Marvel and Lucasfilm's "Star Wars" franchise are both owned by Disney. So it's not a surprise that one may pop up as an Easter egg in the other universe. Disney's latest theatrical release, "Captain America: Civil War", has a big nod to "Star Wars" more than halfway through the film.
But there's another "Star Wars" Easter egg that pops up in a lot of Marvel movies. Have you noticed it?
In almost every single "Star Wars" movie, somebody loses an arm or a hand.
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) famously loses his hand to Darth Vader, in an iconic scene from "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back."
LucasFilm via YouTube
Phase Two refers to the second of the three phases of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Phase Two kicked off in 2013 with "Iron Man 3" and it ended with 2015's "Ant-Man." In total, it includes six films.
President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, a self-proclaimed "Star Wars" fan, confirmed the gag is an homage to a galaxy far, far away during the press tour for "Avengers: Age of Ultron." But it didn't start that way.
"So I'm obsessed with 'Star Wars' - and it didn't start out as intentional, but it became intentional," Feige told Cinemablend. "It sort of happens in every 'Star Wars' movie, but I was sort of looking at it, 'Okay, is Phase Two our 'Empire Strikes Back'?' Not really, but tonally things are a little different. Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase Two movie. Every single one."
And the "Star Wars" gag didn't just stop in Phase Two. It appeared in "Civil War," too, the first film in Marvel's Phase Three.
Keep reading to see all the severed arms as they appear in the Marvel Universe so far.
"Iron Man 3" (2013)
Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) loses his arm during his final battle with Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.).
"Thor: The Dark World" (2013)
Thor lost his hand momentarily when Loki pretended to chop it off in a grand visual illusion.
Marvel via YouTube
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014)
Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is seen losing his arm in a flashback where he falls off a train and is thought to be dead.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)
Groot (Vin Diesel) loses both of his arms during his first encounter with Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Don't worry, they grow back.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)
Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) gets his arm chopped off by villain Ultron, setting him up for his namesake, Ulysses Klaw (get it?). We'll probably see him again in 2018's "Black Panther."
"Ant-Man" (2015)
Marvel
Near the end of the film, Ant-Man nemesis Yellowjacket loses his right arm before the rest of him disappears into the void when his suit starts shrinking non-stop.
"Captain America: Civil War" (2016)
In the final showdown between Iron Man, Captain America, and The Winter Soldier, Iron Man lasers Bucky Barnes' robotic arm right off. The moment was briefly spoiled in an early trailer for the film.
