Shout Out / Heroes of the Storm

Stop Poking Me

Abathur

• Abathur's work ethic definitely stems from Daft Punk.
  Abathur: Work harder, better. Make faster, stronger. Evolution never over.

Alexstrasza

• Alexstrasza of course has a lot of jokes based on World of Warcraft or actual quotes from it since she was an NPC in that game.
• In addition to quoting herself "Life...goes on." from World of Warcraft, she follows up by saying "It goes on, and on, and on, and on." from Journey's song "Don't Stop Believin'".
• She claims Ruby Dragons don't actually use hearthstones, because they instead click their talons together a few times to get home, like Dorothy's ruby slippers of The Wizard of Oz.
• She complains about how she can't say a "Life, uh, finds a way." joke because Dehaka was there first.
• She describes as life being many things, even strange, but not a highway like the Tom Cochrane song "Life Is a Highway".
• And thirdly because Alexstrasza must have listened to a lot of music over all of her centuries, she says "Before battle, I always assure my forces that through the fire and the flames we'll carry on."

Anduin

• Anduin makes a reference to The Lion King, with him being Simba and his father, Varian, being Mufasa.
  Anduin: My father once said that everywhere the Light touches is our kingdom. But not Deadwind Pass. We don't go there. ^Explanation Deadwind Pass is the area where Medivh's tower, Karazhan, is. As the name indicates, it is not a pleasant place to be, with undead, demons and other evil beings lurking around.

Artanis

• Artanis referencing his namesake
  Artanis: I have lived a life that's full. I've traveled each and every star array. And more, much more than this, I did it my way.

Azmodan

• Azmodan warns his minions that there is nothing more toxic or deadly than a nephalem child. A single touch can kill you.

Cassia

• Apparently, Cassia wound up in the Nexus by running at 88 miles per hour on a stormy night.

Chen

• Chen recollects on some 'advice' someone told him:
  Chen: An interesting man once told me 'stay thirsty, my friend'. Bah! Such terrible advice!

Chromie

• She tries explaining how time isn't really a straight line; it's a lot more wibbly wobbly than that.

Dehaka

• Dehaka's full of them. Noting that the zerg will assimilate you, and resistance is futile; that there's new kinds of essence popping up every year and that he must collect 'em all; and despite changing so much from his appearance in Heart of the Swarm, this isn't even his final form.
• His phrase when selecting "Change is upon us." was changed in the French version to "Le changement c'est mainenant." (Change is now.) which is a viable translation... and happens to be François Hollande's slogan when he ran for President in 2012.
• He once consumed the essence of a rival packleader with fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Garrosh

• Garrosh is a Warsong chieftain like his father before him.
• Garrosh had a plan working with a time traveler to undo his father's mistakes, but in the end, he just couldn't get Back to the Future.
• Garrosh was Warchief of the Horde, respect his authority!
• Garrosh likes to sing, it seems.
  "This is my war song. Take back my Horde song. Prove all my might song!"
• Apparently Garrosh has a kindred spirit in Bender
  "Hey baby, wanna kill all humans? No? Then I'll make my own Horde without trolls and tauren! In fact, forget the Horde!"

Genji

• Genji notes that he should have listened to Hanzo when he said he had the high ground.
• Genji claims that the Gray Fox is his favorite animal. The French version changes it to a turtle and his favorite food to pizza.
• He insists that his cyborg body is not a weapon - it's a high-tech prosthesis.
• Genji explains how Overwatch saved his life by building him his new body.
  They rebuilt me. They... have... the technology.
• Referencing Dion and the Belmonts' hit song, Genji mentions how after he left Overwatch, he wandered the world for many years, because he's "a wanderer... Yes, a wanderer."
• "As a cyborg ninja, my body... is always ready".

Illidan

• A parody of William Shakespeare's Hamlet's famous line.
  Illidan: Alas, poor Gul'dan! I... never knew him at all, actually.

Imperius

• Clicking Imperius enough times will make him recite Imagine Dragons' "Believer":
  Imperius: You are making me angry! I'm fired up, and I'm tired of the way that things have been!
• He also makes a reference to Bob Dylan:
  Imperius: For eons, I have wanted to post guards at the Diamond Gates. I hate it when someone comes knock-knock-knocking on heaven's door.
• For Imperius, the Silver City is truly a city of angels, though he hates the horrific traffic. ^Explanation Los Angeles, also known as the City of Angels, has a notable traffic problem.
• Another quote makes a reference to All Dogs Go to Heaven. ^note Possibly, also another reference to a Nintendogs tweet, though that is more of a stretch.
  Imperius: All Dogs Go to Heaven. Except for zombie dogs. Blame the Nephalem ^note the witch doctor. I do.
• In one of his quotes, he makes a "Change my mind" meme joke.

Jaina

• Jaina tries to avoid slipping into a Frozen reference. It doesn't work.
  Jaina: By the way, if you're holding out for a Frozen reference, just let it go. *gasp* Oh no, what have I done?!
• Two more lines of hers reference songs:
  Jaina: Do you believe in magic, in a young girl's heart? Because you're encased in ice, so you probably should start."
  Jaina: I put a spell on you, because you're mine.
• Jaina mistakes one of Raven's spells for her own.
  Jaina: I wonder if my teleport spells will work here? Now where'd that spell go... ah, here it is! Azeroth metreon zinthos!]] Wait, that's not right.
• Of course, as a mage, a line referencing Harry Potter has to be there.
  Jaina: I'm a sorceress, and a thumping good one too.
• Dreadlord Jaina has one of her voice lines changed to the well known Ash Naz Gimbatul.

Johanna

• Someone at Blizzard is still churning out Monty Python references.
  Johanna: O Akarat, bless this, thy holy flail, that with it thou mayest smite thine enemies into tiny, tiny... unfathomably tiny bits, in thy mercy. Let it be so.

Kael'thas

• To Khorne from Warhammer 40,000.
  Kael'thas: Blood for the Blood Elves! Sun for the Sun King!

Kharazim

• Kharazim, if poked enough, states that you must defeat Shen Long to stand a chance... but he's already dead for a millenia.
• He paraphrases a snippet of Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting":
  Kharazim: My fists are as fast as lightning. It is a little bit frightening.

Lucio

• Lucio reminds us that sometimes, you gotta go fast.
• LU-CI-O! LU-CI-O!

Maiev

• Considering her outfit, her deep voice and her role as a vigilante, a reference to Batman was inevitable.
  Maiev: I am vengeance. I am the night. I... am a Warden!
• One to both Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire.
  Maiev: Like us Wardens, owls are viligant watchers and silent hunters. They're also quite good at delivering letters. Much better than ravens anyway...
• One of Maiev's lines is very similar to something Jasper Beardly threatened the kids at school with, except she substitutes "paddlin'" with "imprisoning".
  Maiev: Betraying the Kaldorei? That's an imprisoning! Consorting with demons? That's an imprisoning! Consuming the Skull of Gul'dan and becoming a demon?! Oh, you better believe that's an imprisoning!

Mal'Ganis:

• When receiving a call from Darkness, Mal'Ganis greets him with "Oh, hello Darkness, my old friend! Have you called to talk to me again?"

Mephisto

• Mephisto's name is taken from the demon, Mephistopheles, who made a deal with Faust. Mephisto denies any relation to other fictional demons.
  Mephisto: I AM MEPHISTO, LORD OF HATRED! Anyresemblancetootherfictionaldemonicentitiesisentirelycoincidental.
• He gives a shout-out to Taylor Swift's song "Shake It Off".
  Mephisto: Even in the depths of the Burning Hells, there is an edict that is unquestionable: haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate.
• He quotes the refrain of "Hate" by Plain White T's.
  Mephisto: Hate is a strong word, but I really, really, really don’t like you.

Muradin

• Muradin would like you to know that you never toss a dwarf. You hurl a dwarf, there's a difference. Ironic, given that one of his abilities is named Dwarf Toss.

Ragnaros

• In French, he quotes the leadup to the chorus of "Allumez le feu" (light the fire) from Johnny Hallyday.

Raynor

• In French, one of his quotes if left idle in the store page for long enough is "I'm Commander Raynor and this is my favorite store in the Nexus."
• One of his quotes is "En taro, yokels." said in the exact same manner as Yppie-hay-yay, motherfuckers.

Rexxar

• Rexxar will grumble about the reoccurring joke that his mask makes him look like Batman and insists that his mask is made of a wolf's skin. And a dark one at that!
• He's on the hunt, he's after you.

Samuro

• Samuro has definitely borrowed a page from Saitama's book.
  Samuro: Blademaster training is simple, yet effective. One hundred cuts, one hundred stabs, one hundred parries, ten miles of wandering every single day.
• He also channels Obi-Wan when discussing his choice of weaponry:
  'Samuro: This is the weapon of a blademaster. Not as random or clumsy as an axe; it is an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

Sonya

• Sonya has a pair aimed at Conan the Barbarian.
  Sonya: Bul-Kathos, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one will remember why we fight, or why we die. All that matters is that five stood against five. I ask you, grant me one request. Improve my MMR! If you do not listen, then to Hell with you!
  Sonya: Let's see, crush enemies, done. Drive them before me, of course. Hear the lamentations of their women... let's skip that one.
• Sonya borrows a threat from Futurama:
  Sonya: You! Death by snu-snu!

Stukov

• The day Stukov infested the enemy's forces was the single-most horrifying day of their lives. But for him, it was Tuesday.
• Stukov wants to crush someone named Kaneda for some reason.

Sylvanas

• No, she was never in Night Ranger.

Tyrael

• As expected, Mecha Tyrael comes packed with quotes referencing many franchises involving mechas, notably Gundam (in particular G Gundam), Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Pacific Rim.
  Mecha Tyrael: The original plan to deal with the Kaijo was to block their path with a giant wall equipped with powerful laser turrets. It was a dam with guns on it. A GUN... DAM.

Valeera

• One of Valeera's quotes refer that she's both a rogue and rouge, and she's okay with it... unlike a certain Rogue Knight who insists he's not Rouge.
• Lots of shout-outs to Hearthstone. Note that Valeera is the Rogue representative there.
  Valeera: I'm an excellent Rogue. But I can't perform miracles. Not after that nerf at least... ^Explanation Miracle Rogue is a famous deck used in Hearthstone and was once nerfed heavily to the point it was unusable. While it has a resurgence recently, it's not as overly powerful as its early incarnation.
  Valeera: (to Rexxar) Have you ever aimed to somewhere other than the face? Just... curious. ^Explanation In Hearthstone, going for "the face" is another way to say you directly attack the opponent. The Hunter class, which is represented by Rexxar in Hearthstone, had several decks known as "Face Hunter" decks, where the player mostly ignores the board and just aggressively attacks the opponent directly.

Valla

• "Shh, be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting demons!" Yes, complete with Elmuh Fudd Syndwome.

Varian:

• Poke him enough and he'll shout at you, asking if you are not entertained. Then apologize, saying it's part of his Gladiator past.
• People wonder how Varian learned to quell his rage. But the secret is, he's always angry.
• Varian wonders if anyone else is hungry. Like the wolf.

Whitemane

• Whitemane references Queen's song "We Are the Champions" in one of her Stop Poking Me! lines.
  Whitemane: Well, Renault always got a rise out of that one. Huhuhu
• A rather obvious one to Monty Python's Flying Circus:
  Whitemane: No one expects the Scarlet Inquisition!
• The line about "Greymanes" being neutrals is also a reference to Zapp Brannigan.
  Whitemane: We Whitemanes have never approved of the Greymanes' rule. They're too neutral. With Blackmanes, you know where they stand. But with Greymanes, who knows? It sickens me.
• Her Obliviously Evil line is a line taken from Seymour Skinner.
  Whitemane: Why does everyone who comes to the Scarlet Monastery want to kill me? Am I out of touch? No, it is the heathens who are wrong.
• Her Not Evil, Just Misunderstood voice line is a reference to a scene from Who Framed Roger Rabbit:
  Whitemane: I'm not bad, I'm just rendered that way!
• She references the Stock Phrase of Join the army! See the world! Meet interesting people! And shoot them.". Instead she provides "Join the Scarlet Crusade. Meet interesting and stimulating people. Purify them!"
• She may be referring to the The Scarlet Letter when she says "My Scarlet Diviners examined every Scarlet letter of every Scarlet Book in Scarlet Monastery's Scarlet Library... yet none was a Scarlet Thesaurus. So I burnt it down."

Yrel

• A Rogue One reference from Legion also made it to the Nexus:
  Yrel: I am one with the Light, and the Light is with me.
• Her "dark secret"? Apparently, she sees dead people.

Zarya

• "Who watches over Overwatch? Several regulations boards".

Zul'jin

• Much like in Warcraft 2, Zul'jin is a walking Tony Montana reference. Fitting, since he's voiced by Tony's voice actor from the video game.
  Zul'jin: In dis game, you gotta get da XP first. Den, when you get da XP, you get da power! Den, when you get da power, you get da... Wait... what we even talkin' about?

Skins and tints

Abathur

• An unusual one; the description for Abathur's Pajamathur skin is the Muppet Babies theme song, as if it were spoken by Abathur.
  Abathur: Upon occasion reality appears unsuitable. Desire for absence occurs. Inhibit ocular reception. Internally visualize. Possible for current location to alter. Make dreams come true.

Alexstrasza

• Dark Queen Alexstrasza is dressed similarly to another evil horned queen who becomes a dragon.
• Snowfall Alexstrasza, one of her base skin tints, colors her regular attire (and hair) in white, making her look like a certain White Queen.

Artanis

• The Purifier skin for Artanis is clearly based on iconic mechas. The default tint is similar on colors to the Jaegers, the red tint is akin to Char's Sazabi while the last tint evokes the Unit-01.

Arthas

• Arthas' Mystic Kingdoms skin is based on Guan Yu.

Azmodan

• Azmodunk and his basketball-themed demons are clearly a reference to Space Jam.
• Dominus Vile is pretty much an exact copy of Immortan Joe.

Brightwing

• Brightwing has a Flying Monkey skin.

Cassia

• One of the extra tints of the base Cassia skin is an homage to Wonder Woman, who's also an Amazon (in her realm at least). It's also titled 'Wondrous'.

D.Va

• Keeping with the Neon Genesis Evangelion themed skins that many character have recieved, D.Va herself is given the red plugsuit that Asuka wears. Her MEKA takes after EVA unit 02.
• While her Goliath skin is an obvious reference, it also hides a more sneaky one: her rabbit keychain is replaced with a Carbot Zergling.

Deathwing

• Tyrannical Deathwing is coloured green and bright purple, just like a certain T-Rex.

Dehaka

• Dehaka's second tint for his Mecha skin is one to Eva Unit 00, complete with a double O appearing on his left shoulder.
• Dehakasaurus' teaser art showed packaging very similar to toys based off Jurassic Park.

Diablo

• Diablo's Kaijo skin is one to Godzilla.
• His Lurkablo skin is a shout-out to Dagon and Murlocs/Murkablo.

E.T.C.

• Name aside, E.T.C. wants to rock 'n' roll all nite in his Black Metal skin.
• His Glam Metal skin also changes his guitar to resemble the Love Symbol, with the Azure tint even coloring it purple.
• His Marine Doombringer skin has 'E1M01' written on his shoulderpads.

Fenix

• The Experimental tint for his base skin is covered in Easter Egg references to StarCraft. Each leg has a serial number or image on it — OG/03/31/98 is the release date of StarCraft plus original gangster, G2GF is unclear but may mean "got to go fast", the low battery symbol is a reference to how Fenix was mortally wounded when his psi-blade ran out of power, and θ(|V||E|) is part of the pathing algorithm in the first game in reference to Dragoons' infamous Artificial Stupidity.

Garrosh

• Mad Axe Garrosh. What else needs to be said?

Genji

• Genji brings two with his alternate Steel Dragon tints: Master and Neon.

Greymane

• Greymane's Dr. Wolf & Stein skin makes reference to many fictional scientists.
  • The skin as a whole references the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The name of the skin itself references Wolfenstein.
  • The Hazardous tint colors his lab coat orange and hair brown, much like Gordon Freeman in his HEV suit.

Imperius

• The Indomitable tint for his base skin gives him a familiar red and yellow pattern, with a blue sphere in the center.

Junkrat

• Junkrat has a tint that gives him green hair, red lips, and a purple vest.
• The Hellish tint for his Fallen skin makes him into a demon from a different franchise.

Kael'thas

• His Cyberhawk skin sure brings G-Force or Science Ninja Team Gatchaman to mind. And of course it's also a reference to Cyberhawk from Blizzard's own game, Rock n' Roll Racing.

Kel'Thuzad

• While Leoric's Space Lord skin is a reference to Darth Vader, Star Lich Kel'Thuzad is instead based on Darth Sideous.

Kerrigan

• Countess Kerrigan has hair meant to evoke the Bride of Frankenstein.
• Kerrigan's Cruel Queen of Ghosts skin tint is another reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion (and if you want to go deeper, even the name of the skin is a reference to the theme song; a Cruel Angels Thesis.)

Kharazim

• One of Kharazim's base tints makes him look like an older Aang.
• His Jade Dragon tints references Avatar in Roku, and Dragon Ball Z.
• His Berserker skin is Logan, with an alternate tint based off Old Man Logan.

Leoric

• Space Lord Leoric is a wholesale reference to Darth Vader, complete with numerous iconic Vader voice lines. One of his tints, aptly named "Hunter", appears to be based on the armor of Boba Fett.

Li-Ming

• A tint for Li-Ming's base skin gives her a distinct orange and red color scheme, which, given her voice actress, might make people think of Azula.
• Star Princess/Queen Li-Ming is a reference to Magical Girls, specifically Sailor Moon, with the various color variations referencing the other Sailor Scouts. Out of these, the most obvious one is Thunder Star Princess Li-Ming, colored green and referencing Sailor Jupiter's Shock and Awe powers. Her lore is also a StarWars reference, with Li-Ming basically being Princess Leia.

Lt. Morales

• Lt. Morales' First Lieutenant skin has tints based off Samus Aran and Arcee.
• Love Doctor Morales launched with a Mega Man X tint, later receiving a Protoman one, along with a Mercy recolor for her base skin.

Lunara

• The Enchanted tint for Sentinel Lunara uses the same colour scheme as Enchantress from Dota 2. Fittingly, both characters are descended from the Dryad unit in Warcraft III.

Mal'Ganis

• Dreadmachine Mal'Ganis has a tint that has the color schemes of the Master Chief.

Nova

• Nova's Widowmaker skin... well, is the sniper from that other Blizzard game.
• Her Roller Derby skin also evokes Jet Set Radio vibes.

Orphea

• Orphea's Slacker skin makes her resemble Max Caulfield.

Raynor

• Stars and Stripes Raynor looks like Captain America. The Agent Stars and Stripes Raynor variation, which is colored black, red and white, might be a reference to the period Steve Rogers went as "The Captain", donning a black, red and white costume; the man who was replacing him as Captain America at the time would later become the "U.S. Agent", an ally hero of his.
• One of the tints for his more casual attire, Desert Commander, has a big Reaper skull emblazoned on his black shirt, calling to mind another similarly dressed guy that goes around shooting people with a big gun.
• Roadraider Raynor is a fusion between Mad Max and Ghost Rider. He's a lone hero in a lawless post-apocalyptic wasteland, who has a flaming skull and rides a long-handled blazing motorcycle.

Samuro

• One of Samuro's skins turns him into the Monkey King.
• A tint for the skin colors his fur black, his skin green and his armor purple and white. The name? "Genius".

Sonya

• Super Sonya is very clearly meant to evoke Shatterstar and has a tint that looks quite like Cable.

Stitches

• King Stitches' skin description is an almost word-for-word reference to Grimlock's oft-referenced "catchphrase".
• Psycho Stitches is a shout-out to a few slasher villains, most obviously to Jason Voorhees.
• His summer skins have the bony remains of a small dog biting down his butt, which references sun lotion manufacturer Coppertone's logo.

Stukov

• The Dictator tint for Stukov's base skin colors his coat and peaked cap red, making him resemble M. Bison.
• Ghost Admiral Krakenov shares his color scheme with fellow ghost pirate LeChuck, while his Tideswept variant brings Octodad to mind.

Sylvanas

• One of Sylvanas' Ranger-General skins is a green variation (with her hood and cape tinted green), and she also has a black stripe across her face at the eyes, which looks like a domino mask.

Tychus

• Changing the tint on Tychus' default skin changes the pin-up picture on his shoulder pad. The two tints you unlock with Tychus both have Overwatch characters (Widowmaker and Tracer).

Tyrande

• Eagle Eye Tyrande is most likely a reference to Hawkeye.

Valeera

• Valeera's Vampire Slayer V skin is a reference to Vampire Hunter D.
• Cosmic Force Valeera draws heavy inspiration from Power Rangers.

Yrel

• Yrel's Mad Jester skin is a very obvious reference to Harley Quinn.

Dances

Heroes

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• Considering Anub'arak's run of bad luck in life, he'll gladly dance (but maybe not sing) through any kind of rain.
• Likewise Artanis with Vincent Vega.
• Chromie obviously knows all about how to do the Time Warp.
• Dehaka shakes his arm and leg like it's Hotling Bling.
• D.Va puts on a show to cheer up all her fans.
• Gazlowe's favorite move to bust out? The monkey.
• It's all too tempting to see Genji dance and sing out "Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!"
• Greymane's Dr. Wolf & Stein likes to get schwifty.
• Gul'dan tells you that you can't touch this.
• Illidan busts out the famed Ray Lewis dance.
• A bit of an odd example: Jaina's dance is a nod towards the Crystal Maiden's Ultimate animation.
• Kael'thas has a quite simple message in his steps: Jump on it.
• Kerrigan has moves that would make Mia Wallace proud.
• Leoric puts on a good show performing a thrilling shuffle.
• Fittingly for The Lost Vikings, they'll bust chops quite like the ¡Three Amigos!.
• Malfurion has a good time with his Safety Dance.
• Raynor puts on a show quite like the Techno Viking.
• When Sylvanas lets loose, she'll jump in the line, rock her body on time.
• Tracer's quite the maniac, dancing like she's never danced before.
• Tychus certainly makes it known he'll drop it like it's hot. Infested Tychus, on the other hand... well, given his nearly-lifeless state, the only one he can really move like is Bernie.
• Tyrande shows that if Illidan really liked her, he should have put a ring on her.
• Whitemane's dance animation is inspired by Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U".
• Xul, befitting of his necromantic ways, shimmies quite well like other skeletons dancing.

Others

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• The Garden Terror performs the most famous part of the Thriller dance.

Others

Alarak

• Alarak's Discord Strike (and the key it's assigned to) are both shout-outs to Discord and Q, two roles John de Lancie also played. Discord gets a second shout-out with Alarak's "silly" emoticon, which shows him with Discord's distinctive horn and antler.

Alexstrasza

• Two potential lines from her using her Cleansing Flame ultimate are out of her own card's use in Hearthstone

Cho'gall

• During his Blizzcon reveal segment, Cho'gall introduces himself with this line from Team Rocket:
  Cho: (punched in the face) Prepare for trouble!
  Gall: (punched in the face) Make it double!
• Cho'gall's Q ability is called 'Surging Fist', while it didn't look too familiar with the original, it involves fist, and in Japan, it translates to 'Hadoken'

Deckard

• When you order Deckard to attack, one of his responses is "This is intolerable!", the catch-phrase of a certain other aged scholar.

E.T.C.

• Being the game's embodiment of The Power of Rock, ETC has plenty of musical references.
  ETC:: (when selected) I bring the Mega-death!
  ETC:: (respawning) They can't stop me, let 'em try!
  ETC:: (respawning} They can't kill the metal!
  ETC:: (when he scores a kill) And justice for all!
• The guitars on his back are in tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and Randy Rhoads. His pink goatee is also inspired by the former as well.
• His Guitar Solo's E ability's^note Regenerates health for 4 seconds icon is a mashup of the Horde's emblem and Prince's Love Symbol. Appropriately, his level 1 Talent ^note Heals 50% of damage dealt by Basic Attacks while Guitar Solo is active involving this ability is called Guitar Hero.
• He also has a Talent named Pinball Wizard, and prior to the patch that added Zarya and Warhead Junction, one named Rolling like a Stone.

Gazlowe

• Being one of the first non-serious heroes in the game, Gazlowe spouts references quite often, without even needing to be poked.
  Gazlowe: Never mess with a goblin when debt is on the line!
  Gazlowe: You are terminated!
  Gazlowe: Give 'em the clamps!
  Gazlowe: Killswitch, engaged!

Greymane

• Due to Gilneas being Victorian era and Gothic Horror inspired it can be dismissed as a coincidence, but talent names like Visceral Attacks and Hunter's Blunderbuss, Greymane often emphasizing that he is "on the Hunt" and his fighting style in general can be seen as a Heroes interpretation of a hunter from Bloodborne.
• Upon nabbing a kill in Wolf Form, he may quip "I'm the best at what I do."

Jaina

• If Jaina kills an enemy Jaina, she quotes a line from "Let it go".
  Jaina: The cold never bothered me anyway!
• Aside from the Frozen reference above, her Water Elemental upgrade is called Wintermute.

Junkrat

• Junkrat's victory animation is a reference to Fnatic pro player Quackniix's celebratory jumps after winning the Mid-Season Brawl tournament with his team. Junkrat is one of his favorite heroes.

Kel'Thuzad

• Kel'Thuzad's cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, is also the name of Dr. Evil's cat.
• Kel'Thuzad is fond of using Hannibal's Catchphrase:
  Kel'Thuzad: I love it when a plan comes together.
• In Kel'Thuzad's spotlight and making-of video, the Blizzard employees list many of Kel'Thuzad's titles. This is a reference to reddit user RobotDoctorRobot, who for almost two years has asked Blizzard about Kel'Thuzad's release. Kel'Thuzad will also recite all his titles in multiple Stop Poking Me! lines.

Kerrigan

• Kerrigan's character select quote is "Wait 'til they get a load of me."

The Lost Vikings

• One of Baelog's taunts is "Your mother was a hamster, and your father smells worse than Olaf!"
• On reviving, Baelog may say, "I'm back, baby!"
• When ordered to attack Baelog may say, "It's clobbering time!"

Mephisto

• If Mephisto gets a takedown on Malthael, he will reference H. P. Lovecraft's famous line from Necronomicon.
  Mephisto: It is a strange place where even death may die.

Nazeebo

• Nazeebo claims he's got friends on the other side.

Orphea

• Orphea can be seen as one to Raven with them being similar in so many aspects that she may even qualify as an Expy. Both are young, raven-themed Dark Is Not Evil women (with bob cut hair), who firmly oppose their evil father.

Ragnaros

• Ragnaros' victory animation upon destroying the enemy base shows him giving a thumbs up while he melts into his own pool of lava.

Sgt. Hammer

• Sgt. Hammer's Blunt Force Gun fires a Banzai Bill.
• Sgt. Hammer's appearance in the Obey the Call trailer reveals that she has a Carbot Zergling doll in the cockpit of her siege tank.

Stitches

• Stitches' name, together with his master Abercrombie, is a reference to Abercrombie & Fitch.

Stukov

• One of Stukov's taunts is "Insubordinate and churlish."

Tracer

• One of Tracer's Storm talents is called Chrono Triggers.

Zul'jin

• Even outside of his poke quotes, Zul'jin still can't stop referencing Scarface.
  Zul'jin: Make way for da bad guy!
  Zul'jin: Say hello to my little friend!

Others

• When he spawns chests full of coins, Blackheart sometimes sings "Ten heroes on a dead man's chest," a reference to Treasure Island.
• The Join the Resistance! trailer is basically one big shoutout to The A-Team. Also, Deathfang Genji walks in and kicks over the robotic dog mount, just like the Boston Dynamics robot.
• A variety of "unlimited" in-game quest talents for heroes are actually capped at 9001 or in other words, just over nine thousand. It's also an Easter Egg because actually attaining so many stacks for any such quests in a real match is virtually impossible.