Every Marvel Reference in ‘Nailed It’s!’ Season 3 Premiere Explained

Right at the top of the episode, Nicole greets our super bakers by asking if they’re ready for “some cake-clobbering time.” If that turn of phrase struck you as suspiciously superhero-y, then you are correct. “It’s clobberin’ time!” is the catchphrase of The Thing, the craggy and curmudgeonly muscle of the Fantastic Four. The Thing, a.k.a. daring test pilot Ben Grimm, first used the catchphrase “it’s clobberin’ time” in Fantastic Four #22 from 1964.

Nicole refers to the episode’s trio of bakers as a “super hero squad.” While that’s probably more an offhand remark and not intended to be a direct reference, I gotta point out that The Super Hero Squad Show was an actual, for real Marvel Comics cartoon that aired from 2009 to 2011 on Cartoon Network.

For the Bakers’ Choice challenge, the contestants each choose a cupcake with a pair of Marvel character cookies on top. Here’s who we got: Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, Gamora, and Thanos.

Iron Man, a.k.a. Tony Stark, is played by Robert Downey Jr. in all the Marvel movies. The character debuted in Tales of Suspense #39 from 1963.

Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, is played by Chris Evans in the Marvel movies. Cap first appeared in 1940’s Captain America Comics #1. He was unthawed and entered modern continuity in Avengers #4 (1964).

Black Widow, a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Natalia Romanova, is played by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She debuted in Tales of Suspense #52 (1964).

The Hulk, a.k.a. Bruce Banner, has been played by a lot of people: Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in the ’70s TV show, Eric Bana in the Ang Lee film, Edward Norton in the first Marvel movie, and then Mark Ruffalo. The Hulk debuted in 1962’s Incredible Hulk #1.

Gamora is played by Zoe Saldana in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. She premiered in 1975’s Strange Tales #180.

Thanos is played by Josh Brolin in the Marvel movies (and was first played by Damion Poitier in the Avengers mid-credits scene). He made his debut in Iron Man #55 (1973).

To kick off the frantic bake-athon, Nicole uses the phrase “Assemble!” This “magic word” is a reference to the Avengers’ rallying cry “Avengers assemble.” That phrase was first used in the comics by Thor in Avengers #10 (1964) and then in practically every battle the team has been in since.

While giving words of encouragement and/or praise to the amateur bakers, both Nicole and guest judge Felicia Day offer up Spider-Man’s iconic motto. The phrase appeared in Spider-Man’s very first appearance, back in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15. Bit of trivia: the phrase has actually been slightly misremembered by everyone–even Stan Lee!–over the years. The original quote in that issue actually reads “With great power there must also come great responsibility.”

When asked what superpower she most wants to have, Jordan says, “Man, I wish I could stop time.” That is actually a superpower, and it’s called chronokinesis. There are a few Marvel characters with those powers, although oddly enough a lot of them are X-Men characters (shout out to Tempo and Tempus, two characters with similar names and powers and not much else).

While the bakers are slapping icing on apples and just doing wild stuff, Nicole passes the time by asking Felicia about her favorite Marvel characters. Felicia lists two: Dark Phoenix and Ms. Marvel.

Dark Phoenix is a super villain that emerged in 1980’s X-Men #134. Sometimes she’s a cosmically corrupted alter ego of the X-Man Jean Grey, sometimes she’s a cosmic entity posing as Jean. The latter was retconned to be true in the comics, while the former is how the movies (including this summer’s Dark Phoenix) and cartoons have adapted the story. Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner both went Dark Phoenix on the big screen, and so have Sabrina Spellman and Eleven (kinda).

Ms. Marvel is a more recent addition to the Marvel Universe. Kamala Khan debuted as an unnamed character in 2013’s Captain Marvel #7, and she became her own headlining hero the next year. Her adventures have unfolded since then in various ongoing series titled Ms. Marvel, and she’s even joined a superhero team of her own (the Champions).

Poor Cia explains away his cupcake mess by calling it a conceptual take on the battle of New York. That’s a reference, to the 2012 Avengers movie, when Loki and an army of Chitauri aliens swarmed NYC and wrecked a nice size chunk of Manhattan.

For the Nail It or Fail It challenge, the bakers have to create a cake inspired by the world of Black Panther. The character, real name T’Challa, debuted in 1966’s Fantastic Four #52. That same issue also introduced T’Challa’s home country of Wakanda. The cake includes the landmark Warrior Falls, which was introduced into canon in Jungle Action #6 (1973). Black Panther is played by Chadwick Boseman in the films, and Warrior Falls was prominently featured in the 2018 Black Panther film.

If you need to show a hand smashing a panic button in a Marvel episode, then that hand had better be a Hulk hand. Nailed It! nails this.

Wishing the bakers well before they embark on their biggest challenge, Nicole says, “If you ever needed the power of Odin, now is the time to ask.” Odin is the King of Asgard and Thor’s Father. He debuted in 1962’s Journey Into Mystery #85 and is played by Anthony Hopkins on the big screen.

As he’s taking a big ol’ knife to a stack of rice treats, Ben says, “We’re doing Black Panther by way of the Punisher here.” The Punisher, a.k.a. Frank Castle, is a cold-blooded antihero known for his extreme methodology when it comes to dealing with criminals. He’s been played by a lot of people (seriously, here’s a whole guide to his many movies). Most recently he was played by Jon Bernthal in Netflix’s Marvel shows. The Punisher first appeared in the comics in Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974).

Jacques Torres’ favorite Marvel hero is Iron Man, and to show off his fandom he recreates one of Tony Stark’s three-point landings (the three points referring to two feet and a hand). You can watch this supercut of a bunch of three-point landings in pop culture; Iron Man does indeed show up a lot–and he’d only appeared in three movies back when this compilation was made!

After tanking the Bakers’ Choice round, Cia is gifted with a panic button that pauses Jordan and Ben for three minutes while they answer trivia questions. Those questions are (correct answers in bold):

• “Which superhero clocks in at 6’2″ and weighs 240 lbs.?” – A. Black Widow B. The Hulk C. Captain America
• “What year was Marvel Comics #1 released?” – 1939 (Ben gets this without even hearing his options)
• “In what year did Black Panther make his first appearance?” – A. 1966, B. 1986, C. 1967
• “Who created the super-soldier serum that would create Captain America?” – A. Abraham Erskine, B. Professor Reinstein, C. Sergeant Steinberg

Fun facts about Marvel Comics #1: it was actually published by Timely Comics. When the publisher rebranded itself in the ’60s, they named the company Marvel after this comic. The important characters in the issue include Namor, the Sub-Mariner, who’s still a major character in the comics today. Also the original Human Torch, a flaming android and not the Fantastic Four’s hotheaded wiseacre, debuted in the issue; in the comics, the Human Torch’s android body would later serve as the basis for the Avenger known as Vision.

Abraham Erskine was played by Stanley Tucci in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.

When Wes comes out to present the trophy, he’s dressed as–who else?–Thor. It makes perfect sense. Thor debuted in Journey Into Mystery #83 (1962).

Right before crowning the episode’s winner, Nicole turns to guest judge Felicia and asks, “Felicia, got your web-shooter ready?” Nicole’s referring to the money gun that spits bills all over the winner, and she’s referencing Spider-Man’s iconic device that he wears on his wrists.

A note: while Spider-Man has always used mechanical web shooters in the comics (aside from a story here and there over 50+ years), the Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s trilogy (pictured above) had organic web-shooters. But the other Spider-Men played by Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland have mechanical ones.

When Ben wins the trophy and $10,000 for creating an edible Black Panther cake, he says, “I hope that I’ve made Stan Lee proud.” You know who Stan Lee is. He’s the guy that co-created nearly every character on this here list (along with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko), and his role as writer/editor of the entire Marvel line in the ’60s evolved into a brand ambassador over the last few decades. Stan Lee, who passed away late last year, truly changed the world.

And one last reference–Nicole signs off with one of Stan Lee’s most popular catch phrases: “‘Nuff said.”

Stream Nailed it! "The Marvel Episode!" on Netflix