A detail from The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ trailers is a real-world reference only a few will catch. Every MCU installment hides several references and easter eggs to the source material and other Marvel projects, though some of them are easier to find than others. The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ alternate universe might feature fewer MCU easter eggs than usual, as the rest of the franchise’s characters inhabit a different timeline to Marvel’s First Family. So, instead of MCU references, The Fantastic Four: First Steps may include nods to other franchises and real-world events.
Curiously, The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ second trailer features a reference to DC Comics’ Superman. When a group of kids asks Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s the Thing to lift a car, he lifts a green beetle car that looks suspiciously similar to the one Superman throws in DC Comics’ Action Comics #1. Marvel’s reference to DC suits The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as the Phase 6 movie is a love letter to the Golden Age and Silver Age of comic books. Likewise, The Fantastic Four: First Steps may feature other nods to vintage pop culture.
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One of the confirmed members of The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ cast is Matt Gattis, who’s playing the host of the in-universe variety show “The Ted Gilbert Show.” The Ted Gilbert Show seems to be an alternate-universe parallel to the real-life “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which aired from 1948 to 1971. Some of the most notable guests who appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show include Elvis Presley, the Jackson Five, and Janis Joplin. In the trailers, the stage behind the Fantastic Four during their Ted Gilbert Show appearance looks very similar to the one used in the Beatles’ 1964 appearance in The Ed Sullivan Show.
Besides a clear reference to the Beatles, the MCU’s Ted Gilbert Show and its parallel to the real-life Ed Sullivan show might be a reference to the famous duo Gilbert and Sullivan. The creative partnership of dramatist W.S. Gilbert and the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan resulted in some of the most famous operettas of the nineteenth century, and their work had a great impact on musical theater and comedy. Works such as “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado” are still relevant in popular culture to this day.
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Gilbert and Sullivan were a mᴀssive phenomenon of their era, considering how limited the diffusion of art was at the time. Since the peak of their popularity, W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan themselves have become rather obscure names, but their works have been a major influence on multiple branches of art, especially on theater. Songs from Gilbert and Sullivan’s work are known for their wordplay, and they’ve inspired musicals, cartoons, and sitcoms. For instance, Data performs a song from H.M.S. Pinafore in Star Trek: Insurrection, and Yakko’s “Nations of the World” song from Animaniacs was inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas.
