There’s a Keep Calm And Call Batman poster hidden in the final fight
The Utopia Casino sign hints towards another Superman villain...
In the comics, the owner of the Utopia Casino was
Tony Gallo, an unscrupulous businessman from Nevada involved in first
bringing Superman into contact with Kryptonite
That very small Blaze Comics sign means more than you think...
Sometimes there are comics within comics, and Blaze Comics are
just that: comics within the Superman universe, best known for sharing
the adventures of Booster Gold, a showboating one-time Justice Leaguer
who rocks sweet yellow shades and the ability to time travel. Amongst
other powers, he can also fly, but when you can travel through time,
other superpowers tend to pale in significance.
Yes, that was a Wayne Enterprises logo on the side of the satellite
Richard Schiff’s Dr. Emil Hamilton works for S.T.A.R. Labs...
In the comics, S.T.A.R. Labs is a research organisation blessed with a
S.H.I.E.L.D.-like acronym (it’s short for Science and Technology
Advanced Research, by the way).
There were more than a couple of LexCorp references
...The first (and most subtle) sighting of Lex Luthor’s
conglomerate’s stranglehold is when Clark Kent is walking up to his
family home after hitchhiking his way there. Hitchhiking on – you
guessed it – a LexCorp truck...You then have to wait until Metropolis
for more LexCorpery, with the petrol truck proudly boasting the bald
baddie’s stamp, and the construction site where Zod and Superman
battle flying the Luthor flag with a huge banner declaring “LexCorp:
The Future Is Now!”
That opened sarcophagus was most definitely left in on purpose
...Off the back of the prequel Man Of Steel comic, many
people have suggested this could be Supergirl, who could appear either
in the sequel or as a spin-off.
There are many Smallville hat-tips, e.g. Pete Ross...
In Man Of Steel, grows up to be the red-haired IHOP worker.
A definite shout-out to the series is the lingering shot on the
sign for Sullivan’s Truck & Tractor Repair, which hints at Clark’s
other close chum, Chloe Sullivan (played by Allison Mack). “Yep, that
is from the show, the shop,” Snyder explains. “It’s funny, because
with those kind of things I wasn’t trying to homage it too hard, but
it’s in the mythology, so you have to give it a little bit of love.”
Elsewhere, Whitney Fordham is mentioned: in the show she’s a love rival for Lana Lang’s affections.
Weisinger Primary School is named after a much-loved Superman editor
There are many other miscellaneous allusions...
The understatement-loving girl who says “He’s kinda hot” at the end of the
film is called Carrie Farris, which seems like a hint at Carol Ferris,
the Green Lantern’s other half (as played by Blake Lively in the 2011
movie).
Then there’s the shattered moon of Wegthor in the skies above Krypton.
This is a nod to Jax-Ur, a Kryptonian sent to The Phantom
Zone in the comics for accidentally firing a nuclear warhead at the
originally spherical satellite. In Man Of Steel, Jax-Ur is the
scientist assistant to Zod (played by Smallville alum Mackenzie Gray),
and he’s the one who works out the Growth Codex is hidden inside
Kal-El.
Smallville’s high school American Football team is named here
as The Smallville Spartans, which is in honour of Zack Snyder’s 300.
And though Man Of Steel has garnered a reputation of being humourless, there are a few visual jokes you may have missed,
including one when Superman is slung against a “106 days since the
last accident” sign on a construction site and both the “1” and the
“6” fall off, leaving… “0 days since the last accident.”
