As what writer David S. Goyer refers to as the "0 issue" of the DC cinematic universe, Man of Steel has a lot of work to do not only to re-establish the origin of Superman, but get viewers interested in an entirely new universe of superheroes to rival Marvel's The Avengers. And Goyer hasn't been shy about dropping hints about how that scene-setting is taking place, how Superman inspires Bruce Wayne to become Batman and how Lex Luthor exists in the universe too.
Eric already covered some of the Easter eggs you can find in Man of Steel, including logos for LexCorp and Wayne Industries. But did you know that there are a bunch of other, much subtler DC Universe shout-outs in there? Slashfilm did some impressive digging to find mentions to more obscure characters like Cyborg and Supergirl, and one blatant reference to an extremely deep DC Comics cut-- a brief flash of a billboard for Blaze Comics, the in-universe comics company. Here, you can see it here for yourself:
The most intriguing of the Easter eggs is something you can only catch after reading a snippet of an interview with producer Deborah Snyder, who draws your attention to the empty Kryptonian pod inside the spaceship that Superman discovers in the fortress of solitude. "There is an empty pod there," Snyder says. "I'm not going to say what, or if, it means anything, but there is an empty pod there." The obvious conclusion, of course, is that it's a nod to Kara Zor-El, a.k.a Supergirl-- and as Slashfilm points out, a Man of Steel prequel comic focuses largely on Supergirl.
There are many more Easter eggs where that came from, including a possible reference to Green Lantern's own Carol Ferris, and maybe even more to be discovered when eagle-eyed fans can get there hands on the film on DVD. Let us know if you spotted any other ones when you saw the movie, and re-examine the trailer if you want to find any new ones that might have been hiding in plain sight this whole time.
