'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7 Episode 5: All the Easter eggs on Hydra's hit list that you may have missed
Spoilers for 'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7 Episode 5 'A Trout in the Milk'
With 'Agents of SHIELD' in its final season, we were expecting to get a few Easter eggs. But Episode 5 'A Trout in the Milk' delivered a veritable treasure trove of references with a Hydra hit list that includes names connected to the show, the comics and more. Remember Project Insight from 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'? Well, turns out Hydra moved up their plans and in Episode 5, they're preparing to launch the project almost 40 years ahead of schedule, with a list of targets that include a lot of obvious and obscure references on it.
Marvel Cinematic Universe references
To start with, let's look at the most obvious references. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is on the list, obviously because the Chronicoms want to eliminate the Hulk before he is created. We also have Victoria Hand (Saffron Burrows), Robert Gonzalez (Edward James Olmos) and Howling Commando Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi) on the list. Plus, there's also the name Niceole Amador, who we're guessing is the mother of Akela Amador (Pascale Armand), a protege of Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). One of the names, Ben Harris, could be a reference to Agent Harris (Kyle Mattocks), who appeared in a previous episode of the show, though we don't know why he's so important.
Celebrity references
We've also got a number of celebrities from the 1970s mentioned on the list including Betty Wright and Margaret Nelson. Basketball legend David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs is also mentioned on the list. We're assuming this means all of these celebs were agents of SHIELD in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Another name that appears on the list, which might be a bit harder to place, is Robert Moore. For those who don't know, Rob Moore is an entertainment executive who oversaw the campaigns for Marvel Studios' first 'Iron Man', 'Thor' and 'Captain America' movies.
Comic book references
The very first name on the list, Conrad Murphy, is the name of a character from the 'Secret Warriors' comics. He is the father of Sandra Murphy, a member of one of Nick Fury's secret squads. Another name on the list with a comic book connection is Michael Phillips, who has appeared in a few stories involving the Punisher. One name that could be related to the comics is Thomas Hall. While there isn't a character of that name exactly, Thomas Halloway was a Golden Age hero who went by the name The Angel.
Are there any references that we missed out on? Did you catch all these Easter eggs in the episode? Let us know in the comments.
'Agents of SHIELD' airs Wednesdays at 10 pm ET on ABC.