Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra Loki Ad Has 5 Marvel Easter Eggs You Likely Missed
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might be one of the most powerful smartphones on the market right now, but according to a new commercial, it's one of the most powerful items in the MCU's multiverse. The ad from the South Korean electronics giant, set in the world of "Loki," finds a TVA agent using the company's latest flagship to track down the trickster god's whereabouts as they and their partner hop across time (via Samsung UK on YouTube).
As they chase their Loki variant across time, the Galaxy-toting member of the TVA pair uses the phone's night photography mode to enhance clues, takes advantage of its in-camera translation feature to make sense of some ancient Latin text, and snaps some high-resolution photos with the 200-megapixel camera along the way. Back at the TVA building, another agent asks if the device is a tempad, to which our Samsung enthusiast agent replies, "You can't get this kind of quality with a tempad," perhaps forgetting that a tempad literally lets you time travel.
While the ad predictably focuses on the S23 Ultra's camera capabilities, one moment contains some fun MCU Easter eggs. As the TVA agent pulls the phone from a drawer, we can clearly see other items of note, including references to "Guardians of the Galaxy, " "Doctor Strange," and more.
The Mind Stone
The first item we can clearly see in the TVA's Samsung-affiliated junk drawer is an Infinity Stone. Specifically, the Mind Stone, which fans will recall was used to power Vision (Paul Bettany) and was embedded in the forehead of his android body before being ripped out by Thanos (Josh Brolin) during the events of "Avengers: Infinity War." We already knew that the TVA has a lot of Infinity Stones sitting around, which don't have any power in their offices outside of time. As revealed in "Loki" Season 1, TVA agents use Infinity Stones as paperweights.
As best can be discerned since it's glossed over in the MCU movies, Infinity Stones were created as a byproduct of the creation of the universe, condensed manifestations of the powers that flow through existence. Before being used as Vision's power source, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) had control of the Mind Stone and kept it in his scepter, using it during his invasion of New York in "The Avengers" to take over people's free will and make them do his bidding.
While it's unclear where the Mind Stone in the TVA came from, it's quite likely that it was taken from a Loki variant, who was probably using its power to affect events in a way that altered the Sacred Timeline.
Kablooie Gum
In a reference to Season 1 of "Loki," one item in the TVA's drawer from the Samsung commercial is a pack of Kablooie chewing gum. Fans might remember this gum, which turns the chewer's teeth Yondu blue, from the Season 1 premiere, "Glorious Purpose." Searching for Loki variants, Mobius (Owen Wilson) travels to a church in 1549 France, where he gently interrogates a young boy (Raphael Luce). He asks why the kid's teeth are stained blue, and he hands over a pack of "Blooberrie" flavored Kablooie gum, confirming to Mobius that a Loki was indeed there, distributing items that would cause timeline disturbances. Mobius directs the kid away from the chapel as the other agents place a reset charge to prune the timeline.
It appears that the TVA hung onto that gum. Maybe they even tracked down more of it, which is fair. It looks delicious. On the other hand, if it's been sitting in a desk all this time, it's probably pretty stale by now.
Peter Quill's mixtape
One of the most recognizable items to be seen in the "Loki" Samsung commercial is Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) mixtape from the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie, which is also sitting in the drawer with the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Made for him by his mother, Meredith (Laura Haddock) before she died and he was kidnapped by Yondu's Ravagers, Quill kept the mixtape in a cassette player that never left his hip. In the movie, he risks his life to keep the tape safe, as it is the only connection he has to his parents.
Now, it's sitting in a drawer at the TVA alongside bubble gum and other tchotchkes. Presumably, that's not the version of the mixtape from the Sacred Timeline, but one from a branching version that was pruned by the TVA. If so, that implies Quill's actions caused the timeline to branch in one of the MCU's many multiverses, which sounds pretty on-brand for him.
Doctor Strange's Sling Ring
The next Easter egg item from the TVA's junk drawer of curiosities seen in the Samsung Galaxy ad is a Sling Ring of the kind used by Masters of the Mystic Arts in Kamar-Taj. These rings, which look like a partial pair of brass knuckles, slip around two fingers on the sorcerer's hand, aiding them in their spell casting. We've seen many MCU characters use them, most notably Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Wong (Benedict Wong), and The Zealot Kaecillius (Mads Mikkelsen). But in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," as Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) discovers his own spellcasting abilities, he, too, dons Strange's Sling Ring.
The ring in the TVA's offices could have come from any one of these characters, or from another sorcerer we've never seen in the MCU. However it got there, it implies that a TVA agent faced off against a trained sorcerer during one of their missions to maintain the Sacred Timeline.
Moon Knight's Crescent Blades
Finally, among the items in the TVA drawer, we can see two of Moon Knight's Crescent Blades peeking out amid the various powerful items. These throwing blades are a part of the suit granted to Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) by the moon god Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham), which aids the character in his duties as the Egyptian god's avatar. One of the suit's powers is the ability to summon weapons, and the Crescent Blades are to Moon Knight as Batarangs are to Batman. In the Disney+ series, we can see that they are stored in the emblem on his chest, although he can also manifest them out of thin air.
Moon Knight has multiple personalities, but when wearing the suit, he tends to be in character as the mercenary Steven Grant. The possession of these blades by the TVA means they came across a branching timeline where Grant needed to be dealt with.