History HilariousInHindsight / ComicBooks

* In the parody of ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'', David Banner [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a-67spd4xMI/U9DseEQlIzI/AAAAAAAAUSg/QxP1-nbd6LA/s1600/mad+hulk+1979+ferrigno+6.png explains]], "My name is 'Bruce' in the Comic Book version! But the Producers felt it wasn't a masculine enough name for TV!" A voice coming from a television set next to him then announces, "And Jenner wins the Decathlon!! BRUCE is the WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE!" The panel added an additional level of irony in 2015 when Bruce Jenner announced that he was {{transgender}} and transitioning to female.

[[AC: Creator/MarvelComics]]
* If only one of them wasn't spoileriffic as hell, [[http://www.comicvine.com/images/1300-1709233/ these]] [[http://www.comicvine.com/images/1300-120310/ three]] [[http://www.comicvine.com/images/1300-123107/ "Homage]] [[HomageShot Covers"]] would be the perfect image for this page because ''[[ComicBook/OneMoreDay they all]] [[ComicBook/RedHulk are canon]] [[ComicBook/{{Thor 2014}} now]].'' Other examples include:
** Issue #58 of the second run of ''ComicBook/WhatIf'', released in 1994, asked the question of what would have happened if the Punisher had killed Spider-Man. One splash page of the issue shows a montage of big name Marvel superheroes with ties to Spider-Man beating the crap out of the Punisher. This was released only one year before Creator/GarthEnnis's ''Comicbook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse''.
** What If? #9 features the fifties Avengers, who readers know better as the ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas... minus 3-D Man, because he wasn't really from the fifties. This might actually be the closest to Marvel Canon that a What If? story ever got, especially considering Jeff Parker admitted the genesis of that book was Mark Paniccia literally asking him to check out the issue of What If in question.
** The very first issue of ''What If...?'' asked "What If Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four?"; since then, this has actually happened not once, but ''twice'' in 616 continuity - Spidey was a member of the short-lived New Fantastic Four, and later a member of the proper team in place of his then-dead friend Johnny Storm.
*** Moreover, ''What If...?'' #30's premise was "What If Spider-Man's Clone had not died?", based on a then-recent story arc. Then in the 90s, the idea was revisited in earnest in the infamous ComicBook/TheCloneSaga.
** Similarly, issue #51 of volume 2 was "What If the Punisher became Captain America?", which later became an actual ''Punisher: War Journal'' storyline in 2007. Granted, he was never ''officially'' Cap, but this was before ComicBook/BuckyBarnes stepped into the role, meaning he was effectively the closest thing to the real deal out there.
*** Speaking of Bucky, there's an issue of the first volume ("What If Captain America & Bucky had not disappeared at the end of World War II") where at one point, he takes up the Captain America mantle to replace an aging Steve Rogers. That's right, Bucky was Cap a good 31 years before he takes up the identity in the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
*** An issue of ''ComicBook/TheInvadersMarvel'' from the 70's had a scene where Bucky makes a joke about going through an identity crisis. This was years before readers found out he'd been {{Brainwashed}} and transformed into a murderous Soviet assassin.
** Issue #9 of the second volume asked "What If the New X-Men had died on their very first mission?" ''X-Men: Deadly Genesis'' would reveal that this is ''exactly'' what actually happened, because Professor X had gathered a new team to save the originals from Krakoa ''before'' the more familiar "All-New, All-Different" guys.
** Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian, when he was a part of the Marvel Universe, had not one, but two What Ifs exploring the idea of him popping up in modern times, with the second one ending with Conan considering the idea of joining the Avengers. Wait, did we say ''was'' part of the Marvel Universe? Sorry, we meant IS - because not only is Conan back with Marvel, not only is he in modern times, but he just so happens to have joined the ''ComicBook/SavageAvengers''!
** Much like the Geoff Johns example in the DC section, "What If?" Issue #32 featured a letter page full of What If ideas from fans, some examples being "[[ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen What if Cyclops had gained the power of the phoenix]]?", "What if Comicbook/{{Dazzler}} joined the X-Men?", "What if ComicBook/MaryJane had accepted Peter Parker's marriage proposal?", "What if Magneto had formed the new X-Men to battle [[ComicBook/XFactor the old]]?" and "What if Toro had not died in ''ComicBook/SubMariner'' #14?", all of which came true in some way, shape or form.
* ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: ComicBook/TheAvengers'' opens with a story about the U.S. Government wanting to replace the Avengers with a new automated defense system run by an artificial intelligence named ComicBook/{{Ultron}}. ComicBook/IronMan is the first to point out that [[AIIsACrapshoot this sort of thing never works]], commenting that if it did, he'd just make his suit do the job by itself. In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', it's Tony who creates Ultron with the express purpose of replacing the Avengers as the Earth's defense system, and it naturally doesn't work. The movie also introduced the Iron Legion, an entire squad of automated armors created by Tony.
* ComicBook/IncredibleHulk #418 featured Marlo selling her soul to Mephisto (she thought it was just a dream) in order to have a perfect wedding day. Over a decade later ''Spider-Man: One More Day'' comes out, a story which involves Mephisto convincing Peter Parker to sell his ''marriage'' to him.
* The original Incredible Hulk comic declared, as General Ross named the Hulk, that it was a name that was destined to become immortal. Fast forward decades later, and Hulk's latest title is... ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk''.
* Creator/StanLee, in the epilogue of ''Origins of Marvel Comics'', briefly refers to the stories contained therein - the very beginnings of Marvel comics - as "[[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Phase One]]".
* The Marvel humor Comic ''What The?'' did a Franchise/{{Batman}} parody where all the actors playing Batman's villains were being killed. Near the end it is revealed that everyone in Hollywood is afraid to work with him, including Creator/MichaelCaine, who would go on to play Alfred in ''Film/BatmanBegins'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy and]] ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
* In ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules'' #138 ComicBook/AmadeusCho balks at Athena's suggestion that he should become the new [[LegacyCharacter Prince of Power]], pointing to his 'skinny girl arms' as the reason, and jokes that "You're going to have to bombard me with [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk gamma rays]] first or something!" Well, now that he [[ComicBook/TotallyAwesomeHulk stole Bruce Banner's gamma energy, became the new hulk]], and still remains a gamma-powered hero to this day as Brawn, who knows, maybe that conversation gave him some ideas after all.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** In ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, the introduction of Spider-Man back in 1962, the wrestler Peter defeats is called Hogan. When Creator/JohnByrne redid the origin in the late '80s, he deliberately redesigned Crusher Hogan to look like Wrestling/HulkHogan as a result of this. TheMovie later referenced this by having Macho Man Randy Savage play the wrestler, who was called Bonesaw. Macho Man and Hogan have a long past.
** With a hint of {{irony}}. During his early Spider-Man works, ''Spider-Man 2099'' writer Creator/PeterDavid, working on the advice of fellow writers and editors[[note]]Stern had quit before revealing the identity of the Goblin, he told his solution to his successor Tom [=DeFalco=] who revealed that he didn't like it, and so spun wheels on other candidates and encouraged other writers to do so[[/note]] "revealed" that Ned Leeds was the original Hobgoblin--which several fans thought was questionable given how Leeds died and the original Hobgoblin mystery writer, Creator/RogerStern, came back and revealed that it wasn't the case. [[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.peter-david/msg/4e9186e3c4855006?hl=en& David had intended Father Jennifer to be the (Green) Goblin 2099]], but it was revealed that [[spoiler: Gabriel O'Hara was Goblin 2099 (though this was later retconned to be an imposter)]]. Someone had to appreciate the irony, even if (as the link shows) David himself doesn't. [[spoiler:And much like Stern with Roderick Kingsley, Peter David did ultimately reveal that Jennifer was indeed the Goblin.]]
** There's a scene in ''Comicbook/OneMoreDay'' where Mephisto tells Spider-Man of the infinite number of alternate paths his life could have taken, and Spidey asks if there's one where he was a little girl. Years later in ''Comicbook/SpiderVerse'', at least two alternate young girl versions of Spider-Man (Penelope Parker and Peni Parker) were introduced.
** ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' was originally going to be revealed as the work of Mephisto, but it was decided that [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay it was stupid for Mephisto to get involved with Spider-Man]].
** Creator/JoeQuesada once said the Classic and ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universes meeting would be a sign that Marvel had "officially run out of ideas." The makers of ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'' didn't get this memo. Well, granted, they don't actually interact with each other, but still.
** Knowing Creator/JoeQuesada, he was, and is, wrong because ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'' was great and didn't feel stale at all.
** And then in 2012 [[FlipFlopOfGod came the]] ''ComicBook/SpiderMen'' [[http://www.comicbookresources.com/prev_img.php?disp=img&pid=1334149387 series]]. Like the above, also well-written and fun.
** As of 2015, Comicbook/MilesMorales is now officially part of the mainstream Marvel Universe alongside Peter.
** In issue #101 of ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', Peter takes a potion that was intended to remove his powers, but instead gave him two extra pairs of arms. While lamenting his situation, Peter calls himself a "Human Centipede". Forty-seven years later, Peter turned out to actually have it a lot better than the ''other'' [[Film/TheHumanCentipede Human Centipede]].
** About a decade before the Disney buyout, the first arc of ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' had a meaningful photo showing the Parker family at Disney World, complete with a young Peter wearing Mickey Mouse ears.
** Long before that, ''Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #5 featured a gag page where Spider-Man's drawn in the style of various other comic and cartoon characters that Marvel notes is what he'd look like if another company owned him, including one which portrays him as a WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse style character. Keep in mind this came out in ''1968''.
** A crossover between Miles and Comicbook/SpiderGwen had a scene where, while hopping across various alternate realities, the two briefly ended up in the Comicbook/DCUniverse, complete with a LawyerFriendlyCameo from Superman himself. Creator/BrianBendis, Miles' creator and the writer of the issue in question, jumped ship to DC the following year, where he began writing the new ''[[Comicbook/BrianMichaelBendisSuperman Superman]]'' series.
** In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #308, when Spider-Man's up in a cemetery, he sarcastically wonders if he's going to fight Film/{{Beetlejuice}}. 29 years later and [[Creator/MichaelKeaton Beetlejuice's actor]] plays the villain of [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming his next movie]].
** In the "Changes" story arc from ''Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2'' #17-20[[note]]it eventually culminates with him gaining organic web-shooters a la the Sam Raimi films[[/note]], [[https://static1.cbrimages.com/wp-content/uploads/goodcomics/2015/06/webs13.jpg one particular]] WhamShot of Peter [[spoiler:in the midst of a transformation into a giant spider]] had him uttering [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar a certain phrase that's highly familiar these days]]...
* One for the ComicBook/BlackCat. In issue 3 of her 90s miniseries, ''Felicia Hardy: The Black Cat'', [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/CLdhCbHT5RyFEvQjeHfP8u2RbGqzkcZeLixsfciy72Hli96qfUILpHshU25qBZUWOcwaObI44EJd_AGkTC0ZWrgvEGaqQnJfsX0KNJzpv92Twg8bQH7I0K3KftOnRrHNlQCorg=s0 Felicia makes the quip]], "Sorry, was "snap, crackle and pop too much of a baby boomer reference for you? ". With the rise of the "okay, boomer" meme, Felicia mocking someone for not understanding a baby boomer reference is pretty funny.
* ''Comicbook/CaptainAmerica'':
** One issue from the Steve Englehart run had a gag where a pedestrian mistook Steve Rogers for Creator/RobertRedford. Decades later, Redford would play the BigBad of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.
** In a later 70s issue, ComicBook/{{Quasar}} jokingly says he didn't know ComicBook/NickFury was black after ComicBook/TheFalcon starts barking orders. Decades later, Fury received a RaceLift in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, where he is played by Creator/SamuelLJackson.
** During Mark Gruenwald's ''Captain America'' run, Jack Monroe got into a fight with D-Man and accused him of hitting on Jack's girlfriend, despite D-Man insisting that they were just friends and that he wasn't trying anything untoward. Years later during [[Comicbook/NickSpencersCaptainAmerica Nick Spencer]]'s run, D-Man would be revealed to be gay, making Jack's reaction even more disproportionate in retrospect.
** Also during Gruenwald run, there was a scene where the government was looking up potential candidates to become the new Cap after Steve Rogers retired from the role. ComicBook/TheFalcon was briefly brought up as a candidate, but one of the politicians present shot down the idea while saying something to the effect of "The public isn't ready for a black Captain America." Not only was a mini-series dealing with a black Captain America called ''Truth: Red, White and Black'' released to controversy years later, but Sam Wilson later wound up becoming the new Cap during Rick Remender's run. And, just as predicted, plenty of controversy ensued both in-universe and in real life.
** [[http://assistanteditorsmonth.blogspot.com/2011/06/captain-america-289.html Captain America #289]] showcased a rather incoherent dream of [[LoveInterest Bernie Rosenthal]] where she was the CaptainPatriotic superhero and Steve was the helpless {{Muggle}} who had to watch his girlfriend risk her life every day. The villain of the piece was a mash-up of ComicBook/RedSkull and ComicBook/{{MODOK}} named Mo-Skull ([[BizarroEpisode it was assistant editors' month and things were weird]]). Almost four decades later, ''Captain America: The End'' saw another mashup of both villains turn the world into a zombie apocalypse, and he looked ''just'' like Mo-Skull. Neither was this the first time Red Skull was {{Fusion Dance}}d with another supervillain - see ''ComicBook/{{Axis}}''.
* In the videogame for ''{{VideoGame/Deadpool}}'', back in 2013, there was an entire mission for him to save Comicbook/{{Rogue}}. Deadpool's main motivation to save Rogue was to have her fall in love with him. After finding her, she kisses him to absorb his healing factor, weakening him enough to make him pass out. In one ''{{Comicbook/Uncanny Avengers}}'' chapter, Rogue gives Deadpool TheBigDamnKiss, after developing feelings for him, which heals him of earlier injuries. After which, they share two more big kisses, the last being cut short due to Comicbook/WonderMan awakening and being released from Rogue.
** When asked if Rogue would be in a relationship with someone other than Gambit or Magneto, WordOfGod stated that a relationship seemed to be developing for her at that moment. It's possible he was referring to Deadpool, whom Rogue started to respect as a friend and comrade. With WordOfGod also stating that they'd always planned the two becoming friends.
* A 1996 issue of ''{{ComicBook/Excalibur}}'' has Pete Wisdom, in a wheelchair and a bald cap, humorously pretending to be Professor Xavier, including a reference or two to [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean-Luc Picard]] while he's at it. Four years later, Creator/PatrickStewart was in fact cast to play Xavier in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''.
** This similarly makes the X-Men/Next Generation crossover comics/novels that much funnier, since many people pause at the resemblance between Xavier and Picard. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Storm in the novel.
** Even more hilarious, Patrick Stewart related a tale from that comic while on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' promoting ''Film/X2XMenUnited''. Apparently, he was told about the comic during its production, as well as the fact that Picard and Xavier would be "facing off" on the cover. Sir Stewart jokingly objected, claiming "If I took that role someday, I'd be on the cover twice. That just doesn't seem fair." It's good to know that Sir Patrick Stewart himself appreciates this trope.
* In issue #41 of ''ComicBook/GenerationX'', Skin went to rent a bunch of horror movies, the titles of which were parodies of classic horror movies (like ''Yell!'' instead of ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}''). But among these horror flicks was a film called ''Film/{{Sicko}}'', which nowadays makes readers think more of Creator/MichaelMoore and less of ''Film/{{Psycho}}''.
* ''Comicbook/IronMan'':
** In ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica was apologizing to Nick Fury about breaking his nose. Nick just waved it off and said, "My nose has been smashed more times than Creator/RobertDowneyJr," seemingly predicting Downey's casting as Iron Man in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
** Washed-up actor Henry Hellrung, alias Anthem, was made leader of ''The Order'', California's Initiative team, by his friend Tony Stark. Henry was famous for playing Iron Man on television, until alcoholism ruined his career. To recap, he's an actor who got fired because of issues with addiction, then came back into the fore of media attention after accepting an offer to do with Iron Man... not unlike Robert Downey, Jr. ''The Order'' ran for 10 issues in 2007; ''Film/IronMan'' came out in May 2008.
** The ''Comicbook/UncannyXMen'' tie-in to the ''Acts of Vengeance'' crossover featured Wolverine and Comicbook/JubileeMarvelComics facing off against the Mandarin, Tony Stark's usual ArchEnemy. Throughout the story, it was shown that members of the Hand and the Chinese underworld didn't respect or fear the Mandarin, with it being remarked that his public defeats at the hands of a B-grade American superhero like Iron Man made it impossible for anyone to take him seriously. This insult made sense at the time, largely due to the vast gulf in popularity that existed between the the X-Men and Iron Man during TheNineties. Modern fans, meanwhile, would probably be baffled at seeing Iron Man belittled in such a manner, as anyone who has been following American pop culture since 2008 likely thinks of Iron Man as a household name thanks to the popularity of his movies.
** Similarly, another issue in the ''Acts of Vengeance'' crossover had a scene where the Comicbook/RedSkull dismissed the Mandarin as "A poor man's Literature/FuManchu." In the 2021 ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' film, the Mandarin and Fu Manchu were made into a CompositeCharacter.
** In the 2021 volume, a caption underlines Frog-Man's perpetual D-list status by noting that he's never even had an action figure in real life. That same month, Creator/{{Hasbro}} released the first ever Frog-Man action figure as part of the Marvel Legends line.
** During the famous "Comicbook/ArmorWars" storyline, there was an issue where [[Comicbook/WarMachine Rhodey]] dressed up in [[{{Blackface}} Whiteface]] in order to pose as the villain Electro. While removing the makeup, a thoroughly embarrassed Rhodey said he hoped there weren't any black people around to see him like this. This becomes funny when you realize that in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', Electro was {{Race Lift}}ed into a black man.
* Another hilarious moment caused by Electro's RaceLift in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' comes from Mark Waid's ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'', where the character Volt complains about [[ElectricBlackGuy black men with electrical powers]] being a stereotype. At the time, this was referencing characters like ComicBook/BlackLightning and ComicBook/{{Static}}.
* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'':
** This cover of [[http://www.comics101.com/archives/comics101/images/2003/nov12/avengers221.jpg Avengers 221]] published in 1982 is amusing when you look at the original lineup for Brian Michael Bendis's Comicbook/NewAvengers published 23 years later.
** Back in ''Avengers'' #151, a news report cited Comicbook/SpiderMan, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, and [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]] as three solo heroes who had turned down offers to join the team, closing with "Some people just aren't meant for teams, it seems." All three of those characters have since had high profile stints with the team, with Spider-Man and Daredevil joining in the above-mentioned New Avengers era.
** Issue #30 opens with Comicbook/{{Quicksilver}} and Comicbook/ScarletWitch realizing that their mutant powers are beginning to wane. Quicksilver muses that it's possible the twins weren't real mutants in the first place, something that becomes funny (or HarsherInHindsight) when you take into account that their mutant heritage was retconned away during ''Comicbook/{{AXIS}}''.
** An issue from the 80's had ComicBook/AntMan claiming he and ComicBook/TheWasp had as much chance of beating Absorbing Man and Titania as Creator/StevenSpielberg had of winning an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for his directing. Fast forward to the 90's and the release of ''Film/SchindlersList'' and ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''...
** An old issue of ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' had a scene where ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} mentioned that ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} was the exact kind of loose cannon who would never be granted Avengers membership. Guess who joined the Avengers back in [[Comicbook/NewAvengers 2005]] and remained with the team for close to a decade?
** There was also a much older story where Captain America himself told Wolverine he'd never be an Avenger. This is ''such'' a prominent example of this trope that when a much later ''Deadpool'' issue featured Cap recounting this incident, Deadpool immediately burst out laughing at the irony.
** Another Hawkeye-related one; Hawkeye decided to become a hero after watching Iron Man in action and wanted to be a superhero like him. In the mid-late 2000s ''Film/IronMan'' came out, and reportedly, when Creator/JeremyRenner watched it, he wanted to play a superhero, just like Iron Man. He got his wish, how? By playing Hawkeye in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''.
** In an issue of ''Avengers Solo'', Hawkeye criticized a ''Film/DirtyHarry''-style vigilante film by saying he longed for the days when a hero could save the day without killing the bad guys. In the ''Avengers'' films, Hawkeye kills people quite liberally, and is in fact described as a "Master assassin" by Iron Man at one point.
** Hawkeye's stance against killing in general. In the original comics, he was probably one of the Avengers who was most strongly opposed to the idea of using deadly force, and was extremely shaken after he accidentally killed Egghead in self defense. Cut to ''Comicbook/{{Civil War II}}'', where he [[spoiler: murders Bruce Banner in order to save the world from the Hulk, and is even described by Banner as being one of the few Avengers who could kill someone and then live with the guilt]].
** In an issue of Creator/KurtBusiek's ''Avengers'' run, [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]] mocked D-Man and suggested that he go join the ComicBook/XMen, since they have much lower standards when it comes to recruitment. Namor later ended up joining the X-Men and played a major role in the ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'' CrisisCrossover.
** In ''Avengers'' #329, there was a scene where a member of the Avengers' support crew jokingly suggested that Jarvis and the Vision might be the same person since they're rarely seen together at the same time. ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' would eventually make Jarvis and the Vision into a CompositeCharacter, with the latter's consciousness being formed from the J.A.R.V.I.S. artificial intelligence Tony Stark had developed in the ''Iron Man'' movies.
** During the iconic "[[Comicbook/TheKangWar Kang Dynasty]]" storyline from Busiek's run, Triathlon lamented that he'd probably end up as one of those D-list Avengers nobody remembers, citing Mantis, Rage, and Deathcry as examples. While he was correct concerning himself, Mantis would later end up as one of the stars of ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.
** A major reason Marvel cancelled ''The Avengers'' and relaunched it as ''New Avengers'' was because they wanted to get rid of the "dead weight" (characters who weren't in [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy live action]] [[Film/XMenFilmSeries movies]]) and focus on their A-listers like Franchise/SpiderMan and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, with ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} and the Scott Lang version of Comicbook/AntMan specifically chosen to die because editorial thought they were worthless characters. Now, of those "dead weight" heroes, Hawkeye was one of the stars of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}, Film/AntManAndTheWasp and [[Film/CaptainMarvel2019 Carol Danvers]] have starred in successful solo films (with ''Captain Marvel'' and ''Black Panther'' both grossing over a billion dollars each, and the latter becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time), while ComicBook/TheFalcon, ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/TheVision have also appeared in the films and even gotten their own hit [[Series/WandaVision TV]] [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier shows]]. Meanwhile, Marvel began downplaying and marginalizing Wolverine and the other X-Men (including removing them from merchandise and [[ExiledFromContinuity barring them from cartoons and video games]]) due to not having their movie rights, with Spider-Man only escaping the same fate because Creator/{{Sony}} agreed to work together with Marvel to bring Spidey into the MCU after the failure of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''. What a difference a few years can make...
** In the ultimate example of just how much the notoriety of Marvel's heroes shifted between 2005 and 2018, when Marvel did an A-list relaunch of the ''Avengers'' after ''[[Comicbook/AvengersNoSurrender No Surrender]]'', it included several characters who had previously been dismissed as also-rans back when Bendis took over the series, but were now considered big deals because of the MCU.[[note]]Specifically, Black Panther and Captain Marvel.[[/note]]
** Similarly, the very first arc of the 2018 ''[[Comicbook/JasonAaronsAvengers Avengers]]'' relaunch featured all of Comicbook/TheEternals [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting unceremoniously killed off]] when the Final Host arrived on Earth. As an ''Film/{{Eternals}}'' movie was unexpectedly revealed to be in development just a short while before this issue was published, it seemed not even Marvel's publishing division seriously thought a group of C-listers like the Eternals had anything approaching cinematic potential.
* A major plot point in ''[[Comicbook/TheDefenders The Last Defenders]]'' had Comicbook/IronMan forming a new Defenders team that had almost nobody from the previous iterations of the team, and without the consent of any of the original Defenders. He defended his decision by basically suggesting the new members made for a better, more marketable team despite having no connection to the Defenders. Later in the series, Nighthawk even had a breakdown where he said that people were taking the Defenders away from him and destroying the team's rich legacy. Flash forward to 2017 and Marvel announces a new Defenders series to tie into [[Series/TheDefenders2017 the Netflix show]], which stars four popular, marketable characters with no real connection to any of the past incarnations of the team.
* Once, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} claimed, "If you looked like Ryan Reynolds crossed with a shar-pei, you'd understand!" Creator/RyanReynolds had already outed himself as a Deadpool fan and expressed interest in playing him in a movie at this point, though.
** And then he ''did'' play a ...version of Deadpool in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', as well as signing on to do an official Film/{{Deadpool 2016}} movie.
** An old solicit cast doubt on the prospect of the character dying, humorously asking if Marvel would ever kill off a character who might have a movie deal (this was when it was rumored Deadpool would be getting a spin-off from ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''). When you consider that Marvel has recently been accused of deliberately sabotaging characters whose film rights they do not own (such as the Fantastic Four and X-Men), it becomes easier to come to the conclusion "Yes. Yes they would."
** A variant cover for the first issue of ''Comicbook/UncannyAvengers'' had Deadpool listing reasons why he should be part of the group, despite lacking any real qualifications to be an Avenger. A few years later, he joined the post-''Comicbook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'' relaunch of ''Uncanny Avengers'' as an official member of the team.
* In the 1990s, Marvel published a few comic books starring Creator/{{Disney}} characters. They have since been bought by Disney.
* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'':
** In the early days, Thor, in his human guise of Dr. Donald Blake, had a romance with his nurse, Comicbook/JaneFoster. However, he kept the secret of his dual life from her, and Jane, knowing that there was some deep secret that the man she loved refused to tell her, slipped into a crippling depression that took a toll on her physical health. Donald finally snapped her out of it by transforming into Thor at her bedside to prove his love, saving her from "dying of a broken heart". Guess who got to play Jane in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse? [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Natalie Portman]].
** In one of the first issues of ''[[Comicbook/JourneyIntoMystery Thor]]'' to feature Comicbook/{{Loki}}, Jane remarks that [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Loki must be good]] since [[BeautyEqualsGoodness he's so handsome]]. Especially funny considering all of the modern fangirls insisting that [[DracoInLeatherPants Loki is redeemable]] due in no small part to him being played by the handsome and charming Creator/TomHiddleston. {{Lampshaded}} by the official Marvel Tumblr, which called the issue "the first appearance of Loki, and the first appearance of a Loki fangirl."
** Also, there was a famous storyline where Jane was given the power of an Asgardian, only to be stripped of said power after Odin decreed that she was unworthy of ever being a god. [[spoiler: This is rather amusing now that she's actually proven herself worthy of wielding {{Mjolnir}} and become the new Comicbook/{{Thor|2014}}.]]
** When Thor needed a new identity in Creator/WaltSimonson's run, Nick Fury mentioned that he'd have to settle for an apartment in Brooklyn, since "Even Comicbook/{{SHIELD}} can't find nothin' in Manhattan." With prices in Brooklyn having skyrocketed in recent years thanks to gentrification, they'd be lucky to find a place there for Thor to live nowadays.
* In ''ComicBook/MarvelYearInReview '93'', there was a fake ad for ComicBook/AlphaFlight: "We're the UsefulNotes/CanadianFootballLeague of superhero teams! (Except our best heroes don't go to the U.S. and join the Avengers)". Several years later, {{Wolverine}} joined the Avengers.
** They also had a bit where they discussed the progression of DarkerAndEdgier versions of characters, and theoretical Darker-er and Edgier-er extensions. One of them was named ComicBook/RedHulk. Later on, Red Hulk became a Hulk villain.
** There's also a ReverseFunnyAneurysm when Comicbook/USAgent and ComicBook/SpiderWoman, two American heroes, joined Omega Flight.
** Another ''Year In Review'' special had a joke about how many members of the Avengers are white males with blond hair, as well as how [[OnlySixFaces many of them look exactly alike]]. Decades later, one of the major criticisms of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse would be the overabundance of {{White Male Lead}}s.
-->The MasterRace is alive and well and comprises the core of the Avengers!
** Year In Review '92 bashed the CListFodder villain group Riders of the Storm, calling them lame and saying no one would ever bring them back. Then they ''did'' come back, only now they were the "Dark Riders". They then joked that ComicBook/{{Storm}} must have complained to management.
* In ''Marvel ComicBook/CivilWar'', shapeshifting alien Hulkling of the ComicBook/YoungAvengers replaced Hank Pym to free the anti-registration heroes. This becomes funny when ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'' reveals that the Hank Pym Hulkling replaced was himself a shapeshifting alien that had replaced Hank Pym.
** And before that in an issue of Fantastic Four, as a prank, it showed Hank Pym using an image inducer to pose as a car stealing skrull.
* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nothip.jpg This panel]] from an early ''Captain America'' comic becomes funnier after knowing what Cap does during the Civil War storyline.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'': An issue from 1980 (before Empire or Jedi came to theaters) had a letter to the editor complaining about how the writers of the comic were writing Luke and Leia out of character by proclaiming that "they're obviously in love with each other but you're writing them like they're brother and sister or something."
** One issue of the Marvel Star Wars comic, also pre-Empire, had a story about Darth Vader and Luke's father as two different people. Naturally, going off the first movie there was no reason to suspect they ''weren't'' two different people, but it's still hard to ignore.
** Much of ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'' came out between the films. After ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', they ran a storyline involving a new Imperial superweapon called the Tarkin. During a briefing, someone says to our heroes, "It answers a lot of questions we've been asking ourselves lately. Like for instance, why hasn't the Empire constructed a [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi second battle station like the Death Star]] that almost destroyed our base on Yavin?" (The writers had originally intended to depict a second Death Star, but Lucasfilm had vetoed that without explaining why.)
** The entire reason Marvel declined to publish ''Comicbook/DarkEmpire'' and gave up the license to Star Wars altogether was that they thought nobody could possibly be interested in the franchise anymore. [[CashCowFranchise Hindsight is always 20/20, huh?]]
* ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'':
** In an early issue, a character mentioned a TV series called "Agent of Comicbook/{{SHIELD}}". This was referencing ''Comicbook/NickFury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', a then-current feature in another corner of Marvel's 'verse. 49 years later, we got ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as an actual TV series. (Aw, just one letter off …)
** An issue of Creator/MarkWaid's run had [[AlternateCompanyEquivalent someone mistakenly referring to the hero]] as "Red Franchise/{{Batman}}". Cut to a few years later when it was announced that Creator/BenAffleck would be playing Batman in the ''Film/ManOfSteel'' [[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice sequel]]...
* ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'':
** The tie-in to ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' has a scene where a group of NSA employees discuss the public backlash stemming from the death of Goliath, and one of them claims that it's irrelevant since the black vote won't matter in the next presidential election anyway. [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama He was slightly off with that prediction]].
** ''Marvel Team-Up'' #100, the story that established that Black Panther and Comicbook/{{Storm}} were childhood friends, ends with a caption that's rather amusing given that they later ended up in a very [[StrangledByTheRedString controversial marriage]] that ultimately ended in divorce:
-->As friends, they may wish for more, but this is what they are, what they will remain. ''Forever''.
** In an 1960s ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' story, the titular team is teaching T'Challa how to play baseball. Fifty or so years later, Black Panther would be played by Creator/ChadwickBoseman, who played Jackie Robinson in the movie ''Film/FortyTwo''. Furthermore, that film has Robinson comment that a lot of racist baseball fans are "still fighting the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar Civil War]]". Boseman would later make his debut as Black Panther in the movie ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''.
*** Another one regarding the ''Fantastic Four'': Black Panther's first appearance in that comic has him fight the titular team. Fifty years later in ''Civil War'', Black Panther sides against Captain America (played by Creator/ChrisEvans) - a former [[Film/FantasticFour2005 Human Torch]]. After that movie opened in theatres, it was announced that Creator/MichaelBJordan, [[Film/FantasticFour2015 ANOTHER Human Torch]], would be joining the cast of ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' as ComicBook/ErikKillmonger.
*** In another Disney-related coincidence, Goliath referred to Wakanda as a "jungle version of Disneyland" in ''The Avengers'' #87, the story that recounted Black Panther's origin.
** The ''Jungle Action'' series had T'Challa fight against villains named Venomm and Lord Karnaj. Years later, ComicBook/SpiderMan got two villains with [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} similar]] [[ComicBook/{{Carnage}} names]].
* As the "One Nation Under Doom" event in the ''ComicBook/Marvel2099'' line drew to a close [[spoiler: John Herod used a clone of Captain America as a puppet to overthrow Doom with the cover story that Steve Rogers had once again been put in suspended animation in a block of ice. In ''Manifest Destiny'', we find out the real Steve Rogers's fate and as it turns out, history really did repeat itself.]]
* When ComicBook/TheInhumans first appeared in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', the ComicBook/HumanTorch initially mistook them for {{mutant}}s. This becomes funny when you consider that Marvel and Disney tried years ago to make the Inhumans into {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s for mutants, who at the time couldn't be used in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] thanks to [[ExiledFromContinuity rights issues]]. The same applies for the storyline in ''Amazing Adventures'' #9-10, which saw ComicBook/{{Magneto}} kidnap Comicbook/BlackBolt after mistaking the Inhuman king for a fellow mutant.
* During the standoff between Marvel Studios and Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox over the Fantastic Four's film rights, Marvel did a rather childish TakeThat by having {{Lawyer Friendly Cameo}}s of [[Creator/MilesTeller three]] [[Creator/KateMara of]] [[Creator/JamieBell the]] four stars of the [[Film/FantasticFour2015 ill-fated reboot]] get blown up in an issue of ''Comicbook/ThePunisher''. The only star who didn't get killed off? Creator/MichaelBJordan, who in real life, later wound up jumping ship to Marvel Studios and playing Erik Killmonger in the ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' movie. Marvel must've had some serious foresight to spare his life, huh?
* In another Disney-related coincidence, ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' #18 has a scene where ComicBook/{{the Thing}} mockingly claims that the Human Torch is a fan of ''Series/TheMickeyMouseClub'', with the Torch responding by saying Thing sent away for a Mousketeer pin.
* In the Comicbook/MarvelNOW parody ''Marvel: Now What?!'', the High Evolutionary predicted that the next CrisisCrossover would involve the heroes and villains swapping allegiances, with Stilt-Man being forced to defend the Earth from the Avengers. Then came ''ComicBook/{{Axis}}''...
* The revelation in ''Comicbook/AllNewXMen'' that ComicBook/{{Iceman}} was gay retroactively cast some older stories in a ''much different'' light:
** Fans like to joke that a CutawayGag in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' actually predicted this years in advance, as it depicted Iceman as a closeted gay man in a loveless marriage with a woman.
** The very first issue of ''X-Men'' back in 1963 had a scene where all of the other male X-Men were practically drooling over the newly-arrived Comicbook/JeanGrey, while Iceman made it clear he didn't get what all the fuss was about.
-->'''Iceman:''' A girl...big deal!
** ''Bizarre Adventures'' #27 had a black-and-white short story that opened with Bobby lovingly admiring an ice sculpture of Angel, noting how handsome and impressive it looked. Decades later in ''All-New X-Men'', the time-displaced teenage Bobby would admit to Jean that he found Angel quite attractive. It also included a scene where Bobby, while modifying one of the statues, compared himself to UsefulNotes/LeonardoDaVinci and Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti, both of whom are widely contended to have been gay by modern scholars. The ''Bizarre Adventures'' story was so heavy on unintentional {{Foreshadowing}} that it was later reprinted in ''X-Men'' #600, the issue where the adult Iceman [[ComingOutStory came out of the closet]].
** In ''[[Comicbook/TheDefenders New Defenders]]'' #131, Bobby pranked a female college student by convincing her that he and Angel were dating.
** During the 90s, Bobby got dumped by his girlfriend Opal after she got sick of being neglected. While lamenting the breakup, Bobby noted that most guys his age already had wives or girlfriends, and found his own lack of interest in Opal to be odd.
** In ''Uncanny X-Men'' #319, Bobby brought Comicbook/{{Rogue}} home to meet his parents, which ended badly due to his dad's anti-mutant bigotry. The issue read ''a lot'' like a gay man having his female friend act as a [[TheBeard beard]] in order to fool his family, an undercurrent that was possibly intentional given the way mutants are [[FantasticRacism often treated as a metaphor for oppressed minority groups]].
** In another issue, Comicbook/EmmaFrost sarcastically suggested that Iceman was not cut out to be a superhero, and would be much more comfortable pursuing his true passion: interior decorating. [[note]]For those who don't get the barb, interior decorating is a profession that is stereotypically associated with women and gay men.[[/note]] In the same encounter, Emma taunted him by creating a psychic image of his ex-girlfriend, who had this to say:
--> I was never ''really'' your girlfriend. You ''never loved'' me. You just needed me there to make you ''look'' good.
* In ''Uncanny X-Men'' #129, new villainess Emma Frost briefly admired how [[WorthyOpponent well the X-Men fought]]. The author had no way of knowing that decades later, she would join them.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'':
** [[http://rockofeternity.tumblr.com/image/99433909546 This]] {{Main/Superdickery}}-style cover given Reed becoming Doctor Doom in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe.
** The ''Ultimate'' version of the Fantastic Four was the (admittedly loose) basis for ''Film/FantasticFour2015''. Mirroring what happened to Sue and Ben post-''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'', Creator/KateMara and Creator/JamieBell, who played Sue and Ben respectively in the film, got married.
* In 1993, Marvel did a line-wide stunt where each annual introduced a brand new character. Mark Gruenwald built these guys up as the next big thing while contrasting them with ComicBook/SquirrelGirl, whom he used as an example of a new hero who likely wasn't ever gonna appear again. In the present day, Squirrel Girl remains a fan favorite and has even had her own [[ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl series]], while the vast majority of the new characters from the 1993 annuals are either dead or in ComicBookLimbo.
* Speaking of Squirrel Girl, fans have joked that [[https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/352cx6/democracy_is_for_stupid_babies_unbeatable/ this gag]] from ''Comicbook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'' accidentally predicted Comicbook/NickSpencersCaptainAmerica.
* In ''[[ComicBook/AdamWarlock Warlock]] and the Infinity Watch'' issue #34, Comicbook/{{Gamora}} accidentally punches Comicbook/{{Drax|The Destroyer}}, who responds, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supposed_to_be_my_friend.png "You're supposed to be my friend!"]] Twenty years later, Drax would [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy appear in live-action]] portrayed by [[Wrestling/{{Batista}} Dave Bautista]], who previously turned [[https://youtu.be/GRDFskVrvGI?t=1m23s the phrase]] into a meme among Wrestling/{{WWE}} fans (before reading any comics about Drax, to boot).
* ''ComicBook/NewXMen #115'' had a minor character named Comicbook/NegasonicTeenageWarhead. For years, she was never mentioned anywhere outside of [[AtrociousAlias Worst Superhero Names]] lists. Then ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}'' came out, where she was a character, and and 'Pool declared her to possess [[AwesomeMcCoolname the best name ever]].
* Disney once threatened to sue Marvel for Comicbook/HowardTheDuck's overly close resemblance to Donald Duck, and Marvel had him finding a new outfit in-universe. And to think that Marvel itself was since bought out by Disney (and a comic in 2015 even has him [[BitingTheHandHumor taking a shot at Disneyworld]]).
* In [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]]'s review of ''Comicbook/{{Ultimatum}}'', he said that Doom's plan was so stupid and full of [[GambitRoulette uncontrollable variables]] that it had to have been thought up by [[ActuallyADoombot a Doombot]]. A few years later in ''Ultimate FF'', it was indeed revealed that the Doctor Doom seen in ''Ultimatum'' was an impostor wearing Doom's armor.
* The first part of ''Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up'' #2, cover-dated June 1975, is about an oil tanker crossing the Comicbook/SubMariner's territory because the Suez Canal has been closed since 1967. When June actually came around, one of the first things to happen was the reopening of the canal.
* In a case more related to real life: UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 happened in part because people were stockpiling on comics hoping they'd be valuable - [[ArtisticLicenseEconomics in spite of the fact]] old comics were selling for such high prices in the first place only because they were extremely rare, and [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks the work made during the early 1990s]] was falling from grace heavily. Yet, as [[http://newmutants98.com one website]] shows, ''Comicbook/NewMutants'' #98 actually is sought by many more than two decades later for being the debut of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} (though the site makes clear it's probably not as rare as stuff made between the 1930s and 1970s, and thus hardly worthy of prices in the triple digits).
* In a ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' issue from 1978, Literature/ConanTheBarbarian was transported to modern day New York. A woman briefly mistook him for Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, the actor who would end up playing the character in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' several years later.
* The Infinite Gems were originally called [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Soul Gems]] in ''Marvel Premiere'', volume 1.
* In Issue 18 of ''Shogun Warriors'', the Shoguns (who are red-and-blue TransformingMecha) battle an evil HumongousMecha named Megatron. The issue was published four years before ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' was created.
* ''ComicBook/MarvelTwoInOne'':
** The first team-up with ComicBook/DoctorStrange has Comicbook/TheThing fighting a giant rat and calling it "WesternAnimation/{{Mickey|Mouse}}". 35 years later, Marvel Comics was bought by Disney.
** The first team-up with ComicBook/GhostRider is a Christmas Story titled "Silent Night… Deadly Night!" This was nine years before [[Film/SilentNightDeadlyNight the Christmas horror movie of the same name]] was released.

[[AC: Creator/DCComics]]
* The 1992 miniseries ''Lobo: Infanticide'' has a extended parody of ComicBook/ArchieComics (drawn by Archie Comics house artist Dan [=DeCarlo=]) with a teen-age Lobo dating a crazed, shaved-headed... Music/BritneySpears.
* Anyone in the old "Who's Who in DC" series. Really, pick a character who's still around, and HilarityEnsues as you see how terribly different the Franchise/DCUniverse is some 20 years later.
** You can do the same for ''The ComicBook/OfficialHandbookOfTheMarvelUniverse''. Take a look at the Book of the Dead and Inactive from the initial print and see who's still dead...
* From Amazing World of DC Comics, July 1976, describing the Great Disaster at DC Comics:
-->The pivotal time will be October, 1986 ... and in that month, the future of the world will be decided. Either the path of the Great Disaster will be taken, and civilization will fall, or the path of sanity will prevail and the Legion of Super-Heroes will emerge triumphant a thousand years later.
** That's just IWantMyJetpack, right? Well, not quite. 1986 was the turning point for UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks. And DC comics from October 1986 include ''Man of Steel #1'', which began the modern revamping of Superman, and ''Batman #400'', which was the last pre-revamp Batman. Depending on whether you think the Dark Age was a great disaster, this may be amusingly prophetic...
** And don't forget ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, which destroyed the DC Multiverse, concluded in 1986 as well.
* ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'':
** A 1997 story had the JLA take on a mad scientist who had created a "luck machine" that altered probability in his favor, letting him win the lottery, the Nobel Prize, and become President of the USA in short order. The JLA confront him in the Oval Office and destroy his device, but when reality reorders itself, the President who thanks the team isn't the right President either, and the team realizes that reality is still broken. What's so funny about this? The "wrong" President looks ''just like Sarah Palin''.
** Issue five featured Superman attending the funeral of ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} (again...), and was the only one there. When he questioned the priest about it, he was told that since Superman came back, everyone expected superheroes not to stay dead, so they'd lost interest in memorial services. The service took place in a park dedicated to fallen superheroes, and in an obvious bid to make the point that this wasn't always the case, that sometimes dead heroes stayed dead, the artist had four memorial statues in the scene: Ice, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Barry Allen (the Flash). The issue was also the debut and death of Tomorrow Woman. ''All'' of them, Rex and Tomorrow Woman included, have since come back from the dead--with Ollie being the only one whose return predated Rex's. Granted, the statues also included the members of the Justice Society who were killed by Extant during ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'', most of whom stayed dead -- expect for Hourman, who also cheated death.
** The first arc would feature the Hyperclan, during their time posing as heroes, execute several people, including what was very clearly supposed to be ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/DoctorDoom. During his brief time at Marvel, Creator/GrantMorrison wrote ''ComicBook/NewXMen'' and ''ComicBook/FantasticFour 1234''. Guess which X-Man was a key member of Morrison's X-Men team and who the BigBad of ''1234'' was.
* On the back cover of the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'' trade paperback, in which Jason Todd, the then-current Robin, was killed off, then-Batman editor Denny O'Neil jokingly said, "It would take a sleazy stunt to bring (Jason) back", though he did admit that he voted for Jason to live. In 2005, Jason was brought BackFromTheDead.
** Similar WordOfGod tripping-up occurs in the afterword to ''ComicBook/TheReturnOfBarryAllen'', a storyline in which Barry Allen does not actually return (yet). Mark Waid hyperbolically describes being driven up a bell tower with a rifle out of sheer exasperation at people asking him to bring back Barry.
-->"What is it with you people?" I screamed. "Barry is Dead! Gone! Hearsed! Why can't you let him rest honorably, in peace?"
* The Franchise/GreenLantern story arc, ComicBook/SinestroCorpsWar, features a rooftop fight with the sound effect "eepaa". The sound effect's origin? A one off gag in WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie.
-->'''Comic Book Guy''': I believe that's the sound the ComicBook/GreenLantern made when Comicbook/{{Sinestro}} threw him into a vat of acid. ''Eepaa!''
** Sadly, no vats of acid were involved.
* Creator/GeoffJohns' ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' run featured a fight between the Titans and the Justice League, with ComicBook/GreenLantern (John Stewart) sarcastically proclaiming "And people ask why there's no 'Teen Lantern.'" A Teen Lantern would eventually be introduced in the 2019 relaunch of ''Comicbook/{{Young Justice|2019}}''.
* The New Teen Titans at one point were forced to sell out for cash, with one of the licensed properties created from this being a 'Teeny Titans' SpinoffBabies show. The Titans recoil in horror upon seeing this slapstick comedy show with their faces on it. The concept would be revisited in serious fashion twice, first with ''Tiny Titans'' and then with the cartoon show ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', the latter of which is still a ContestedSequel to this day. One wonders if the Titans would react to it in the same manner they did with Teeny Titans...
* [[http://www.hembeck.com/Images/FredSez/BlueBeetleJLA380.jpg This panel]] from Justice League America #33. At the time, it was meant as a dig at Barbara Gordon's fate in ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', but with the events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis (Max actually does shoot ComicBook/BlueBeetle in the head) it becomes hilariously prophetic. (Perhaps justified in that ComicBook/{{Booster| Gold}} was from the future. Was he trying to subtly warn his friend without disrupting the space-time continuum?)
* [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/chuck8.jpg This]] ''Creator/ChuckNorris: Karate Kommandos'' panel states a [[MemeticBadass Chuck Norris fact]] 20 years early.
* In the 1970s Batman story "The Man Who Falls", which chronicles young Bruce Wayne's training to become Batman, Bruce meets with an FBI agent who says "we don't pull our piece much. We leave that to Efrem Zimbalist, Junior", in reference to the TV show ''F.B.I.'' which starred Creator/EfremZimbalistJr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. would later be the voice actor for Alfred Pennyworth on WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries.
* Issue 3 of ''JLA: Year One'' (written in March 1998) has a moment that seems to be intended as an in-universe Funny Aneurysm Moment, due to being set in the past; ComicBook/TheFlash (Barry Allen) and Franchise/GreenLantern (Hal Jordan) have a heart-to-heart conversation about the life expectancies of superheroes, which ends with Hal assuring Barry that "I predict we'll both live to a ripe old age". At that point in continuity, both Hal and Barry were dead. However, these days that moment has reversed into Hilarious (and {{Heartwarming|InHindsight}}) in Hindsight due to both having been brought back from the dead throughout the 2000's.
* In the "World's Finest" where ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} (Tim Drake) and ComicBook/{{Superboy}} (Kon-El) first meet, Superboy wisecracks that even with the costume, he knew it wasn't one of the legendary Flying Graysons. Guess which Robin was made into a contemporary of Superboy in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' cartoon?
** Speaking of Tim and costumes, DC once released a book about Bruce Wayne's costume designs for him and his team (''Knight Gallery''). Tim's section 2 entries stating "yeah, cape-wings are stupid". Cue the ComicBook/{{New 52}} reboot, and just guess what Tim is now wearing (and everyone is making fun of)...
* ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'' features a GenderBender FTM in later issues who bears a striking resemblance to Chris Crocker.
* [[http://www.milesteves.com/gallery/v/ILLUSTRATION/batman+and+robin/Robin+front.jpg.html This]] rejected Robin design from the camptastic ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' looks very similar to the ComicBook/{{New 52}} Reboot's ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} suit, minus the belt and the nipples.
* In Messner-Loebs's run on ''ComicBook/TheFlash'', there were several references to T. O. Morrow being stricken with depression after seeing something unspecified and horrible in the future. 15-20 years of canon developments and potential things for a reader to dislike later...
* Back when ComicBook/TwoFace was still known as Harvey Kent, the editors decided to give him a happy ending, and his face was restored by a doctor. And the doctor's name? Ekhart. In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Creator/AaronEckhart would play Harvey Dent.
* Some older comics contain fan letters from one Geoffrey Johns, who had suggestions like "What if Superboy's DNA was half Lex Luthor?" and "Could you do another story with [dead at the time] Professor Zoom?" He got responses like "Sorry, in the time since you sent your letter the other half's been revealed as Paul Westfield" and "Sorry, Professor Zoom's dead and we're cutting back on time travel stories." Then [[Creator/GeoffJohns he grew up]] and [[RunningTheAsylum made his dreams come true]].
* The second issue of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''Comicbook/AnimalMan'' run has a scene where Buddy runs into a teenager in LA named "Jaime", who collects autographs from famous superheroes. When he opens up his autograph book to try to get Buddy to sign it, the first visible page reads, "''To my good friend Jaime'' - The ComicBook/BlueBeetle". That issue came out about 18 years before a teenager named Jaime Reyes officially became the third ComicBook/BlueBeetle in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''.
** The fact that Jaime Reyes is depicted as an AscendedFanboy in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' makes this even funnier.
* The Marvel Comics character Comicbook/BlackCat is often called a rip-off of ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}. At one point, Creator/AnneHathaway was set to play a [[InNameOnly heavily modified]] version of Black Cat in the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen fourth]] ''[[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Spider-Man]]'' movie, but the film was never made. The big superhero movie role Hathaway did end up playing years later? Catwoman, a.k.a. Selina Kyle, in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
* In the ''ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} the Terminator'' tie-in with the ''[[Comicbook/TeenTitans Titans]] $ellout $pecial'', a toy company is producing a Deathstroke action figure set, including "Wintergreen: Friend from Down Under!" When one of the execs points out Wintergreen's British, they're told that Australia is cooler. In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', not only is Wintergreen an Australian, so is Slade himself!
* In a ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' issue from 2002, Comicbook/PlasticMan compared himself to [[Music/{{Beyonce}} Beyoncé]] (who was still a member of Music/DestinysChild at the time, and had yet to release her first solo album) by claiming they were both "worthless" on their own. Beyoncé would go on to become an iconic global superstar who is still releasing hit records over a decade after Destiny's Child broke up, which makes Plastic Man's joke read like an example of the sarcastic ItWillNeverCatchOn trope in retrospect.
* In an old issue of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', ComicBook/BoosterGold and ComicBook/BlueBeetle tried to recruit new members for the JLI, but met with failure at every turn. Eventually, the two suggested that they get Congorilla to join the League in a very derisive "We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel" way. Decades later, Congorilla did actually join the team in the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueCryForJustice'' series.
* In the ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' parody of the 1966 ''Series/Batman1966'' TV show, the villain who's been trying to kill Batman turns out to be Robin in disguise. Fast-forward 35 years to Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'', where the maniac posing as the new ComicBook/TheJoker, who's been taking out heroes left and right turns out to be...Dick Grayson.
* Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/CaptainAmerica [[IntercontinuityCrossover have]] [[ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica met up]] [[ComicBook/MarvelVersusDC more than]] [[ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse a few]] [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers times]], which makes it somewhat amusing now that they've also happened to recently share [[Creator/RogerCraigSmith the same voice actor]] in [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins respective]] [[WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble works]].
** During the JLA/Avengers crossover, Captain America sees the Jason Todd costume hanging in the Batcave and is reminded of the death of Bucky. Both Bucky and Jason Todd would be resurrected in the exact same year.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' arc "Shaman", Batman ambushes a group of thugs in a drug deal and interrogates the last one, saying "So if you don't tell me every little thing I might want to know, you'll be going to jail in a baggie. Believe it." "Believe it" would go on to become the catchphrase of the title character of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', establishing an amusing connection.
* In the second season of ''Anime/TheBigO'', Alan Opperheimer voiced Norman Burg, an {{Expy}} of Alfred; In ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'', Creator/TravisWillingham voiced the Comicbook/SquadronSupreme's resident Superman expy Hyperion; and in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'', Creator/SteveBlum voiced Vilgax, an expy of Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}. Guess who got to voice the characters said expies were based on in, respectively, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'', ''VideoGame/LegoBatman 2: DC Super Heroes'', and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar''.
** Psyphon, Vilgax's [[TheDragon Dragon]] and an expy of Desaad, was voiced by Creator/DeeBradleyBaker? Guess who voiced Desaad in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''.
* In an issue of Justice League Task Force, Maxima expresses confusion at the idea of same-sex relationships. The ComicBook/New52 Supergirl reimagined Maxima as a lesbian.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** [[http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Action_Comics_Vol_1_317 This]] comic, depicting Superman's face turning various colours from different emotions. Including [[Franchise/GreenLantern "yellow from fear".]]
** During [[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsActionComics Grant Morrison's run]] on ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', there was a one-shot issue about an AlternateUniverse version of Superman who literally began life as a comic character. In the story, it's stated that the corporation that owned Superman made him DarkerAndEdgier to [[WereStillRelevantDammit appeal to a modern audience]], thus missing the entire point of the character. Then ''Film/ManOfSteel'' came out the following year, with one of the major complaints being that WB had tried too hard to make Superman DarkerAndEdgier, to the point that he [[spoiler: killed General Zod]].
** Then-current ''Adventures of Superman'' writer Jerry Ordway would often say "Let's just kill 'im!" whenever the Superman writing team are stuck on ideas. When their proposed "Superman marries Lois Lane" story arc was temporarily shelved to avoid conflict with the ''[[Series/LoisAndClark Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman]]'' TV series (which also planned to marry Superman and Lois in a future episode), Ordway, at the next meeting, said, "Let's just kill 'im!" The end result was ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman''.
** From ''ComicBook/TheSupermanAdventures'', the title "Jimmy Olsen vs. Darkseid", come ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'', when Jimmy does briefly have a battle with the lord of Apokolips.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' Vol. 1 #162, Clark wakes up one night, looks out the window, and exclaims, "'''Good grief!''' The '''Aurora Borealis[=--=]''' the '''northern''' lights[=--=] ... appearing in the[=--=] '''west!?'''" This was decades before [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E2122ShortFilmsAboutSpringfield another character got baffled by the idea of the Aurora Borealis appearing in an unusual location]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** In ''Action Comics #270'' (1960), Superman dreams he has travelled to the future, and Linda Lee works as a reporter in the Daily Planet. Linda never was a reporter in the comics, but in 2016 she became one in ''[[Series/Supergirl2015 her live-action show]]''.
** Linda Danvers worked for San Francisco news station KSF-TV in the 1971-1972 period. Some years later a real life San Francisco TV station with call letters similar to the one in the Supergirl comics was started. The station is KTSF-TV, channel 26. It is an independent station broadcasting mostly in Chinese, serving the Chinese community there.
** In ''ComicBook/Supergirl1982'' 2 #17, Linda thinks about adding glasses to her disguise [[http://www.cbr.com/and-of-course-how-supergirl-changed-her-hair-from-blonde-to-brunette-and-back-again/ but discards the idea]]. Flash-forward several years and her disguises usually include glasses.
** Creator/{{Seanbaby}} joked about [[http://www.seanbaby.com/superfriends/supermanc.htm rainbow Kryptonite that turns Superman gay]]. Later on, ''ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns'' would introduce pink Kryptonite, which reverses nearby Kryptonians' sexual orientations.
* Website/DeviantArt user [=CrimsonHorror=] made a [[http://crimsonhorror.deviantart.com/art/Too-Many-165246295 gag comic about Batman trying to adopt a dozen or so Robins at once]]. Cue ComicBook/RobinWar.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'' was introduced as a love interest of Batman as a way of [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday combating accusations of him being gay.]] The character would eventually be reinvented as a lesbian, with the express purpose of creating an AffirmativeActionLegacy.
* "National Comics #18" depicted ComicBook/{{Freedom Fighters|DC}} Uncle Sam defending Pearl Harbor from an air assault. It was released a ''month'' before the real attack on Pearl Harbor.
* The first arc of ''Batman: Shadow of the Bat'', "The Last Arkham", features the debut of Arkham Asylum director Jeremiah Arkham and the title presumably refers to him. Come 2018 and we learn he isn't the last Arkham as [[spoiler:the ComicBook/DCRebirth version of [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight the Arkham Knight]] is revealed to be [[SamusIsAGirl Jeremiah's daughter, Astrid]].]]
* In ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', one of the Earths described in ''The Multiversity Guidebook'' was Earth-44, which is home to {{composite|Character}}s of the ComicBook/MetalMen and the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}. Created by Doc Tornado (Doc Magnus plus ComicBook/RedTornado), the team consists of Gold Franchise/{{Superman}}, Iron Franchise/{{Batman}}, Platinum Franchise/WonderWoman, Lead ComicBook/GreenArrow, Mercury [[Franchise/TheFlash Flash]], Tin ComicBook/ElongatedMan, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Nth Metal]] ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}. In 2019, a twelve-issue ''Metal Man'' maxi-series was announced, featuring a new Metal Man made of Nth metal.
* Rag Morales admitted in the collected edition of ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'' to model ComicBook/ElongatedMan on Creator/DannyKaye. Come the revival of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', in addition to replacing Creator/MiguelFerrer as Vandal Savage, another [[Creator/DavidKaye D. Kaye]] would voice Ralph.
* ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'':
** In the "With a Vengeance Arc", Batman and Superman take on the Maximums, a team of alternate-reality superheroes who are all obviously based on Marvel's ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. Not long afterwards, Loeb actually ended up ''writing'' for ''The Ultimates'' (though given both the fact that ''The Ultimates 3'' and ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'' were the start of a DorkAge for ComicBook/UltimateMarvel and it being due to Loeb's CreatorBreakdown after his son's passing, this might be a case of HarsherInHindsight for some).
** During Supergirl's debut, Superman, annoyed by Batman and Wonder Woman's hesitance to go after Kara, unintentionally offended them by bringing up [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Jason Todd]] and [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna Troy]], both of whom were dead at the time. A year later, as part of the lead-up to ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Jason and Donna came back.
* [[http://cinemassacre.com/2011/06/19/childhood-comics-the-angry-batman/ Here]] is [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd James Rolfe's]] "Angry Batman" comic, which was created in the early 2000s. Not too far off from what Creator/FrankMiller would give us [[ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder years later]].
* Later on, James Rolfe & Mike Matei themselves would appear in an issue of the TMNT/Batman crossover comic book series on a panel in which Michaelangelo runs into a pizza shop screaming, "Everybody run! There's a crazy guy in a bat suit trying to kill us!". [[https://external-preview.redd.it/Pf2GWokbWIid_KYaLxugOA7rrFcipytFTbYAZyNFIuk.jpg?auto=webp&s=4b7fc3b0c4a5e8f8a59223c8f43408a6a938921d We've come full circle.]]

'' HilariousInHindsight/AmalgamUniverse ''

** Issue five featured Superman attending the funeral of ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} (again...), and was the only one there. When he questioned the priest about it, he was told that since Superman came back, everyone expected superheroes not to stay dead, so they'd lost interest in memorial services. The service took place in a park dedicated to fallen superheroes, and in an obvious bid to make the point that this wasn't always the case, that sometimes dead heroes stayed dead, the artist had four memorial statues in the scene: Ice, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Barry Allen (the Flash). The issue was also the debut and death of Tomorrow Woman. ''All'' of them, Rex and Tomorrow Woman included, have since come back from the dead--with Ollie being the only one whose return predated Rex's. Granted, the statues also included the members of the Justice Society who were killed by Extant, most of whom stayed dead -- expect for Hourman, who also cheat death.

** A major reason Marvel cancelled ''The Avengers'' and relaunched it as ''New Avengers'' was because they wanted to get rid of the "dead weight" (characters who weren't in [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy live action]] [[Film/XMenFilmSeries movies]]) and focus on their A-listers like Franchise/SpiderMan and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, with ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} and the Scott Lang version of Comicbook/AntMan specifically chosen to die because editorial thought they were worthless characters. Now, of those "dead weight" heroes, Hawkeye was one of the stars of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}, Film/AntManAndTheWasp and [[Film/CaptainMarvel2019 Carol Danvers]] have starred in successful solo films (with ''Captain Marvel'' and ''Black Panther'' both grossing over a billion dollars each, and the latter becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time), while ComicBook/TheFalcon, ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/TheVision have also appeared in the films and even gotten their own TV shows. Meanwhile, Marvel began downplaying and marginalizing Wolverine and the other X-Men (including removing them from merchandise and [[ExiledFromContinuity barring them from cartoons and video games]]) due to not having their movie rights, with Spider-Man only escaping the same fate because Creator/{{Sony}} agreed to work together with Marvel to bring Spidey into the MCU after the failure of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''. What a difference a few years can make...

** Similarly, the very first arc of the 2018 ''[[Comicbook/JasonAaronsAvengers Avengers]]'' relaunch featured all of Comicbook/TheEternals [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting unceremoniously killed off]] by when the Final Host arrived on Earth. As an ''Film/{{Eternals}}'' movie was unexpectedly revealed to be in development just a short while before this issue was published, it seemed not even Marvel's publishing division seriously thought a group of C-listers like the Eternals had anything approaching cinematic potential.

** Similarly, the very first arc of the 2018 ''[[Comicbook/JasonAaronsAvengers Avengers]]'' relaunch featured all of Comicbook/TheEternals [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting unceremoniously killed off]] by the Final Host. As an ''Eternals'' movie was unexpectedly revealed to be in development just a short while before this issue was published, it seemed not even Marvel's publishing division seriously thought a group of C-listers like the Eternals had anything approaching cinematic potential.

** The first team-up with ComicBook/DoctorStrange has the Thing fighting a giant rat and calling it "WesternAnimation/{{Mickey|Mouse}}". 35 years later, Marvel Comics was bought by Disney.

** There's also a ReverseFunnyAneurysm when US Agent and ComicBook/SpiderWoman, two American heroes, joined Omega Flight.

** Similarly, the very first arc of the 2018 ''Avengers'' relaunch featured all of Comicbook/TheEternals [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting unceremoniously killed off]] by the Final Host. As an ''Eternals'' movie was unexpectedly revealed to be in development just a short while before this issue was published, it seemed not even Marvel's publishing division seriously thought a group of C-listers like the Eternals had anything approaching cinematic potential.

*** Speaking of Bucky, there's an issue of the first volume ("What If Captain America & Bucky had not disappeared at the end of World War II") where at one point, he takes up the Captain America mantle to replace an aging Steve Rogers. That's right, Bucky was Cap a good 31 years before he takes up the identity in the main MarvelUniverse.
*** An issue of ''Comicbook/TheInvadersComicBook'' from the 70's had a scene where Bucky makes a joke about going through an identity crisis. This was years before readers found out he'd been {{Brainwashed}} and transformed into a murderous Soviet assassin.

*** An issue of ''Comicbook/TheInvaders'' from the 70's had a scene where Bucky makes a joke about going through an identity crisis. This was years before readers found out he'd been {{Brainwashed}} and transformed into a murderous Soviet assassin.

HilariousInHindsight/AmalgamUniverse

HilariousInHindsight/AmalgamComics

HilariousInHindsight/AmalgamConics

* "National Comics #18" depicted [[ComicBook/FreedomFighters Uncle Sam]] defending Pearl Harbor from an air assault. It was released a ''month'' before the real attack on Pearl Harbor.

** The ''Comicbook/UncannyXMen'' tie-in to the ''Acts of Vengeance'' crossover featured Wolverine and Comicbook/{{Jubilee}} facing off against the Mandarin, Tony Stark's usual ArchEnemy. Throughout the story, it was shown that members of the Hand and the Chinese underworld didn't respect or fear the Mandarin, with it being remarked that his public defeats at the hands of a B-grade American superhero like Iron Man made it impossible for anyone to take him seriously. This insult made sense at the time, largely due to the vast gulf in popularity that existed between the the X-Men and Iron Man during TheNineties. Modern fans, meanwhile, would probably be baffled at seeing Iron Man belittled in such a manner, as anyone who has been following American pop culture since 2008 likely thinks of Iron Man as a household name thanks to the popularity of his movies.

** And speaking of Batman, in Marvel Team-Up Annual #4, Daredevil enters police offices through a window to talk with a police lieutenant and just as the lieutenant in question turns around to thank him for his help, he's [[StealthHiBye nowhere to be found]]. Then, the lieutenant yells "Blast him! He always does that to me!" If this sounds familiar, keep in mind the story was published back in 1981, and it would be many years before [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Jim Gordon would endure the same indignity]].

** About a decade before the Disney buyout, the first arc of ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan'' had a meaningful photo showing the Parker family at Disney World, complete with a young Peter wearing Mickey Mouse ears.

* ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'':

*** Another one regarding the ''Fantastic Four'': Black Panther's first appearance in that comic has him fight the titular team. Fifty years later in ''Civil War'', Black Panther sides against Captain America (played by Creator/ChrisEvans) - a former [[Film/FantasticFour2005 Human Torch]]. After that movie opened in theatres, it was announced that Creator/MichaelBJordan, [[Film/FantasticFour2015 ANOTHER Human Torch]], would be joining the cast of ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' as Comicbook/ErikKillmonger.

* When ComicBook/TheInhumans first appeared in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', the Human Torch initially mistook them for {{mutant}}s. This becomes funny when you consider that Marvel and Disney have been trying to make the Inhumans into {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s for mutants, who can't be used in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] thanks to [[ExiledFromContinuity rights issues]]. The same applies for the storyline in ''Amazing Adventures'' #9-10, which saw Comicbook/{{Magneto}} kidnap Comicbook/BlackBolt after mistaking the Inhuman king for a fellow mutant.

* In another Disney-related coincidence, ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' #18 has a scene where the Thing mockingly claims that the Human Torch is a fan of ''Series/TheMickeyMouseClub'', with the Torch responding by saying Thing sent away for a Mousketeer pin.
* In the Comicbook/MarvelNOW parody ''Marvel: Now What?!'', the High Evolutionary predicted that the next CrisisCrossover would involve the heroes and villains swapping allegiances, with Stilt-Man being forced to defend the Earth from the Avengers. Then came ''Comicbook/{{Axis}}''...
* The revelation in ''Comicbook/AllNewXMen'' that Comicbook/{{Iceman}} was gay retroactively cast some older stories in a ''much different'' light:

* In a ''Comicbook/WhatIf'' issue from 1978, Literature/ConanTheBarbarian was transported to modern day New York. A woman briefly mistook him for Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, the actor who would end up playing the character in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' several years later.

* In the second season of ''Anime/TheBigO'', Alan Opperheimer voiced Norman Burg, an {{Expy}} of Alfred; In ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'', Creator/TravisWillingham voiced the Comicbook/SquadronSupreme's resident Superman expy Hyperion; and in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'', Creator/SteveBlum voiced Vilgax, an expy of Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}. Guess who got to voice the characters said expies were based on in, respectively, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'', ''[[VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes]]'', and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar''.

** In ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' Vol. 1 #162, Clark wakes up one night, looks out the window, and exclaims, "'''Good grief!''' The '''Aurora Borealis[=--=]''' the '''northern''' lights[=--=] ... appearing in the[=--=] '''west!?'''" This was decades before [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons another character got baffled by the idea of the Aurora Borealis appearing in an unusual location]].

** In ''Action Comics #270'' (1960), Superman dreams he has travelled to the future, and Linda Lee works as a reporter in the Daily Planet. Linda never was a reporter in the comics, but in 2016 she became one in ''[[Series/Supergirl2015 her Live-Action show]]''.

** Similarly, another issue in the ''Acts of Vengeance'' crossover had a scene where the Comicbook/RedSkull dismissed the Mandarin as "A poor man's Literature/FuManchu." In the 2021 ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' film, the Mandarin and Fu Manchu were made into a CompositeCharacter.

** Also during Gruenwald run, there was a scene where the government was looking up potential candidates to become the new Cap after Steve Rogers retired from the role. ComicBook/TheFalcon was briefly brought up as a candidate, but one of the politicians present shot down the idea while saying something to the effect of "The public isn't ready for a black Captain America". Not only was a mini-series dealing with a black Captain America called ''Truth: Red, White and Black'' released to controversy years later, but Sam later wound up becoming the new Cap during Rick Remender's run. And, just as predicted, plenty of controversy ensued both in-universe and in real life.
** [[http://assistanteditorsmonth.blogspot.com/2011/06/captain-america-289.html Captain America #289]] showcased a rather incoherent dream of [[LoveInterest Bernie Rosenthal]] where she was the CaptainPatriotic superhero and Steve was the helpless {{Muggle}} who had to watch his girlfriend risk her life every day. The villain of the piece was a mash-up of ComicBook/RedSkull and ComicBook/{{Modok}} named Mo-Skull ([[BizarroEpisode it was assistant editors' month and things were weird]]). Almost four decades later, ComicBook/CaptainAmericaTheEnd saw another mashup of both villains turn the world into a zombie apocalypse, and he looked ''just'' like Mo-Skull. Neither was this the first time Red Skull was {{Fusion Dance}}d with another supervillain - see ''ComicBook/{{Axis}}''.

** Even more hilarious now that [[http://www.newsarama.com/21624-tom-brevoort-on-the-new-captain-america-this-decision-was-incredibly-easy.html Falcon did indeed get to be the new Captain America]]!

* Speaking of Squirrel Girl, fans have joked that [[http://i.imgur.com/fdnJDbG.png this gag]] from ''Comicbook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'' accidentally predicted Comicbook/NickSpencersCaptainAmerica.

* [[http://assistanteditorsmonth.blogspot.com/2011/06/captain-america-289.html Captain America #289]] showcased a rather incoherent dream of [[LoveInterest Bernie Rosenthal]] where she was the CaptainPatriotic superhero and Steve was the helpless {{Muggle}} who had to watch his girlfriend risk her life every day. The villain of the piece was a mash-up of ComicBook/RedSkull and ComicBook/{{Modok}} named Mo-Skull ([[BizarroEpisode it was assistant editors' month and things were weird]]). Almost four decades later, ComicBook/CaptainAmericaTheEnd saw another mashup of both villains turn the world into a zombie apocalypse, and he looked ''just'' like Mo-Skull. Neither was this the first time Red Skull was {{Fusion Dance}}d with another supervillain - see ''ComicBook/{{Axis}}''.

** Speaking of which, during Mark Gruenwald's ''Captain America'' run, Jack Monroe got into a fight with D-Man and accused him of hitting on Jack's girlfriend, despite D-Man insisting that they were just friends and that he wasn't trying anything untoward. Years later during [[Comicbook/NickSpencersCaptainAmerica Nick Spencer]]'s run, D-Man would be revealed to be gay, making Jack's reaction even more disproportionate in retrospect.

** During the iconic "Kang Dynasty" storyline from Busiek's run, Triathlon lamented that he'd probably end up as one of those D-list Avengers nobody remembers, citing Mantis, Rage, and Deathcry as examples. While he was correct concerning himself, Mantis would later end up as one of the stars of ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.

* In a 70's issue of ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'', ComicBook/{{Quasar}} jokingly says he didn't know ComicBook/NickFury was black after ComicBook/TheFalcon starts barking orders. Decades later, Fury received a RaceLift in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, where he is played by Creator/SamuelLJackson.

* During Mark Gruenwald's historic ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' run, there was a scene where the government was looking up potential candidates to become the new Cap after Steve Rogers retired from the role. ComicBook/TheFalcon was briefly brought up as a candidate, but one of the politicians present shot down the idea while saying something to the effect of "The public isn't ready for a black Captain America". When you realize the controversy around the later ''Truth: Red, White, & Black'' series (which established there WAS indeed a black Captain America), you can't help but feel that maybe the politician was (sadly) onto something...
** Even more hilarious now that [[http://www.newsarama.com/21624-tom-brevoort-on-the-new-captain-america-this-decision-was-incredibly-easy.html Falcon did indeed get to be the new Captain America]]!

* In issue #41 of ''ComicBook/GenerationX'', Skin went to rent a bunch of horror movies, the titles of which were parodies of classic horror movies (like ''Yell!'' instead of ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}''. But among these horror flicks was a film called ''Film/{{Sicko}}'', which nowadays makes readers think more of Creator/MichaelMoore and less of ''Film/{{Psycho}}''.

** Much like the Geoff Johns example in the DC section, "What If?" Issue #32 featured a letter page full of What If ideas from fans, some examples being "[[ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen What if Cyclops had gained the power of the phoenix]]?", "What if Comicbook/{{Dazzler}} joined the X-Men?", "What if ComicBook/MaryJane had accepted Peter Parker's marriage proposal?", "What if Magneto had formed the new X-men to battle [[ComicBook/XFactor the old]]?" and "What if Toro had not died in ''ComicBook/SubMariner'' #14?", all of which came true in some way, shape or form.

* ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: ComicBook/TheAvengers'' opens with a story about the U.S. Government wanting to replace the avengers with a new automated defense system run by an artificial intelligence named ComicBook/{{Ultron}}. ComicBook/IronMan is the first to point out that [[AIIsACrapshoot this sort of thing never works]], commenting that if it did, he'd just make his suit do the job by itself. In Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron, it's Tony who creates Ultron with the express purpose of replacing the Avengers as the Earth's defense system, and it naturally doesn't work. The movie also introduced the Iron Legion, an entire squad of automated armors created by Tony.

** During the infamous "Armor Wars" storyline, there was an issue where [[Comicbook/WarMachine Rhodey]] dressed up in [[{{Blackface}} Whiteface]] in order to pose as the villain Electro. While removing the makeup, a thoroughly embarrassed Rhodey said he hoped there weren't any black people around to see him like this. This becomes funny when you realize that in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', Electro was {{Race Lift}}ed into a black man.

** Issue five featured Superman attending the funeral of ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} (again...), and was the only one there. When he questioned the priest about it, he was told that since Superman came back, everyone expected superheroes not to stay dead, so they'd lost interest in memorial services. The service took place in a park dedicated to fallen superheroes, and in an obvious bid to make the point that this wasn't always the case, that sometimes dead heroes stayed dead, the artist had four memorial statues in the scene: Ice, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Barry Allen (the Flash). The issue was also the debut and death of Tomorrow Woman. ''All'' of them, Rex and Tomorrow Woman included, have since come back from the dead--with Ollie being the only one whose return predated Rex's. Granted, the statues also included the members of the Justice Society who were killed byExtant, most of whom stayed dead -- expect for Hourman, who also cheat death.

* In Issue 18 of ''Shogun Warriors'', the Shoguns (who are red-and-blue TransformingMecha) battle an evil HumungousMecha named Megatron. The issue was published four years before ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' was created.