Easter eggs in media are jokes or gags, hidden messages, or mini-games that appear in movies, video games, TV shows, books, or crosswords as a special extra.
During some sequences in the film and the video game featuring Spider-Man, there are a few small easter eggs.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Donald Glover
- In Peter Parker's bedroom, there is a poster of Donald Glover on his wall.
Rhino
- When Gwen Stacy is in an Oscorp Tower lab, a hologram of the "Tree of Life" can be shown, with multiple animals that are possible subjects to Cross-species genetics; one being a rhino. This is a reference to the later-appearing cross-species villain Rhino appearing in the video game.
Gwen Stacy's death
- At the very end of the film, just after Spider-Man swings through the crane, time slows and his Spider-Sense triggers. Far further from Spider-Man, the George Washington Bridge can be shown. In comics, this bridge is the one that which Gwen was killed on by the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn). Therefore, this might possibly foreshadow Gwen's death in the second or third film.
Shocker
- During the scene where Spider-Man swings and maneuvers through a dark alley, a brief shot of a yellow pair of pants with a red stripe on them can be seen. In comics, one of Spidey's villains, Shocker, wears an exact pair as the one seen in the film.
Electro
- At the very end of the film, when Spider-Man can be seen facing the camera with the moon behind him, a quick flash of lightning can be seen. This references and foreshadows one of Spidey's comics villain's, Electro, appearance in the second film.
- After the initial credits, Curt Connors can be seen in the Beloit Mental Facility. Suddenly, a flash of lightning occurs yet again, and the "Man in the shadows" appears. This man is not Electro; however, the flash of lightning again references and foreshadows Electro.
Venom
- During The Scene Where Dr.Curt Connors Is introduced while Gwen is giving a tour of the lab, you can notice in the backround that there is a scientist wearing a black and white mask that looks alot like the black suit mask. The Person just works casually in the backround during the scene. (Note not a gas mask due to other personal walking around without masks or respirators).
The Amazing Spider-Man (video game)
The Amazing Spider-Man
- In Stan's apartment, there is a cut-out Daily Bugle newspaper article headed with "MOVIE OF THE YEAR" and a picture of the movie's Spider-Man. This article and picture appears on numerous newspapers seen around Manhattan.
Spider-Man
- Also in Stan's apartment, there is a picture of Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man from Sam Raimi's series of Spider-Man movies reading "WHO IS HE?".
Beenox
- There is a building in Manhattan that, apparently, is the Beenox building; there are big letters at the head of the building entitling "BEENOX", as well as the Beenox logo: a blue gear. Beenox is the company that created this video game.
- In a certain part of the game while loading, in NY City Thoughts, there will be four different people commenting about current events. These people, in order, have the usernames: Bee, Nox, Luvz and You. This is an obvious message to the player from Beenox: "Beenox loves you".
Captain America
- While finding an escaped Beloit patient, they may thank a "Captain America" for picking them up, to which Spider-Man will reply, "Uh... wrong person." Captain America is another hero created by Marvel.
Eddie Brock
- There is a small billboard somewhere in Manhattan with the words "Eddie Brock Photography". Eddie Brock is a famous comic book character in the Spider-Man universe because he turns out to become the villainous Venom from an alien symbiote.
Comic villains
- In some of Whitney Chang's photo missions for Spider-Man, there are some obvious references to some of Spider-Man's famous villains. For example, in one sequence, there is a sand pit in which a little girl was sucked into, referencing Sandman. Others hint at foes like Hydro-Man, the Vulture and Man-Wolf.
Stan Lee
- Stan is Peter's family's friend, but the name is an obvious nod to former Marvel Entertainment president, Stan Lee, as his in-game bio depicts him as a "writer" and "fictional storyteller".
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- When Spider-Man is looking for Vermin in the sewers, Spider-Man asks if Vermin is going to hang out with his "adopted turtle sons and eat pizza". This is a reference to the classic title TMNT, in which the turtles would often hang out with their mutated rat mentor, Splinter, and eat pizza in the sewers. This may also be a reference to a specific turtle, Donatello, because the person voicing Spider-Man in this game is famous for voicing Donatello.
Star Wars
- In Chapter 3 of the game, Whitney Chang gets caught by an Oscorp Guard as he yells, "Move!"; to which Chang replies, "I'm not the droid you're looking for." This is an obvious reference to a famous line in the classic movie trilogy Star Wars: "These are not the droids you're looking for."
Guitar Hero
- In certain places in Manhattan, Spider-Man will find various pawn shops. In the windows of these shops, one will see small, toy guitars with colored buttons at the top, hinting at the design made by famous music game Guitar Hero.
McDonald's
- In other certain places, Spidey will also find restaurants entitled "Fast Food", with a logo that is a frontward and backward F together, but looks almost like the letter M and the McDonald's logo, a real fast food restaurant.
Heroes For Hire
- At one point, Spider-Man admits that sometimes he wish he was a hero for hire. This is a reference to the comicline Heroes For Hire and the most famous hired hero, Luke Cage (also known as 'Power Man').
Dee Brown
- There is a clothing store in Manhattan named "Brown & Dee", referencing Beenox's president, Dee Brown.
- The very last NYC Thoughts post that can be seen is from "LtCoolDee", Brown's real Twitter name.
David and Goliath
- During Spider-Man's first fight with Hunter bots, he makes a small note to David and Goliath, two characters, one a man and the other a giant, from the Bible.
Fast & Furious
- During a Car Chase, Spider-Man might say that he, himself, is "fast" and the criminals he caught were "furious." This is an obvious reference to the movie Fast & Furious.
World of Warcraft
- When Spider-Man is chasing Smythe through his robotics lab, he says "I should be studying, chasing girls and playing WOW (World of Warcraft)".
- After the game's story mode, in the NYC Thoughts, one can read "Luckily all went fine. That was worse than the Corrupted Blood incident in World of Warcraft."