All 19 Easter Eggs & References In The Boys Season 5’s Supernatural Reunion

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Boys season 5, episode 5.

The Boys season 5, episode 5 not only furthered the story, but did so via a Supernatural reunion filled with Easter eggs and references. This Supernatural reunion came in the form of Jared Padalecki’s Mr. Marathon, the speedster who preceded A-Train in The Seven. Padalecki’s best-known role is that of Sam Winchester in Supernatural, opposite Jensen Ackles’ Dean Winchester, and created by The Boys‘ Eric Kripke.

Another guest in The Boys season 5, episode 5 was Misha Collins as Malchemical, who played Bastiel in Supernatural, an ally of the Winchesters. These guest stars, alongside celebrities like Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, appeared in one specific storyline of the show, which took place immediately before The Boys season 5, episode 5’s ending.

Set in Mr. Marathon’s Los Angeles home, the storyline centered on Soldier Boy and Homelander’s search for V-One. Inside Marathon’s home was a whole host of Easter eggs and references, alongside the aforementioned cameos. These Easter eggs are linked not only to Supernatural but also to the wider world of The Boys, real-life superhero franchises, Hollywood creatives, and other cultural footnotes of recent years.

19

Michaela Starr

One of the main sources of these hidden references is a room full of posters for Mr. Marathon’s various in-universe superhero movies. On several of the posters, a specific name is listed as the leading woman: Michaela Starr. Starr, while not an actor, is involved in Hollywood filmmaking, including The Boys. Starr is a longtime producer, with her best-known work being the Prime Video show in question, Gen V, and the other spin-offs of The Boys.

18

Mr. Marathon: Around the Speedy-Verse

Aside from referencing members of The Boys‘ creative team, the posters themselves parody several well-known Marvel and DC superhero movies of recent years. The first of these posters advertises “Mr. Marathon: Around the Speedy-Verse.” This most overtly references the Spider-Man franchise, specifically Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, from the title of the fake film to the pose on the poster being reminiscent of Spider-Man as a character.

Thanks to Mr. Marathon’s powers, this poster also riffs on 2023’s The Flash. In that movie, Barry Allen runs through time itself and enters a multiverse, much like Mr. Marathon presumably does in “Around the Speedy-Verse.”

17

Mr. Marathon Origins: Madame Marathon

Another poster that pokes fun at two Marvel properties is “Mr. Marathon Origins: Madame Marathon.” The first half of the title references X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the first spin-off in the X-Men film series. The latter half is a play on Madame Web, another of the various Spider-Man spin-offs in recent years.

16

Mr. Marathon: Vampire Hunter

Yet another poster seen hanging on Mr. Marathon’s wall is for “Mr. Marathon: Vampire Hunter.” This references Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles’ aforementioned show, Supernatural, in which their two characters hunt supernatural creatures, including vampires. Also, the film’s title somewhat ties into another Spider-Man movie, Kraven the Hunter, though less overtly.

15

Sony Pictures TV

Humorously, all the posters mentioned so far link to Spider-Man movies that were produced by Sony Pictures, notMarvel Studios. This feeds into a line by Homelander, who states that none of them are made by Vought and were instead produced by Sony Pictures TV. After a question from Soldier Boy about why this matters, Homelander replies that this is where “washed-up Supes go to die.”

While this further pokes fun at the lesser-liked superhero movies like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter made by Sony Pictures, it is a self-referential joke. After all, Sony Pictures TV produces The Boys alongside Amazon MGM Studios.

14

Ghost Runner 2: Supernatural Speedster

Going back to the posters themselves, one of them links to Supernatural. The title of this film starring Mr. Marathon is “Ghost Runner 2: Supernatural Speedster.” Aside from using the word “Supernatural” in the title, the font is similar, if not identical, to the title card for the Supernatural show.

13

Marathon & Malchemical: Let There Be Rampage

The final Sony Pictures Spider-Man movie parodied in The Boys season 5, episode 5 is Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Mr. Marathon starred in a film titled “Marathon & Malchemical: Let There Be Rampage,” a clear reference to the aforementioned 2021 film.

12

“A Film By Ryan Cox”

Under one of the titles on Mr. Marathon’s posters, the words “A film by Ryan Cox” can be seen. This Easter egg is very similar to the one featuring Michaela Starr, as Ryan Cox is a behind-the-scenes crew member of The Boys. Cox works on the sound department for The Boys, as he did for both seasons of Gen V.

11

Celebrity “Starlighters” Rounded Up By Vought

After moving away from Mr. Marathon’s movie room, he, Homelander, and Soldier Boy meet the former’s friends, who are playing poker. This group of friends is made up of real-life celebrities playing fictionalized versions of themselves: Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Will Forte. Also part of this group is Malchemical, the Supe mentioned on one of the posters, played by Misha Collins, who himself is somewhat of an Easter egg given his role on Supernatural.

During their poker game, the celebrities can be heard talking about different people from the industry who have been rounded up. This is in reference to earlier episodes of The Boys season 5, in which Homelander tightened his grip on the United States by branding anyone even remotely linked to online posts or forums opposing him as “Starlighters.”

Many of these celebrity “Starlighters” are only mentioned by their forenames. However, it is easy enough to guess who the guest stars in The Boys are referencing, either due to the level of fame some of the names possess or collaborations with the group. For instance, Aziz Ansari is close friends with Seth Rogen and has appeared in movies alongside both him and Mintz-Plasse.

Some of these names, such as Bill Hader, are mentioned as the celebrities are happy they are gone. Will Forte mentions that Hader’s execution day was the happiest of his life, playing on the fact that the two worked together in real life on Saturday Night Live for many years.

10

Celebrity Activism

After this conversation about which of their friends, or rivals, have been rounded up by Vought, the group turns to ideas about what they can do to help. This leads to a hilarious back-and-forth spoofing real-life celebrity activism, performative or otherwise. Nanjiani states that they need to do something as they tell stories that inspire, including the likes of Luke Skywalker, Katniss Everdeen, and Gandhi as “characters” who are part of such stories.

Then, Seth Rogen suggests they all post black squares simultaneously on Instagram, referencing the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Nanjiani points this out, leading Rogen to say they can post blue squares with the caption “Blue Lives Matter,” parodying the real-life countermovement to Black Lives Matter of the same name. Finally, Rogen states he will ask Lena Dunham to write an editorial for The Atlantic, referencing her long history of activism in the industry.