The modern comic book movie age has flooded pop culture with characters big and small, from the most well-known to the obscure and strange. The public at large now knows about not just Spider-Man and Batman, but Deadpool and Rocket Raccoon. But beyond this new accessibility, many comic book films still pack in references, fan service and Easter eggs for the diehard fans who know every artist and pick up a stack of titles every Wednesday. The Marvel Cinematic Universe films are especially known for this, rewarding eagle-eyed fans with cool Easter eggs. Now, two years after its release, fans have found a tiny (how appropriate) Easter egg in Ant-Man that honors comic legend Jack Kirby. Take a look.
For those who need their memories refreshed, this comes from the scene where Ant-Man tries on his shrinking suit for the first time. He quickly finds out how easy it is to slip through the cracks in the floor and how strange this building is constructed, with an apartment above a nightclub above another apartment. Scott Lang runs into real trouble when he encounters a lady vacuuming her floors. An eagle-eyed Reddit user on the Marvel Studios subreddit noticed that the vacuum is a 'Kirby' brand, and it also has an Omega symbol on it. The brand is, of course, an homage to Marvel legend Jack Kirby. Along with Stan Lee, Jack Kirby created many of Marvel's most iconic characters, including Ant-Man.
The vacuum also sports the Omega symbol which is especially fun and crosses the streams of the Marvel and DC universes. Jack Kirby, being particularly awesome, is a legend not just at Marvel, but at DC as well. The writer and artist created the New Gods during his time at DC, including that biggest of DC bads, Darkseid. The Lord of Apokolips frequently sports the Omega symbol and uses Omega energy to shoot Omega blasts. So yeah, he really likes it. Seeing the Omega symbol on the vacuum in Ant-Man not only honors the character's creator, Jack Kirby, but also his comics history and all of the great worlds and characters he brought to life, regardless of brand.
This is just another fun example of how much the people at Marvel Studios are really just comics nerds at heart. These little details don't make a difference to the success of the movies or matter to the vast majority of the movie-going public. Easter eggs really only matter to the most devoted of fans and this just shows that the people at Marvel want to reward those fans and how much they care about these characters and their history.
Two years after Ant-Man we are still picking up on fun little details, just in time for the sequel. In perhaps this year's most forgotten Marvel Cinematic Universe film, fans can return to the land of being very, very tiny when Ant-Man and the Wasp arrives in theaters on July 6th. For that and all of this year's biggest movies, check out our release guide.
