18. Doctor Strange Reference (Spider-Man 2)

Another reference that may have flown over your head back when Spider-Man 2 came out a whole decade ago is the allusion to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's other co-creation, the popular Marvel superhero Doctor Strange, who you may be more aware of these days given the constant rumours about Marvel making a standalone movie about him. The reference occurs after Doc Ock first appears on the scene, and the unscrupulous J. Jonah Jameson is trying to figure out an eye-catching name for him:What are we gonna call this guy? Hoffman: Doctor Octopus? J. Jonah Jameson: That's crap. Hoffman: Science Squid? J. Jonah Jameson: Crap! Hoffman: Doctor Strange? J. Jonah Jameson: That's pretty good... But it's taken! ...Wait, wait! I got it! Doctor Octopus. Doctor Strange is an inoffensive enough name that it'd easily pass unnoticed by the uninitiated, but in retrospect, it's a pretty brazen, on-the-nose reference to a great comic book character.