WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Loki Episode 3, "Lamentis," streaming now on Disney+.

The first episode of Marvel Studios' Loki contained a number of Easter eggs and callbacks to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, there is one reference that seems to have flown under fans' radars, and its inclusion may indicate that Marvel still has plans for a seemingly forgotten villainous group: Iron Man 3's Advanced Idea Mechanics.

In Iron Man 3, Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) was a scientific think-tank created and led by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), whose plan was to use the Extremis serum to create an army of super-soldiers. Killian and his soldiers were ultimately beaten by Iron Man, and A.I.M. was seemingly disbanded. The MCU has barely acknowledged the group since the film's release in 2013, which is disappointing since they have a storied history in the comics.

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As such, it came as a huge surprise when the first episode of Loki dropped a reference to A.I.M., and many fans may not have even noticed it. In the very last scene of the episode, a group of the Time Variance Authority's Minutemen travel to Oklahoma in the year 1858 to investigate a mysterious variant. Right as they arrive, they discover a mysterious piece of technology from the early third millennium shoved into the ground. The Minutemen scan the device, and text is briefly visible on their screen that identifies it as a Quantum Ore Shovel, created by Advanced Idea Mechanics.

Moments later, the Minutemen are murdered by a Loki variant (who audiences soon come to know as Sylvie), so there is no resolution to the appearance of this device. However, the fact that A.I.M.'s name shows up at all indicates that they managed to survive Iron Man's defeat of Killian and are continuing to create advanced technology well into the future.

The fact that the device ended up in Sylvie's hands also raises an interesting question: could Sylvie be somehow working with A.I.M., using their Quantum Ore Shovel to draw the TVA to her and then kill them? It certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility, considering the group's tendency towards large-scale and ridiculous schemes in the comics, but it could feel a bit out-of-left-field for what the Loki series seems to be trying to do.

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It's more likely that Sylvie simply took an item from the future and used it to attract the TVA, only caring that it was anachronistic and not really noticing its manufacturer. From what viewers know of her so far, working with A.I.M. doesn't really seem like something Sylvie is particularly interested in, and it is unclear how the group could even get the attention of the time-traveling variant.

If Marvel Studios really were setting up A.I.M. for a return in the future, it seems likely that they would do more than name-drop it in some barely-legible text that is onscreen for less than five seconds. Still, the fact that Marvel Studios went out of its way to include a graphic displaying the sinister organization's name shows that they are still thinking of ways to incorporate A.I.M. into their universe, even if it's only in small ways.

Created by Michael Waldron and directed by Kate Herron, Loki stars Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer, Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Tara Strong as Miss Minutes, Eugene Cordero as Casey, Sasha Lane as Hunter C-20 and Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, with Richard E. Grant and Jack Veal. New episodes premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.

KEEP READING: A Loki Guide: News, Easter Eggs, Reviews, Recaps, Theories and Rumors