WandaVision has been packed with Easter eggs not only related to other titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also Marvel Comics, but episode 7 has a very subtle reference to the late Stan Lee – and here’s what it is. Now that the MCU’s Infinity Saga came to an end with Spider-Man: Far From Home following the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, this connected universe is ready to move forward with its Phase 4, which will not only cover the movie side of it but also TV/streaming with a long list of TV shows coming in the near future.

Kicking off this new era of content in the MCU is WandaVision, centered on Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision follows the aforementioned characters as they live an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, but viewers quickly learned that things are not what they seem in town, and the truth behind Westview, its residents, and all the events taking place there might be too dark and complex. Each episode is done in the style of sitcoms from different decades and they all have a bunch of Easter eggs further connecting WandaVision to previous MCU movies as well as to some of the studio’s upcoming projects, but episode 7 included a very subtle and special Easter egg related to the one and only Stan Lee.

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WandaVision episode 7 is set in the 2000s, and as such follows the style of sitcoms like Modern Family, The Office, and Happy Endings, this last one being the main inspiration for the intro, showing Wanda’s name in different styles and objects, such as a VHS tape, a cake, a street sign, and even the sky. Among all those objects is a license plate with the number “122822” above Wanda’s name, which isn’t a random one at all. A Reddit user pointed out that this is actually a very sneaky tribute Easter egg to Stan Lee, who was born on December 28, 1922 – or, simply put, 12-28-22.

Wanda is one of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s many creations, and with the former famously appearing in all MCU movies (and non-MCU as well, as are the X-Men movies) up to Avengers: Endgame, with Spider-Man: Far From Home being the first one without a Stan Lee cameo, it’s fitting that WandaVision included a subtle tribute. Stan Lee also showed up in other Marvel TV shows though not as he did in the movies – for example, in most of Netflix’s Marvel shows, he appeared in photographs as a police officer, and in Cloak & Dagger, he showed up in a painting modeled after Andy Warhol’s The Shot Marilyns. Stan Lee passed away on November 12, 2018, and he made two posthumous appearances as himself in the MCU: first, in Captain Marvel, the Marvel Studios logo at the beginning paid tribute to him by adding all his cameos, and he later appeared in the scene where Carol is looking for Skrulls on the train, and then in Avengers: Endgame, a digitally de-aged Stan Lee appeared driving a car in 1970 and shouting “hey man! make love, not war!”.

Stan Lee’s fun cameos in the MCU will be missed by fans who looked forward to his appearances in every movie, but Marvel won’t forget about him and his legacy within the MCU, and will surely find ways to keep him present and pay their respects, as they subtly did in episode 7 of WandaVision. Whether there have been more subtle tribute Easter eggs to the great Stan Lee in WandaVision or this was the first is unclear, as well as if there will be more in the remaining episodes.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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