Falcon and Winter Soldier Xbox ad hilariously reveals Thor’s smack-talking Fortnite nemesis Noobmaster69

Earth’s Mightiest heroes may have been on a mission to save the world in Avengers: Endgame, but Korg and his buggy pal Miek had much more pressing matters to attend to back in New Asgard. Hanging out playing Fortnite in Thor’s slouch-cave, Korg just couldn’t reach the top of the battle royale charts thanks to the constant trolling of a little online pipsqueak who went by the gamertag NoobMaster69.

Thor needed plenty of convincing (and beer) to get back in the world-saving fight, but he had no trouble bringing the hammer down on that pesky online nemesis. Endgame never showed viewers who it was on the other end of Thor’s mighty tongue-lashing, but it turns out the MCU may have been trolling us with one of the longest-developing Easter eggs Marvel’s ever cracked.

Thanks to a new crossover between Xbox and Marvel to promote The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (as well as Xbox Game Pass), it looks as though NoobMaster69 may not be a stranger to the MCU. See if you can place where you’ve seen him before in this clip featuring Anthony Mackie (Falcon):

Yep, that’s overzealous Aaron, the guy from the Apple Store in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Coming on strong in the customer service game when Cap and Black Widow just wanted to be left alone with their super-secret USB drive, our hapless helper was happy to share his real name in the movie. But who knew he was going home at day’s end to log on as one of the gaming world’s most notorious fictional trolls?

Played by comedian D.C. Pierson, Aaron’s minor role in Winter Soldier was mainly to serve up some comedic relief to help cut through the tension as Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov stayed one step ahead of HYDRA. But come to think of it, that was kind of NoobMaster69’s role in Endgame. Hulk and Thor were just moments away from a serious standoff at the mention of Thanos’ name, so of course Thor had to show he was still one of the good guys by rescuing Korg, in hilarious god-of-thunder fashion, from his trash-talking Fortnite foe.

Does this mean the MCU has officially inducted Aaron’s identity as NoobMaster69 into official Marvel movie canon? Eh, we’re skeptical. It’s a fun commercial, but it feels more like a one-off nod to the MCU’s savvy incorporation of gaming culture than it does a proper character moment. But you have to love that callback game.

Then again, Pierson’s last appearance in the MCU came five years before Endgame was released, three years before Fortnite first appeared, and nearly seven years before Pierson showed up for this promotion — and Marvel does love a good comeback story. All we know is, if Aaron and Thor do end up onscreen together in a future Marvel movie, it’s a safe bet (after this) that fans will instinctively start screaming at Aaron to run for his life.