian scenes in Captain America The Winter Soldier feature a museum narrator who
04:52tells guests about the history of Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes and the Howling Commandos. Though
04:57you probably don't think twice about this voice whilst watching the movie, this is another one of
05:02those things that Marvel Studios went above and beyond with, putting in way more care than they
05:06needed to. Rather than just roping in any old voice actor, the studio went out of its way to
05:11hire Hollywood icon Gary Sinise, who you'll know from his roles in The Stand, Of Mice and Men,
05:17Apollo 13 and of course, Forrest Gump. Sinise is a major advocate for America's servicemen and women
05:23and has created a foundation in 2011 dedicated to helping wounded military veterans. As such,
05:30his role in The Winter Soldier wasn't just a cool way for Marvel Studios to honour the bravery of
05:34Captain America and his allies, but was also a tip of the hat to real-life soldiers who served in the
05:39armed forces. Number 5. Tony saves Yinsen's town people. Iron Men. Considering Tony's ultimate
05:46sacrifice in Avengers Endgame, Yinsen, the man who implored the self-absorbed billionaire to not
05:51waste his life, setting him on a more heroic path is one of the most important characters in the MCU.
05:56Tony doesn't waste any time in heading down the heroic path either, strapping on his new and
06:01improved Iron Man suit midway through the original movie and using it to free the citizens of a small
06:06town from the Ten Rings callous grip. But it gets deeper. The town that Tony liberates is actually
06:12the same town that Yinsen is from, a connection that isn't obvious unless you're paying close
06:16attention when Yinsen mentions its name, Gulnira, during a cave scene early in the movie, and again
06:22when Tony hears it whilst watching a news report. This means that Tony isn't just helping these
06:27townspeople because the Ten Rings are stationed there with stark weaponry, he's also helping them
06:32so he can honour the fallen friend who saved and changed his life. Number 4. The remaining Avengers
06:38represent the five stages of grief, Avengers Endgame. After Natasha Romanoff's sacrifice in
06:43Avengers Endgame, the five remaining OG Avengers gather by the lake outside the Avengers HQ,
06:49taking a moment to mourn. They all react to her death in slightly different ways, and though you
06:54perhaps didn't notice this at first, each of their responses seem tailored to match the five stages
06:59of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Thor is clearly in denial, refusing
07:06to accept that Natasha is dead, and telling his allies that they can use the Infinity Stones to
07:10bring her back. Hulk fittingly displays a lot of anger, picking up a bench and tossing it into the
07:16distance. Then there's Clint, who represents the bargaining phase by saying it was supposed to be me
07:22who sacrificed themselves, and Steve, whose silent sadness is representative of depression. Finally,
07:28we have Tony Stark, who seems the most calm and collected of the bunch, whose line,
07:32do we know if she had any family, indicates that he's accepted Nat's death. The brilliant thing
07:37about this is that each of these reactions doesn't feel forced, they actually feel in character,
07:42giving this moment an added layer of subtext which shows these godlike heroes reacting to their loss
07:48in a very relatable, human way. Number 3. Asgard's extensive MCU history. Thor. After Asgard's
07:55destruction, the surviving Asgardians relocate to a small village on the coast of Norway, dubbing it
08:00New Asgard. The New Asgard iteration of this village, also known by its original name,
08:05Tonspike, was first seen in Avengers Endgame, but what isn't readily apparent is that this
08:10unassuming remote locale is something of a converging point for several centuries of the MCU
08:15history, and this is far from the first time it's popped up in the franchise. Rather, Tonspike's
08:21importance stretches all the way back to the first Thor movie, where an opening scene shows
08:26that it was invaded by the Frost Giants in 965 AD, forcing Odin and his Asgardian army to intervene.
08:32From here, Odin left the Tesseract on Earth for some reason, and the device was hidden deep within
08:38Tonspike, where it remained safe for hundreds of years, that is until Tonspike showed up once again
08:44in Captain America The First Avenger, where the Red Skull ravaged the village in 1942 and located
08:50the Tesseract hidden within a church. Basically, this place is low-key one of the most crucial
08:56places in the MCU, and not just in the Prime Universe either, with the village also appearing
09:01in the What If's Captain Carter episode, so don't be surprised if many more important events take
09:07place here as the franchise continues. Number 2. Red Skull prophesies the Flag Smashers,
09:12Captain America The First Avenger. Speaking of Red Skull and Captain America The First Avenger,
09:18that movie contains a small moment that doesn't just foreshadow Cap's future, but the future of
09:22the entire MCU as we know it. During the final battle between the two characters, just before
09:27Red Skull is teleported by the Tesseract, the red-headed villain hits Cap with the following
09:31line. You could have the power of the gods, yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight
09:36a battle of nations. I have seen the future. Captain, there are no flags. Cap retorts with a
09:42not in my future, but as it would turn out, Red Skull was totally right. Not only do the stars
09:48and stripes disappear from Cap's outfits as he becomes more and more disillusioned with the
09:52modern world, but the damaged society we see post-Endgame gives way to a group called the
09:57Flag Smashers, whose mission statement is to strip away borders and create a more united world.
10:02Now, obviously both Red Skull and Marvel Studios couldn't have known that the Flag Smashers would
10:07have one day featured in the MCU, but in hindsight, Red Skull seemingly foreshadowed this widespread
10:12anti-nationalist movement with a single line of dialogue and over 70 years in advance.
10:18Number 1. The Illuminati has been here all along. Iron Man 2. With the MCU set to introduce the
10:24Illuminati in the upcoming Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, there's a ton of
10:29speculation about who might be on the team, with predictions ranging from Captain Carter to Black
10:33Bolt to Reed Richards. But if this moment in Iron Man 2 is more than just a fun easter egg,
10:38then Marvel Studios might have confirmed a future Illuminati member. During the court
10:42sequence in Iron Man 2, Tony Stark pulls out his ridiculously advanced smartphone
10:47and uses it to hack the TV screens in the courtroom, and in a blink and you'll miss it
10:52shot of his home screen, we can see an app called Illuminati in the right hand corner.
10:56Without having a zoom and enhance in your own eyeballs, it's virtually impossible to
11:00notice this detail, but given what we know about Doctor Strange 2, the implications of it could be
11:05huge. Again, it could have just been a fun easter egg, but what if it wasn't? What if
11:09Marvel Studios was thinking about the Illuminati all the way back in 2010, and Stark is going to
11:15be one of those people sat at the table in Doctor Strange 2? The filmmakers could even
11:19retroactively say that this app was a clue, even if it wasn't their intent at the time.
11:24The buzz on opening night would be insane if Robert Downey Jr makes a triumphant return,
11:28and this throwaway moment could have been sowing those seeds from the very beginning of this
11:33franchise. Spicy! What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below, and of course,
11:38don't forget to give us a like and subscribe here, and check us out on social media at
11:42WhatCulture. I too am there on all the socials, at M-A-R-C-U-S-B-R-O-N-Z-Y, Marcus Bronzy. Also,
11:49twitch.tv slash Marcus Bronzy, and my podcast called Ain't Got A Clue,
11:53is there wherever you listen to yours. Until next time, peace!