All of the Easter Eggs from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

Marvel movies are nothing if not dependent. The studio meticulously crafts these films to be action-packed, funny, and emotional all at once, but one of the true trademarks of any Marvel film is the easter eggs. Whether the studio is hinting at the future or meta winking at longtime fans of the comics, the Marvel cinematic universe is full of surprised for eagle-eyed fans to pick up on.

The studio’s latest installment, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, is a slightly different animal than the rest, though. Not only is it arguably Marvel’s best film to date, it’s also the studio's most buttoned-up. Many of the jokes and gags prevalent in the other movies take a backseat to character drama and political intrigue. This makes for a much better film, but it also downplays some of the overt comic references along the way.

Thankfully Marvel slipped in plenty for hardcore comic fans to get excited about, and we're here to recount them in our list of All of the Easter Eggs from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Because Marvel Studios doesn’t actually own the rights to the X-Men, or the word “mutant,” to use in its movies, the producers are apparently adding a new word to the universe’s lexicon: Miracles. At the end of the mid-credit scene, Strucker reveals that he is in possession of two “Miracles” in the form of Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). They're revealed to the audience as prisoners of Strucker, as they show off their bizarre powers in their cell.

In addition to showing audiences these characters before they properly debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron, this scene also establishes that “Miracles” will likely be very important moving forward. They might not be able to be called mutants like in the comics, but it is possible that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be re-purposed into something else entirely.

The most obvious possibility is that they will be part of the Inhumans, an advanced race of super powered beings living on the blue area of the moon in the Marvel comics. This might be the studios way of bringing surrogate X-Men stories to the screen without having the rights to the characters.

Also be on the lookout for these siblings being involved in an incestuous relationship, because, ya know, it’s happened before. Yay comics!

It wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without an easter egg during the mid-credit scene, and it just so happens that The Winter Soldier has one of the best yet. In this scene, we are introduced to a mysterious Hydra leader lurking in the shadows, who comic fans will instantly recognize as Baron Strucker, played brilliantly by Thomas Kretschmann.

Strucker is supposed to play a big role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and this scene works well to set that up for the future. It’s also revealed that Strucker is in possession of one of the most powerful weapons in the universe: Loki’s staff. You'll remember that this was given to the God of Mischief in order to command the Chitauri in Avengers.

The most interesting part of this sequence is what else Strucker is in possession of…

Comic book fans will already know artist David Mack’s work on titles such as Daredevil and Kabuki, his creator-owned project. But he gets a boost into the mainstream as the artist responsible for The Winter Soldier’s stylish graphics during the film’s closing credits. The names of the film’s cast and crew are accompanied perfectly by Mack’s streamlined, minimalist art for an end result that is much more memorable than the shoddy CGI work of most blockbusters.

For comic fans, this isn’t Mack’s lushly painted style that you are accustomed to, but it fits the tone of the movie. While Marvel has always paid homage to the comics that inspired the movie, it’s nice to see the studio work with some of the artists that help bring these characters to life every week.

While agent Sitwell is telling Captain America, Black Widow, and the Falcon about Armin Zola’s plan for wiping out threats in the name of Hydra, he names Stephen Strange as one of the organization’s targets. Stephen Strange is obviously the civilian identity of Dr. Strange.

With a Strange film coming within the next three or four years, it looks like Marvel wanted this to be more than a simple easter egg. Maybe it’s meant to set up a future conflict between Strange and Hydra in his own film.

In The Winter Soldier, Emily VanCamp gives a strong performance as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the folks behind the film decided not to delve into the character’s backstory, despite her importance in the Captain America mythology. It’s never even mentioned that Carter is the niece of Peggy Carter, Cap’s WWII lover in the movie, which is a shame considering how that could've paid off later on.

In the comics, Carter also became a romantic interest of Steve Rogers and was actually the one who shot him to death, while under mind control, of course. While a romantic angle is hinted at, her true character wasn’t revealed. But it’s important to know if you want to call yourself a true Captain America fan.

Forget about the Winter Soldier, the villain that will really get under your skin in this movie is S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Brock Rumlow, played by Frank Grillo. He’s one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who's been secretly working for Hydra all along, and he gets into it with both Cap and the Falcon throughout the film.

It isn’t stated much in the movie, but in the comics, Rumlow is actually the Captain America villain Crossbones. Crossbones plays a huge role in writer Ed Brubaker’s original Winter Soldier comic book storyline and was heavily involved in the (temporary) death of Steve Rogers in 2007.

He doesn’t embrace his Crossbones persona in the movie, but at the end of the film it is revealed that he survived the destruction of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and will likely be looking for revenge in Captain America 3.

The Winter Soldier’s opening action sequence aboard a pirated S.H.I.E.L.D. ship is easily the highlight of the film, but did you know that it also features one of the characters’ longest-running villains? When Cap goes to rescue the hostages on the ship, he’s confronted by a terrorist named Batroc, played by Georges St. Pierre, who proves himself a worthy fighter in an impressive one-on-one sequence. Batroc is actually based on the character Batroc the Leaper, a brightly-colored mercenary from the ‘60s Cap comics.

The movie version doesn’t resemble the gaudy duds from the books, but there are hints of the comics’ roots when St. Pierre performs character’s quirky fighting technique. It’s a small part, for sure, but it adds to the rich tapestry of the Marvel cinematic universe.