As though being a crossover between two of the most significant fandoms in fiction wasn't enough, Avengers: Infinite Wars includes several shout-outs to other famous tales.
- Just after they arrive in Naboo, Sam tells Steve that they are “not in Kansas anymore”. Later, Scott uses the same reference, much to Sam’s annoyance.
- Later, IW!Peter Parker uses the same reference, much to Jedi!Peter's confusion, when they arrive on New York – but the New York that appears in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Pietro refers to one of the clone troopers as "Mork"; considering that the trooper at least once asked him not to use the name, and given the Maximoffs' fondness for American sitcoms, this is likely a reference to Mork & Mindy.
- When Pietro is first told about the 'Zillo beast', he asks if it's anything like Godzilla. After the creature's death, Peter compares the death of the Zillo beast to "Peter Jackson's King Kong".
- While Spider-Man still wants to go home, he is also keen on the idea of 'going full Trekky' to go out and see other planets, even if he appreciates that he lacks the confidence to 'pull a Kirk'. Sam Wilson explicitly makes the same comparison regarding his own relationship with Dani, a Zeltron girl.
- Spider-Man's exaggerated reaction to someone brandishing a small knife at him is an obvious reference to a similar gag in The Amazing Spider-Man.
- As the Guardians attempt to traverse the anomaly to enter The Galaxy, one of them screams that their brains are going into their feet. The ship actually leaves a plaid trail as it passes through.
- One of the arm cannon prototypes created by Peter Parker and Scott Lang for Anakin Skywalker is the Mega Buster.
- When confronted with a Dark Acolyte, Chirrut turns the metal ends of his staff into a lightsaber.
- After Spider-Man uses his webbing to take out a group of droids at once, Anakin observes that it "only counts as one", prompting Spider-Man to protest at Anakin "pulling a Gimli".
- During the confrontation with the Geonosian Queen, even the Jedi are disturbed when Rhodey keeps making reference to the Alien films.
- The title of chapter 35 is the same as the classic horror movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
- Chapter 41 starts a "miniseries" within the story that exclusively follows the Clone Troopers, named in homage to the famous miniseries "Band of Brothers"
- During the Mandalorian crisis, as well as the canon "shout-outs" to Doctor Who ep "The End of the World" and Star Trek ep "The Trouble with Tribbles", Natasha gives a speech about a past encounter with bandits that is almost identical to Alfred's "some men want to watch the world burn" speech in The Dark Knight.
- When the Guardians join Sugi, Rumi, Embo and Seripas in protecting a Felucian farm, Quill reflects that "Kurosawa would have been annoyed by the even numbers", with the conclusion evoking the conclusion of The Magnificent Seven. Later, Quill compares the transforming droids to Decepticons and Autobots, which he apparently told Rocket about at some point.
- When an insect is referred to as a Weevil, Peter asks if they’re dealing with Pokémon.
- Chapter 46 opens with a Character Blog made by Peter looking at his early career as Spider-Man which references the events of Spider-Man, such as looking at the day after he was bitten, his last talk with Uncle Ben, and his brief appearance in a wrestling ring, all of which are variations of the events of that first film. Peter later repeats his feat from the comic “Master Planner” arc of lifting a heavy piece of machinery that was crushing him to retrieve a vital cure through sheer force of will.
- During Ultron's attack on Coruscant, he comments that "most people here attended the Prometheus school of running", referencing the 1-Dimensional Thinking that led to the death of Meredith Vickers in that film.
- Chapter 50:
- Steve is forced to fight as a gladiator, with Ultron and he specifically comparing the situation to Gladiator (the fighter reflecting that the film wasn't even that accurate), save that he is facing alien opponents such as Nexu or rancors.
- Chapter 51:
- When Odin introduces himself to Bucky and Celeste he says among other things “I have as many names as there are winds. As many titles as there are ways to die” which is what his counterpart from American Gods (2017) said when he revealed his identity to the protagonist.
- Chapter 54:
- During the confrontation in the Mirror Dimension, Clint Barton compares the twisted nature of the other dimension to Inception.
- Chapter 55:
- As Shuri studies the teleportation tech responsible for displacing the other Avengers, Tony explicitly compares it to a Stargate, to the extent that he wonders if someone from Hydra was a writer on the show. Wong later states that it's likely some Hydra affiliates set up the show to get more ideas about how such technology might work, although Darcy explicitly questions if he's joking about that.
- The Avengers hold an audition for new members that is near beat-for-beat to the one the Fantastic Four did in their short-lived animated series, complete with She-Hulk as the winner.
- The Avengers comparing Karness Muur with Sauron.
- Tony Stark calling post-Dormammu crazed Karness Muur "Frankenstein's Monster", as a reference to Frankenstein.
- During the final confrontation with Muur, Wong and She-Hulk use a portal to help Jennifer "charge" a punch in a similar manner to an attack used by Blink and Colossus in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
- Chapter 60:
- While on Dathomir, Wanda ends up taming and riding a pack of Kwi, aliens which resemble blue raptors, with Peter Quill experiencing a sense that he's just missed out on something that could have been a part of himself.
- When confronting Queen Zalem, Wanda channels her powers into an attack backed on the Gallick Gun from watching anime with Pietro (Dragon Ball).
- The battle between Queen Zalem and Wanda ends with Wanda pulling an Ozai in dealing with her once and for all.
- When the Avengers learn the history of Exar Kun's lightsaber after it is stolen from the Jedi archives (apparently by Ultron), Sam Wilson compares it to the One Ring (after initially comparing it to a Horcrux before they learn more about its history and the associated mythology).
- When Ultron reveals that he has converted Separatist Admiral Trench into a cybernetic state, Peter describes it as Ultron having "Borged" Trench, a reference to the Star Trek enemy the Borg.
- When the Vision first visits Glavis, he compares it to Halo, recalling seeing Sam Wilson and Pietro playing the game back on Earth.
- Comes up later on when Pietro and Peter use the Halo games as inspiration for new armor designs for the Republic, Pietro in particular taking great joy in claiming credit for the armor as they don't have to worry about copyright laws.
- After a group of Jedi and Avengers arrive on Mortis, Peter compares it to Pandora (Avatar). He is later referred to by the Father as a "totem of the web", evoking themes that featured heavily in the comic storyline Spider-Verse.
- On Spider-Man's first visit to Tatooine, he makes reference to plot elements from Dune, and is surprised to learn that "spice" is an actual drug.
- Tony Stark makes a similar Dune reference when he and the other Earth-based Avengers arrive on Coruscant.
- Chapter 76:
- When introduced to the Bad Batch by Quinlan Vos, the Avengers couldn’t help but compare Hunter, with a half painted face in camo-black and a red bandana that had a skull on its side, to Rambo.
- When making plans to break into a Sith prison under Ultron's control, Scott compares it to a Mission: Impossible-style mission.
- Chapter 77:
- As well as the obvious Borg analogies to Ultron's work (which Steve Rogers doesn't recognize), during their escape Scott compares the situation to 28 Weeks Later.
- During the battle at Ta Lo, the Earth-based Avengers, specifically White Tiger and Ghost Rider, talk about Shenron and Dragon Ball Z while meeting the Great Protector.
- When Thor demonstrates Mjolnir to the Jedi Council, his speculation about how he must at least always work for that worthiness evokes his epiphany in War of the Realms.
- Talking with Wanda about fate, Vision mentions "One can often meet their fate on the road they take to avoid it", and admits that he got that line from Kung Fu Panda (which Wanda hasn't watched yet as she thought it looked silly).
- Chapter 88:
- Peter Quill's first reaction upon seeing Asajj Ventress summoning Force Phantoms? To call the Ghostbusters. Unfortunately to him, no one in the battle understood the reference.
- In the chapter's omake, Quill and Ulysses Klaue (!) become offended when Rocket calls the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “adolescent deformed sneaky geckos”.
- When Scott knocks down a rampaging cybernetic gorilla-like creature, he declares that one is for "Adrian", likely a reference to Adrian Pennino in Rocky.
- Chapter 93:
- Ahsoka notes that the Padawans and Red Eyes are covered in mud as a means of hiding their body heat from the Ultron drones and the modified Trandoshans. This makes her think that this concept sounds familiar to her, recalling that the Avengers showed a movie where someone used mud in a similar fashion, a direct reference to the movie Predator.
- Chapter 94:
- While talking with Bo-Katan during the peace conference, Matt recalls how Foggy once told him "a kiss can be deadly if you mean it" (Batman Returns).
- Uncertain if this is a reference or not but during the Ceasefire Summit, Black Widow screams out "QUIET" in a similar vein as Raven from the original animated Teen Titans.
- Chapter 95:
- Ultron mockingly compares the isolated planet they're currently fighting on to Gilligan's Island.
- Upon spotting Morai, a Trandoshan Convor that resembles an owl, Peter asks when did they get Hedwig.
- Chapter 96:
- Sam Wilson calls Count Dooku "Saruman", much to the confusion of the former Jedi.
- During an omake featuring Thor's first meeting with Padme, a scene back on Earth has Jane insisting that she and Thor are not "on a break" and Darcy counters "Don't go all Rachel on us", a reference to the 'we were on a break' Running Gag in Friends.
- Chapter 97:
- When a group of Jedi and Avengers visit the old temple on Ossus, Peter asks to be the one to deal with the traps due to his fondness for Indiana Jones.
- The Bendu refuses to give the visiting Avengers and Jedi too many details because of "Spoilers", invoking River Song of Doctor Who.
- Chapter 98:
- After Quinlan Vos hears XoXann's rant about her identity, he responds with "Right..." in a manner evoking Mike Myers as Doctor Evil in Austin Powers.
- When Barriss emerges from a pool, Peter asks if she's "practicing [her] Little Mermaid audition."
- When Peter, Ahsoka and Barriss find an underwater cave, Peter comments that he feels like Nathan Drake (Uncharted); could also double as an Actor Allusion since Tom Holland portrayed Drake in the film adaptation.
- The way that Darth Vader is presented makes him seem like Death from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
- Anakin carries this over in the next chapter, saying that Vader isn't metaphorically, rhetorically, poetically or theoretically him. He IS him.
- Anakin's reaction to Vader's true identity is clearly meant to invoke Luke's reaction to the same in The Empire Strikes Back.
- The last line of the chapter evokes StarCraft II and its iconic trailer, as Tony proclaims, "Hell Cap, it's about time."
- Chapter 99:
- Tony Stark immediately starts dropping these when he arrives in the Galaxy Far Far Away, starting with him meeting Obi-Wan, Anakin and Aayla, who he immediately nicknames “Treebeard”, “Maverick” and “Neytiri” respectively.
- Tony also refers to Ki-Adi-Mundi as Dan Ackroyd, invoking the SNL role the actor played as in Coneheads.
- Steve's reaction to Bucky's sharing their past memories with Celeste:Steve: Did you hear stories from before I was Captain America or after?
- Hank Pym's reaction to Scott Lang's and Hope's return to Earth:
- Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Peter confront Anakin when he goes off to seek Vader again. When Anakin claims to be going for a walk, Peter says that he hopes it isn't an enthusiastic walk.
- Anakin's next battle with Vader has many references to Shirou's duel with Archer in Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]; with both combatants outright quoting the anime and even recreating critical plot points, such as Anakin obtaining some of Vader's skills and memories through their repeated clashes and resonance with each other, the same way Shirou gained some of Archer's skills and memories.
- After said battle, Anakin reflects on the outcome, quoting Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda on how despite him fighting his future self, he fears that taking the path to avoid becoming Darth Vader may have cemented it.
- Chapter 100:
- Peter's vlog is stylized and inspired in 1610!Spider-Man's opening narration in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- The two Peters' desperate effort to maintain their grasp on each other's hands during the travel via the Multiverse is highly reminiscent of Mario's and Luigi's plight on a dimensional Warp Pipe in The Super Mario Bros. Movie - except that, unlike the plumbers, they arrive together on their destination.
- Chapter 101:
- Peni Parker's Umu is akin to that same statement being used in the Fate series, playing on her trope of being an Animesque Spider-Girl.
- Old Peter calling Ultron Skynet after IW!Peter talks about dealing with a genocidal AI back in his home universe.
- When Miles accidentally activates his invisibility powers, IW!Peter asks if he pulled a Batman on him and Peter B.
- Chapter 102:
- When discussing the Force, Old Peter asks if it's similar to the Schwartz (Spaceballs).
- After talking about his marital problems with Mary Jane, Old Peter calls IW!Peter a ''Zuko'', making the Avenger asking if he has Avatar in his universe - not only Old Peter has, but Peni too.
- Chapter 103:
- IW!Peter compares Spider-Man Noir to Sam Fisher when the PI knocks down one of Kingpin's guards with a sleeper hold.
- During the final battle at the Collider, Peter Porker/Spider-Ham provokes the Green Goblin by calling him a Gremlin, much to Osborn’s annoyance.
- In the epilogue, Miguel O'Hara calls jokingly 92131!Peter a Geralt, which prompts a discussion (that includes 616!Peter) about The Witcher, since in Earth-92131, only the books were released at this time.
- Chapter 106:
- Thrawn asks Wanda “...Answer me this, which is bigger: five or one?” as reference to King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei discussion in Season 01 of Game of Thrones
- Chapter 107:
- The sole phoenix that accompanied the Avengers back from Ta Lo is named "Fawx" after "a bird from some book series that [Robbie Reyes] had never read".
- Chapter 108:
- During the clash with the Avengers, Ultron informs the team that they can "bite [his] shiny metal ass" (Futurama).
- Chapter 111:
- Tony refers to the sorcerers as the Wizards of Waverly Place, meeting with an eye-roll from Strange and amused huffs from Mordo and Celeste (Wong just gets on with opening the portals).
- Tony’s final speech to Ultron about the impossibility of achieving perfection is basically quoting Kevin Flynn’s final confrontation with Clu in TRON: Legacy.
