11 'Avengers: Infinity War' Pop Culture References That Were So Sneaky You May Have Missed Them




1. The Leftovers


When Thanos snapped his fingers and murdered half of the world's population, it was hard not to be reminded of HBO's critically-acclaimed series The Leftovers. The entire premise of the show focuses on what happens to the people left behind after a rapture like event causes much of the population to disappear in an instant. Having The Leftovers star Carrie Coon in the film as Proxima Midnight only made the reference seem all the more apparent.

2. Aliens



3. Arrested Development



4. Grimace


No one drops '80s references quite like Star-Lord, and he came through yet again when he called Thanos "Grimace." For those who missed out on the glory days of McDonald's commercials, Grimmace is Ronald McDonald's purple, milkshake-stealing frenemy.

5. Doctor Who


After Iron Man tells Spider-Man not to make any more pop culture references, it seems he slipped in one more anyway. As Bleeding Cool points out, Peter's last words as Tony holds him in his arms are, "I don't want to go." These are also the last words spoken by the 10th Doctor before he regenerates, and you know that Peter has to be a Doctor Who fan.

5. Hamilton


Is Steve Rogers secretly a Hamilton fan? It looks like he might be, considering he dropped the line "eyes up" in the movie. The line is famously part of the Hamilton song "The World Was Wide Enough," where it's somewhat worryingly preceded by, "I'm running out of time, I'm running, and my time's up."

6. The Return Of The Zune


In a callback to Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Star-Lord's new Zune made a return, and this time it was playing "The Rubberband Man."

7. Footloose & Kevin Bacon


Clearly, Star-Lord is keeping the legend of Kevin Bacon alive, because Mantis refers to him as one of Earth's greatest heroes. Meanwhile, Star-Lord fills Spider-Man in on how he saved the universe by dancing, just like in Footloose (more or less).

8. SpongeBob SquarePants


It seems Doctor Strange makes time to watch Nickelodeon in between time-hopping adventures because the first time he sees Ebony Maw, Thanos' herald, he calls him Squidward.

9. Flash Gordon


Tony isn't pleased with the Peters constant pop culture-referencing ways, but that doesn't stop him from using a nostalgic diss when he meets Star-Lord. He calls Star-Lord "Flash Gordon," which was super appropriate since the '80s hero was also abruptly sent to space.

10. Defender



11. Die Hard


When Tony tries to send Spider-Man home in order to keep him safe, he borrows a lesser known line from Die Hard's hero, John McClane. As What Culture noted, Tony tells Peter "happy trails," which is the same goodbye John uses in the film.
