The Evil Dead Easter Egg You May Not Have Noticed In Sam Raimi's Spider-Man

Comic book movies are always full of Easter eggs, especially Marvel movies. Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" films are no exception. You'll find decades of superhero history scattered throughout, with subtle nods to several comic book heroes and villains. There's even a reference to their old rivals DC as Peter Parker shouts out classic superhero catchphrases while perfecting his web-slinging. "Shazam," anyone?

But for "Evil Dead" fans like me, there are some even groovier Easter eggs to be found.

Aside from his "Spider-Man" trilogy, Sam Raimi is best known for introducing the world to Ash Williams, the chainsaw-wielding, boomstick-toting hero of the "The Evil Dead," played by Bruce Campbell. It's no secret that Campbell appeared in several cool cameos throughout Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy — appearing as a wrestling ring announcer in "Spider-Man," a theatre usher in "Spider-Man 2" and a French maître d' in "Spider-Man 3."

But there's one "Spider-Man" Easter egg you may not have noticed — the appearance of a very familiar car. Hail to the Oldsmobile, baby.

It first appeared in "The Evil Dead" as the car driven by Ash and the gang as they take their fateful trip to the cabin in the woods. Then, the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 was seen in every one of the film's subsequent sequels. Ash's unmistakable classic car even made its way to medieval England in "Army of Darkness" after it was pulled through a time vortex, and after a bit of an upgrade, became one of Hollywood's most ridiculous on-screen vehicles.

By 2002, the Delta 88 should have seen better days ... but somehow, it ended up in Uncle Ben's possession. That's right, Ash's Oldsmobile made it into "Spider-Man."

Also known as "The Classic," the iconic Oldsmobile was no longer being driven by Ash Williams. Instead, it was Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) behind the wheel. It wasn't a small cameo either — Uncle Ben drives the classic car when he first gave Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) that legendary speech. With great power comes great responsibility ... and a pretty sweet ride, too.

After its debut in "Spider-Man," the '73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 became the Parker family car.

It returned in "Spider-Man 2" but it's unclear what happened to it after Uncle Ben's untimely death. Whether or not Aunt May drove that thing around town is a mystery — "The Classic" is only seen in a brief cameo on the driveway outside the Parker family home. And let's face it, with Peter's web-swinging, he doesn't exactly need to rely on a car to get around. After all, the traffic in New York City is a nightmare.

Again, the car returned in "Spider-Man 3" but this time, director Sam Raimi got creative with its cameo appearance. Since Uncle Ben was no longer with us at this point (RIP) and the car had already lazily hung out on the Parker family drive, it was down to a black-and-white flashback to sneak the Oldsmobile back into the franchise.

After confronting Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), the young Peter Parker finally learns the truth about Uncle Ben's death ... and is finally able to let his anger go. Most importantly, he gets a fleeting glimpse of the majestic '73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 as the Sandman and his criminal partner make off with the stolen car.

"I did a terrible thing to you," says Sandman. "I spent a lot of nights wishing I could take it back." Thankfully, "The Classic" made its way back home for "Spider-Man 2." It's what Uncle Ben would have wanted.

Even for a car, this thing sure gets around, and not just in "Spider-Man" movies, either.

Sam Raimi has included the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 in most of his movies to date. Of course, "The Evil Dead" was Raimi's first film and the first appearance of "The Classic." It then went on to appear in "Evil Dead II" and "Army of Darkness." But in-between these horror sequels, it also popped up in "Crimewave" in 1985, as well as Raimi's first superhero movie, "Darkman" in 1995.

Hilariously, Bruce Campbell had some tough words for "The Classic" in his autobiography, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor":

"This damn car has been in more movies than I have! For some reason, it became the all-purpose car that appeared in almost every Super-8 film we ever made. When Sam began to make feature films, he kept using it—starting with Evil Dead in 1979."

Campbell claims that the car was the same one driven by Raimi's mom when she used to drop them off at the movie theater as kids. And he even joked that Raimi lost his virginity in the backseat:

"This car knew where the bodies were buried. It had some deep history. I'm not a method actor by any means, but it was really cool to have that crappy car back. It meant a lot. It made this real."

After the "Evil Dead" trilogy, Sam Raimi's Oldsmobile was next seen in "A Simple Plan" in 1998, followed by "The Gift" in 2000. Then it's off to the "Spider-Man" universe for a few years before it reappears in the 2009 supernatural horror, "Drag Me to Hell." It has since appeared in many other film and TV projects, including the 2013 "Evil Dead" reboot, "Oz the Great and Powerful" and of course, the "Ash vs Evil Dead" TV show.

Now that "Evil Dead Rise" is on its way to HBO Max, will it include its own Oldsmobile tribute? We'll have to wait and see. But it would be really groovy if it does.