QIs this in the same universe as the rest of the Marvel movies?
AYes and no. All films made under the Marvel Studios banner, e.g., Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), are all set in the same universe, with the characters crossing over, culminating in The Avengers (2012) movie which ties these films together. Marvel also owns Punisher and Blade, however The Punisher (2004), Punisher: War Zone (2008), Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004) are not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other Marvel-based films owned by other studios are NOT set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to differing ownership. This includes Spider-Man (2002) and Ghost Rider (2007) (both owned by Sony), X-Men (2000), Fantastic Four (2005), and Daredevil (2003) (all owned by Fox).
QWhich superheroes are shown or referenced in the film?
AIron Man, of course, plus War Machine (Don Cheadle), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and Black Widow appear. There are references to at least three other superheros: the Hulk is referenced in a news report of the aftermath of his university battle, Captain America's shield is featured, and Thor's hammer (Mjolnir) is seen after the end credits.
QPepper and Happy refer to the briefcase armor as "the football" -- what does it mean?
A"The football" is a term used by the US Secret Service to refer to the black briefcase that one agent always carries with them wherever the US President goes -- it's a specialized control panel that allows access to launch codes in the event that the President has to launch a nuclear counterstrike if his country is attacked. The briefcase is also sometimes called "the black box". Stark's briefcase armor is housed in a similar case which, like real one, is handcuffed to Happy Hogan's wrist. For fun, the writers took a cue from the real thing.
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