Directed by Michael Bay, 6 Underground plays out like a comic book adaption, full of clever references, including several to Marvel and DC movies. But given the multitude of car chases and chaotic fight sequences, many of the cinematic citations might’ve been missed by casual Netflix streamers.
6 Underground’s premise aligns with traditional superhero origin story concepts. Ryan Reynolds plays One, a snarky billionaire who grew up as an orphan and wants to make the world a better place. After working for the CIA and experiencing a dictator’s wrath, One becomes disillusioned with the U.S. government’s strategies and goes rogue. He fakes his death, assembles a hit squad, and works as a morally-righteous executioner who rids the world of bad guys.
One is seemingly obsessed with the classic American TV series Leave It to Beaver, perhaps a reminder of the idealized life he once hoped for. Written by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, 6 Underground blends Marvel and DC character concepts with traditional mainstream action film tropes. The result: a Netflix blockbuster with loads of pop culture references.
6 Underground’s Marvel References
At Blaine’s fake funeral, his grieving friend (Ron Funches) references Captain America while giving an emotional speech. As Blaine and One watch from afar, the funeral speaker notes that “He [Blaine] damn sure loved his country like Captain America.” After Blaine joins the 6 Underground team, One explains how and why he became obsessed with magnets. A flashback sequence shows young One in school, with a Magneto logo clearly visible on a classroom chalkboard. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Magneto dates all the way back to the 1963 comic The X-Men #1.
6 Underground’s DC References
When Blaine officially joins the 6 Underground team, the crew assembles at their California headquarters, known as the “Haunted House.” One references Batman by informing Blaine that it’s “a lot like the Bat Cave. Except it’s nothing like the Bat Cave.” Later, when One surprises Three outside a hospital, the hitman says, “You and your Bruce Wayne sh*t.” For context, Three had broken team rules by visiting his mother, thus compromising the team’s mission and identities. One shows up like Batman to re-establish a sense of order within the squad. During the Las Vegas sequence, Three’s silencer includes a Watchmen Rorschach face; a clever gag when taking out several of Alimov’s generals.
More: Every Song on Netflix’s 6 Underground Soundtrack
Every Other Movie Reference In 6 Underground
- During the aforementioned funeral sequence that references Captain America, Blaine tells One that “You should have seen him [the speaker] watching Coco… puddle of tears.” One then describes the Pixar movie as “emotional” - a line that reinforces how One seeks comfort through entertainment but mostly avoids forming personal connections with the 6 Underground unit. 6 Underground includes numerous references to the James Bond franchise. For a wordplay joke, the film’s villain Rovach Alimov orders a Martini in Paris and states “Stirred, not shaken. Stirred.” The screenwriters flip the script on Bond’s famous line “Shaken, not stirred.” During a second-half Hong Kong sequence, One criticizes Three for beating up the man they’re trying to save, Murat Alimov. He walks away and says “Just stay right there, James Bond. Thank you.” During the film’s boat climax, Four seeks assistance from One and says, “Look, Bond, you gotta get here fast.” When Three visits his mother, he becomes annoyed with a hospital nurse and references the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by yelling, “What the fk are you looking at, Nurse Ratched?” In Miloš Forman’s iconic movie starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher plays the cold-hearted Nurse Ratched, a character who first appeared in Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. When the 6 Underground team attempts to rescue Murat Alimov in Hong Kong, Three references John Huston’s famous 1948 adventure film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by saying “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” It’s a line-for-line homage. During the same Hong Kong sequence, Three references Joe Pesci’s “Funny how?” scene from Goodfellas during a laughing gas gag: “What, am I funny to you? I’m funny? How am I funny to you? Do I amuse you?” In Martin Scorsese’s film, Pesci’s Tommy DeVito tells a joke, and pretends to be offended by the reaction of Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill. Three references Star Wars during the Hong Kong sequence when he describes Two’s mask as “hot” in “a Darth Vader daughter kind of way.” Soon thereafter, Three breathes likes Darth Vader while standing behind Two. Later, during the climatic boat sequence, One states that “I feel like a Jedi” after using his magnet inventions to take down enemies. After clarifying that a Breaking Bad joke (“I am the danger”) is a TV reference and not a movie reference, Three spouts the famous “I see dead people” line from The Sixth Sense. In this case, Three does indeed see dead people quite literally given his profession. In response to Three’s irresponsible behavior during the Hong Kong sequence, Two alters a famous line from The Untouchables by saying “This is like bringing a child to a gunfight.” The dialogue references Sean Connery’s line “Isn’t that just like a wop… brings a knife to a gunfight.” Overall, the wordplay cites a common idiom used in pop culture. During the same Hong Kong sequence, Three strategizes with Two and says, “Okay, we do like that movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, okay?” Unimpressed with the reference, Two says, “They died at the end of that movie.” The moment cites the 1969 Robert Redford and Paul Newman classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. When Murat Alimov worries about his safety during 6 Underground’s climax, One attempts to calm him by referencing the song “Lose Yourself” from the 8 Mile soundtrack. “If you had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything that you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it or let it slip?” In the original track, songwriter and performer Eminem speaks the same words during the intro. In 6 Underground, Murat reacts by stating “You gave me fking goosebumps.” The 6 Underground credits reference Ocean’s Eleven, in which the titular characters rob a Las Vegas casino. After a successful mission in 6 Underground, the team walks together down an airport tarmac, with Three quipping “Next time, can we just knock off a f**king casino?” The line works as one final movie reference, and also helps set up potentially eight sequels for Netflix.
Next: What To Expect From 6 Underground 2
