Netflix's collaboration with Riot Games to produce the animated series Arcane brought about one of the best shows of the year. Based on the popular MOBA League of Legends, the show featured several characters and storylines from the game and other spin-offs.
While there are plenty of hidden references and setups for future reveals in the show, there are also Easter eggs that only fans of the games will notice, and many of them are only noticeable to those who are paying particularly close attention.
9 Teemo Appears Pretty Much Everywhere
Perhaps one of the most prevalent Easter eggs in Arcane is the character Teemo, who appears on more than one occasion in the show. Teemo, also known by his alias The Swift Scout, is a young Yordle champion with a focus on stealthiness, movement, and poison attacks.
Depictions of Teemo in the Netflix series appear on two specific occasions; one on an arcade that Powder is playing in episode two, and the other in one of the children's books Marcus' daughter owns, as seen in the hands of one of Silco's minions when he pays the Enforcer a visit to intimidate him.
8 The Three Masks & A Little Something More
Benzo's shop in the Lanes is a veritable treasure trove of Easter eggs, and one of the more interesting ones is the appearance of three masks that appear on one of his shelves. Each of the three masks is a reference to something from the games; the popular champion Jhin, the Liandry's Anguish mythic item, and a Blood Moon mask.
Keen-eyed fans of the game might also notice another familiar item on the shelf with the masks; an Eye of Ascension, a legendary item that provides free coins in addition to some other bonuses, but was removed from the game in a patch several years ago.
7 A Captured Krug In A Cage
One of the more obvious Easter eggs in the games is the appearance of a strange, blue-eyed beetle creature in a cage in the Lanes. The creature appears briefly as Vi and the gang pass through on their way back from their adventure in Piltover.
Fans of the games will recognize the creature as a Krug, a magical creature that is made of stone yet behaves more like an animal. Though they can grow to be quite large, the one captured here appears to be a much smaller variety called a Mini Krug.
6 Rabadon's Deathcap Is For Sale In Benzo's Shop
Another one of the references found in Benzo's shop, from a distance viewers can see a witch-like hat sitting on one of the shelves in the back. This appears to be Rabadon's Deathcap, another legendary item available in the game.
The Deathcap is a perfect item for casters, or any other champion looking to deal heavy amounts of magical damage, and can carry one through to the late game. How such a powerful item ended up in Benzo's hands is anyone's guess.
5 Powder's Drawings Have Plenty Of References
At one point in episode three, "The Base Violence Necessary For Change," Powder is sitting and crying beside her open case, which reveals several interesting items. While the attention of viewers might be drawn to the glowing Hex crystals, there are some references to the game hidden within as well.
One of those Easter eggs is a picture of what appears to be Fishbones, one of Jinx's main weapons in the game. The other, a pair of black and white wings outline in pink, might be a reference to one of Jinx's skins, Star Guardian Jinx.
4 Gragas' Barrels Of Grog Are Being Used To Smuggle Shimmer
As Hextech begins to make Piltover one of the most powerful and influential cities in the world, something sinister brews in the streets below. Having rid himself of Vander, Silco begins manufacturing vast amounts of shimmer and smuggling them into the city.
In one such operation, the shimmer has been smuggled aboard an airship disguised in seemingly innocuous barrels of ale; the logo on these barrels features Gragas, a character from the game known for his love of drinking and brutal bouts of fisticuffs.
3 Tryndamere's Helmet Hangs Over Benzo's Front Door
Another of the seemingly endless amount of Easter eggs seen in Benzo's shop, hanging above the door is a large, horned helmet; this appears to be a reference to Tryndamere, a melee-based champion who wears such a helmet in his original skin.
While Arcane is full of references to many of the different champions available in the game, this seems to be one of the more direct and obvious examples, however, it is unclear if Tryndamere himself will ever actually appear in the show.
2 Viktor's Hex Core In The Show Has An In-Game Equivalent
A large part of the story in Arcane hinges around Viktor and Jayce's collaboration to create Hextech, a development that spurs the city of Piltover into a new age. Yet while Jayce becomes distracted by other matters, Viktor continues to push forward in his research, hoping for a cure to his fatal condition.
His research comes to fruition with the creation of the Hexcore, a powerful device with many unintended consequences. This Hexcore seems to have an equivalent in the game as well, an item called the Prototype Hex Core that players of Viktor will start with in their inventory.
1 Marcus' Daughter Has An Urf Plushie
Midway through the show, there is a scene in which the Enforcer Marcus returns home only to find Silco and his minions in his daughter's room in an obvious act of intimidation. It is somewhat ironic then that this scene features one of the most amusing Easter eggs in the show.
Sitting on the bed behind the young girl is a manatee plushie; this is almost certainly a reference to the character Urf, who while not an actual playable character is something of an ongoing April Fools' joke within the game.