*SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR TO FOLLOW*
One of the better Easter eggs in Avengers: Infinity War is the tiny appearance of Tobias Funke from Arrested Development. Sharp viewers will see the famous, uh, therapist in the background of a scene as one of the Collector’s captives. Makes sense, considering the Russo brothers (they directed Infinity War) also directed the pilot of the popular sitcom.
Arrested Development easter egg in the leaked Avengers: Infinity War clip. A reference to Tobias Fünke after he auditioned for the Blue Man Group. pic.twitter.com/lyVi3NJ9Oh
— GuruKid (@FunWithGuru) November 26, 2017
But here’s what doesn’t make as much sense: Hudson Hongo at i09 has teased out the implications of a shared world between the Avengers and Arrested Development into an insane loop of shared worlds that ultimately ties the world of Adam West’s 1960s Batman TV series, a DC property, into the Marvel universe. (Hudson goes deep with his post, and charts out just how he made the connection; it’s very much worth the read.)
But, on a high level, it tracks like this:
- Tobias Fünke appears in Avengers: Infinity War
- Homicide: Life on the Street’s John Munch appeared on Arrested Development
- St. Elsewhere’s Dr. Roxanne Turner appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street
- the St. Elsewhere crew once appeared in the Cheers bar
- Fraiser’s Dr. Fraiser Crane was on Cheers
- In a Caroline in the City episode, Fraiser was seen reading one of Caroline’s comic strips
- Friends’ Chandler appeared on Caroline in the City
- Mad About You’s Ursula was a character on Friends
- The Dick Van Dyke Show’s Alan Brady appeared on Mad About You
- The Dick Van Dyke Show’s Sally Rogers appeared on Hi Honey, I’m Home!
- Mister Ed’s Mister Ed was referenced on Hi Honey, I’m Home!
- The Beverly Hillbillies’ Granny appeared on Mister Ed
- Green Acres’ Sam Drucker appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies
- Hogan’s Heroes’ Colonel Hogan was referenced on Green Acres
- Hogan’s Heroes’ Colonel Klink made a brief appearance in an episode of Batman in the 1960s
See? Makes total sense. Everything is connected. Checkmate, atheists.
Also, Hudson deserves a Nobel.
