Captain America: The Winter Soldier Clues, Hints and References

So...have you seen "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" yet? Judging by the enormous box office numbers, you probably have. But did you know that the movie is chock full of references to previous films, the comics and, perhaps, characters to come?

So no screwing around here: Let's dig into them. A warning, though, that this column drops some pretty significant spoilers, so if you don't want to know important plot points of the movie, don't scroll down past Iron Man:

Still with us? Here we go...

Avengers

As with most all of the recent Marvel Studios movies, there's no shortage of mentions of Cap's fellow Avengers. We know Black Widow is one of the stars of the movie, and we hear about the involvement (off-camera) of many other Avengers.

Iron Man plays a large, though completely indirect, role in the movie. Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) tells Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury that Iron Man has to visit a birthday party and is sure to mention he has to interact with the kids and not just "a fly-by."

Nick Fury also mentions that Stark had a hand in designing the new Helicarrier engines for Project Insight “after he had a look at them,” referencing his interaction with them in "The Avengers."

Fury notes the drug he used to fake his death was developed by Bruce Banner.

The (former?) Stark Tower, given its official unveiling in “The Avengers,” is referenced as a target of the Project Insight, outfitted with an Avengers logo.

We also get the return of Senator Stern (Garry Shandling), with whom Tony Stark tussled on the Senate floor in "Iron Man 2," who is revealed to be an agent of HYDRA.

Finally, Black Widow is spotted wearing an arrow necklace, possibly a nod to Hawkeye.

Captain America characters

The computer possessed by Arnim Zola reveals that Howard Stark, already known to be a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and father to Tony Stark), was killed by HYDRA.

In the film’s opening action sequence on the ship, Cap fights Batroc the Leaper, played by MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre, who is a villain pulled straight from the comics.

Brock Rumlow, Cap’s pal-turned-adversary, is left a scarred man at film's end, and, should things remain true to the source material, will become the villain Crossbones, who, in the comics, kills Steve Rogers.

Speaking of killing Steve Rogers, after his death in the comics, Bucky Barnes himself assumes the mantle of Captain America. Could this moment from the film...

...be a hint to that effect for movies to come?

Agent 13 (Emily Van Camp), who is around at key points of the film (the attack on Nick Fury, the climactic battle on the Helicarrier) is Sharon Carter, who is Peggy Carter’s niece and, in the comics, a key love interest for Cap. Black Widow even mentions her first name as "Sharon" to Cap at the end of the movie.

Other Marvel Characters

Agent Sitwell, who appeared in Marvel One-Shot shorts "The Consultant" and "Item 47," as well as a few episodes of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," lists Project Insight’s targets for termination. Among the names and locations he references “Stephen Strange,” also known as Dr. Strange, and references another target as someone in Cairo, which is likely a nod to Moon Knight.

Mid-Credits Scene

The movie's real teaser scene comes mid-credits. The post-credits sequence, involving the Winter Soldier learning more about his true identity, is a good character moment and maybe a setup for a future appearance, but isn't as tasty a morsel as the mid-credits stinger, where we are introduced to established Cap villain Baron Von Strucker. We learn the Baron is in possession of both the scepter Loki wielded in "The Avengers" and at least two people: “the Twins,” a brother/sister pair of "miracles." These two are Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), whom we know will play a large role in next summer's "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

For those who haven't been paying attention, Quicksilver will also appear in Fox's "X-Men: Days of Future Past," played there by Evan Peters. In the comics, Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch are mutants, children of Magneto. In the MCU, however, words like "X-Men" and "mutants" are verboten due to copyright infringement concerns and other such real-world legal wrangling. The two characters presumably fall within some gray area of rights, which means different actors play the same characters in both the MCU and Fox's X-Men movies.

Bonus Easter Eggs

Black Widow references “WarGames” when she says to Cap, “Would you like to play a game?” as she boots up the Zola computer.

Eagle-eyed viewers may have noted that on Nick Fury’s gravestone the quote “The Path of the Righteous Man…” is inscribed, which is, of course, a reference to Jackson’s famous quoting of Ezekiel 25:17 in “Pulp Fiction.”