With a current total of 23 movies, the Iron Man was just another one-off superhero movie that had to stand on its own.
The movie turned out to be a massive success, unlike the other MCU film that summer, Tony Stark but it left fans with the idea that a larger Marvel universe was in the works. While Iron Man couldn’t reference previous films, in 2021 it’s amazing to see just how many MCU characters, plot lines, and nods were foreshadowed.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
When Captain America: Civil War, where he made every student a recipient of the September Foundation grant that allowed their projects to be approved and funded.
Ten Rings
While the terrorist group in Iron Man wasn’t explicitly called the Ten Rings, they did get a shout-out in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set to release July 2021.
Iron Man Mark I
MCU films are famous for their post-credits scenes, but sometimes audiences are met with a more lackluster title screen that simply reads, "The Avengers will return". But since The Infinity Saga, it ended with an awesome homage to the original Avengers; featuring a montage that included each character's biggest moments as well as the actor's signature. Afterward, fans were left with no after-credits scene but rather a sound. This was the sound of Tony hitting his hammer as he built the first Iron Man with Yinsen in the caves of Afghanistan.
Cheeseburgers
When Tony Stark lands on U.S. soil after being kidnapped by terrorists the first thing he requests is a cheeseburger, which he promptly eats at the press conference where he announces that Stark Enterprises will no longer manufacture weapons.
This moment was touchingly ed after Tony Stark’s funeral at the end of Avengers: Endgame where Happy Hogan, Tony's driver, and friend, is sitting with Tony’s daughter Morgan and asks her if she wants to go and get some cheeseburgers.
Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (a.k.a. S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Probably the most obvious foreshadow was Agent Coulson's reveal that he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. which at the time had never been introduced outside of comics. At the time, fans didn’t know just how connected this universe would be and how big of a role S.H.I.E.L.D. would have in it. Not only did Coulson go on to star in the Captain America: The Winter Soldier when it’s revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by HYDRA sleeper agents.
Whiplash - Ivan Vanko
There are two nods to the Iron Man 2 villain Ivan Vanko a.k.a. Whiplash. The first is when Iron Man is being chased by the two Airforce Jets who refer to one another as Whiplash 1 and Whiplash 2. While this is most likely not connected to the Vanko, it's a fun nod to the popular Iron Man villain. However, the second mention is more interesting. Tony tells Rhodey’s colleague about Rhodey on Spring Break one time and him meeting a guy named Ivan. This one-off joke does make it possible to think that Ivan Vanko has been tracking Tony for a long time and even befriended his best friend Rhodey to get information on the tech billionaire.
"Perhaps if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the ecosystems." - J.A.R.V.I.S.
The MCU didn’t introduce their now popular alien characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy or Thanos until the first Avengers film with the Chitauri. But from the beginning, it always seemed like the MCU was looking up to the stars. When Tony first test pilots the Iron Man Mark II suit it ends with Tony heading straight for the moon. Due to the cold temperatures, Tony ends up crashing back into his garage. Later Jarvis says to Tony, "Perhaps if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the ecosystems." This potentially foreshadows Tony’s eventual space travel in Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and himself travel to Thanos' home-plant of Titan.
Vision
While the Iron Man Mark 1 armor was a simple metal design, Tony couldn't help but put his flair on the suit when he instructs J.A.R.V.I.S. to take the all gold suit and "throw a little hot-rod red in there." J.A.R.V.I.S. quips back at Tony saying, "that should help you keep a low profile."
However, it's later revealed that Tony's A.I. might have actually liked the color scheme of the suit as it’s similar to what he chooses when he becomes Vision in synthezoid with red skin and a gold cape.
William Ginter Riva
Spider-Man: Far From Home. In the movie, William Ginter Riva along with the other scientists of Stark Enterprises seek retribution for losing their jobs and together invent Quentin Beck's (Jake Gyllenhaal) hologram technology helping him become the villain Mysterio.
War Machine
In a moment that excited fans, Rhodey (played here by Terrence Howard) looks at one of Tony’s old suits and exclaims “Next time baby!” almost breaking the fourth wall and foreshadowing the future introduction of his superhero persona of War Machine. Unlike other teases that didn’t come to fruition until many films later, fans got to see this one pay off almost right away as War Machine made his debut in Iron Man 2. Since then Don Cheadle's character has appeared in several films as well as the Disney+ series Armor Wars.
