WARNING: Spoilers for Ms. Marvel Episode One
The first episode of Ms. Marvel sees the MCU’s newest hero, Kamala Khan, visiting a huge Comic-Con-style convention called AvengerCon, and the event is packed full of hidden details and Easter eggs for MCU fans. Established as the first of these events in Kamala’s universe, the inaugural AvengerCon is held at Camp Lehigh – the training location in Captain America: The First Avenger – and is attended by all with a love of Earth’s mightiest heroes. As a self-confessed mega-fan of the MCU, Ms. Marvel’s star, Iman Vellani, appears immediately at home in the event’s mix of merchandise stands, food outlets, and cosplayers.
The show received a large amount of backlash after the trailer revealed that Ms. Marvel’s MCU powers would be different from her comic counterpart. While the hero originally had stretching powers much like the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, the Ms. Marvel series has instead given her cosmic abilities which she only discovers during her appearance at the AvengerCon costume competition. Standing apart from all others dressed as Captain Marvel, Kamala’s power to create sheets of hard light out of thin air wins her instant acclaim from the convention’s attendees.
Between each of these fans in attendance and the copious number of stalls and merchandise stands, AvengerCon contains many nods to the wider MCU. The believability of the production design is a credit to the episode, with each shot containing some amount of information as to how those living on Earth-616 perceive the Avengers. This, in turn, ensures that AvengerCon is one of the primary sources for Easter eggs in Ms. Marvel episode 1.
Entry Music
Starting from Kamala and Bruno’s first steps into AvengerCon, the show instantly provides an Easter egg from Captain America: The First Avenger. At the entrance to the convention center, the song “Star Spangled Man with a Plan” can be heard playing from a nearby Captain America stand. This cheesy patriotic anthem was one of the central pieces of music played during Steve Rogers’ commercial tour after receiving his super-soldier serum. Aside from calling back to this earlier film, the song demonstrates that Earth-616 still perceives Captain America with the same level of patriotism – celebrating both his heroism and his symbolic status.
Wanda Is Still A Hero
Perhaps one of the most surprising details of AvengerCon is its references to Wanda, which still frame her as a hero. The events of Westview from WandaVision appear to be common knowledge in the MCU world, yet a large cut-out of Wanda/Scarlet Witch upon entry and several cosplayers suggest that many still see Wanda in a heroic light. The positioning of the cut-out next to a matching one of Doctor Strange may even suggest that the world has gained knowledge of their battle in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, potentially framing her as something of an in-universe antihero.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Misinformation
The Guardians of the Galaxy were central in the Battle of Earth and in ensuring Thanos’s defeat, so it is no wonder that those at AvengerCon would want to celebrate the heroes. However, with their lacking number of appearances on Earth, it appears that many are unsure of the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy team. Groot t-shirts can be spotted, printed with the name "Mr. Tree," and a stand called "Mr. Tree House" appears next to the stage. This continues at the Guardians of the Galaxy stand, where a man dressed as Drax sells DVDs titled “The Peter Quill Star-Boy Story” — a nod to the universe’s repeated forgetting of Quill’s heroic moniker — and Rocket plushies with the name “Trash Panda.” Not only missing Rocket’s name, but the cuddly toys also act as a call-back to a Tony Stark putdown of the raccoon in Avengers: Endgame: “Until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear.”
Things Hulk Smashed!
One of the largest stands at AvengerCon is shown to be called "Things Hulk Smashed!" It houses many of the items Bruce Banner's alter-ego has destroyed over the years, including a fridge with a large hand-shaped dent in the front of it. The Ms. Marvel characters Kamala and Bruno have a go on the stand’s strength test, hitting a target with a hammer to compare their strength to that of the Hulk. These details demonstrate that the fans view the Hulk’s destruction as a good thing, fawning over his destroyed items rather than fearing them.
Captain Marvel Book
Shown very briefly behind the Hulk stand is a poster for an upcoming book about Captain Marvel entitled "Carol: A Definitive Account of the Cosmic Avenger." Outside of Kamala, whose blatant love for Captain Marvel shines throughout Ms. Marvel episode 1, the book demonstrates that others share the same admiration. Much like the in-flight films shown in Spider-Man: Far From Home, details such as this serve to build the reality of the MCU where the Avengers affect people’s lives and inspire their art and pop culture.
AvengerCon Merchandise
If Ms. Marvel confirms anything about the franchise, it’s that the citizens of the MCU’s Earth-616 universe love their Avengers merchandise. AvengerCon has many examples of this, including “Bring the Thunder” Thor t-shirts, “Fight like a girl” Captain Marvel caps, and Ant-Man figurines (these are the official Hasbro toys released alongside Ant-Man and the Wasp). The convention also has detailed Avengers-based food and beverages, such as "Thor’s Mjolnir Ale" and popcorn served at the "Ant Snacks" stand – served by people in ant masks. The masks match America Chavez’s confusion in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness around the powers of Spider-Man and Ant-Man, asking about the former, “Does he look like a spider?”
Tours
An extended shot in the brief look around AvengerCon shows a stall offering tours to New Asgard. However, there are other destinations for which attendees can also book. While Kamala takes part in the costume contest, a stall can be seen in the background offering tours to Wakanda, exemplifying T’Challa’s desire to open up Wakanda to the rest of the world after the events of Black Panther. It is unclear whether T’Challa has yet passed in the MCU after the death of Chadwick Boseman, but this detail serves as a touching reminder of his goals and demonstrates that his people continue to enact them in his absence.
The Ironettes
Briefly appearing in Iron Man 2, Stark’s dance troop, The Ironettes, can also be seen making an appearance at AvengerCon. Using their trademark dance move that that troop performed in the 2010 film, the dancers, still dressed in Iron Man-inspired outfits, hold up their palms in mimicry of the Stark armor’s signature weapons system. Assuming these are the same in-universe dancers, it is likely that the troop appear at the convention in a guest appearance capacity, offering the chance for fans to meet people close to Iron Man.
Cosplayers
The majority of Ms. Marvel episode 1 is dedicated to Kamala’s creation of her Captain Marvel outfit for AvengerCon, and in the brief look around the convention, it is clear that she is not the only one to have spent time on their costume. There are even convincing renditions of minor Avengers, such as Shuri and Mantis, in attendance, though the show understands the frequent limits of cosplay and shows some creative outfits using everyday items. One such attendee appears dressed as Thor, with silver combs taped to a cap and CDs on his shirt to match the God of Thunder’s circle-adorned chest piece. As was the case with the LARPers in Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel understands that cosplaying can be an expensive hobby, but creativity is key in creating a fun representation.
I Was There
One of the more mysterious details at AvengerCon is in a stand simply called I Was There. Almost crushed by the rolling Ant-Man head triggered by Kamala’s cosmic energy, the stall has a sign reading, “Buy debris from the greatest Avengers Battle,” alongside urban images which could be New York. It stands to reason that the stall is selling items from The Avengers’ Battle of New York – something of a legalized version of Vulture’s plan in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Asgard Pride
For the most part, the MCU has lacked LGBTQ+ representation, though one AvengerCon detail reveals that Asgard has become synonymous with Pride celebrations. Kamala and Bruno fight past an "Asgard Pride" stand, selling t-shirts and other merchandise which utilize the rainbow colors of the Bifrost. A small detail in a franchise that still drastically lacks its required representation, the associations between Asgard and Pride hopefully hint that the romance in Thor: Love and Thunder will not be as clean-cut as the trailer makes out.
Cap’s Armor
The Captain America stand at AvengerCon – heard blaring “The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan” upon Kamala’s entrance – houses a mannequin wearing some never-before-seen Captain America armor. The black coloring and combat fabric closely mirror that worn by Rogers in Avengers: Infinity War, though the metallic chest and shoulder pieces are unlike anything that he has worn in the past. Potentially a fan-made model or something for John Walker’s US Agent to wear in a future MCU project, this detail stands apart from the rest not as referencing a prior event in the MCU but potentially hinting towards the character’s future.
Sokovia Accords
One of the most prominent hidden details in AvengerCon can be found on the mural of Black Widow and Iron Man. Amongst the notes of gratitude for the fallen heroes, one message simply reads “Sokovia Accords!” underlined in red ink. A reference to the divisive contract that formed the main narrative thrust of Captain America: Civil War, the message shows that there are still some who are fighting for the accords to be passed, thus regulating the conflicts that the Avengers would face. It's unlikely the bill would have prevented the death of Black Widow or that of Iron Man in this instance, though the message nonetheless demonstrates that the conflict surrounding the role of superheroes in the world is far from over.
For a sequence lasting around eight minutes, Ms. Marvel’s AvengerCon is packed full of hidden details and Easter eggs. The convention provides a first proper look at fan culture within the MCU after certain aspects of it were teased in the Iron Man graffiti of Spider-Man: Far From Home and Smart Hulk’s fan base in Avengers: Endgame. Just like star Iman Vellani, it appears that Ms. Marvel is going to be deeply ingrained in the culture of the MCU, meaning that there are many Easter eggs yet to come.
New episodes of Ms. Marvel premiere on Disney+ every Wednesday.
