This Falcon And The Winter Soldier Ad Finally Reveals Thor's Greatest Nemesis
It's been years in the making, but one of Marvel's most explosive Easter eggs has finally been discovered — and with it, so has the identity of one of the few MCU foes to tangle with the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and live to tell the tale. That foe is none other than the nefarious Noobmaster69, the infamous Fortnite troll bent on keeping Thor's bouldered bestie Korg (Taika Waititi) from ascending to the top of the rankings.
... okay, so the identity reveal of Noobmaster69 isn't exactly the most Earth-shattering news to ever hit the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But MCU diehards have spent more than a little time, and effort, theorizing who was actually donning the other headset when Thor hilariously let loose on him in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. However, just days ahead of the streaming release of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel has revealed the sinister gamer's identity in a crossover ad for Xbox's online "Game Pass" platform.
That ad finds Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson (AKA the Falcon) using his downtime to test out some new games with a video game store clerk named Aaron. The one-minute clip is full of gaming — and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier action — with Sam and Aaron trading control of their "Game Pass" selections. In a pseudo post-credits scene, Aaron lets slip that his gamer name is, wait for it, Noobmaster69, thus revealing himself to be one of the toughest trolls in the gaming world. That news earns a harsh stare from the Falcon, at which point it's also cheekily revealed that Aaron's cousin actually picked the name.
Noobmaster69 might look familiar to a few eagle-eyed MCU fans
The Noobmaster69 reveal is legitimately one of the funniest gags the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever indulged in, especially as it's sort of just tossed away at the very end of that Xbox ad. But the reveal is a whole lot more clever than even many Marvel die-hards might realize. That's because the hilarious new ad is not the first time Aaron has appeared in the MCU at large.
Based on his prior appearance, the now infamous character clearly has a bit of a tech background. And if you feel like you recognize the bearded, Thor-like facade of the actor who plays him (D.C. Pierson), you might also recall Aaron has a solid background in customer service too — though some might say he's got a history of overdoing it on the customer service front, though, because he was the overly-helpful Apple store employee in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, who kept barging in when Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) tried to do a little covert decrypting in
That Apple store scene was easily the funniest moment in The Winter Soldier, with Aaron garnering a couple of the biggest laughs in Marvel-land with his overzealous eagerness to help the undercover heroes. Likewise, it's great to see him make his MCU return, in equally fun-loving fashion.
If nothing else, Aaron's return proves just how meticulous the MCU brain trust is, with even the smallest details. Now, what are the odds Kevin Feige and company will keep this absolute diamond of a gag going in Thor: Love and Thunder? Because we're pretty sure the God of Thunder might be eager to have a word with the infamous Noobmaster69, once he returns to Earth.