The Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced some of the most incredible films of the past couple of decades; some would argue they are some of the best of all time. What makes these films even more intriguing, however, is how many fascinating facts there are about them, and how many Easter eggs there are hiding within them.

These four facts will blow your friends’ minds and you might not even believe some of them yourself.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack sold over a million copies

The first film soundtrack to sell over a million copies was Frozen, with ‘Let it Go’ clearly being the principal reason behind this. However, Guardians of the Galaxy, released in 2014, became the second. It isn’t difficult to see why, when it is composed of 12 songs already familiar to millions around the world.

The soundtrack topped the US Billboard 200 chart, and was the first soundtrack album in history consisting only of previously released songs to do so. Including hits from David Bowie, Blue Swede, The Jackson 5, and Marvin Gaye, it is a true masterpiece. However, this doesn’t mean to say it influenced how popular the movie was itself. According to Cash Lady, Black Panther sits as the all-time favorite movie in the world, while Guardians of the Galaxy only won over the love of one country: Germany.

Jeremy Renner was trained by Olympic archers to play Hawkeye

The California-born actor has played Clinton Francis Barton, or Hawkeye, in Thor, Captain America: Civil War, and three Avengers movies. While watching, you might have noticed that he seems pretty handy with a bow and arrow. Well, that would be because he was helped by Olympic athletes when preparing for his portrayal of the character. Whichever your favorite of the aforementioned movies is, it’s plain to see that training paid off.

Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase 2 Marvel movie

The trend started at the beginning of Phase 2 (2013–2015) as a tribute to Star Wars, where the loss of a limb is a staple. After that, it snowballed and took place in every one of the six Phase 2 films. Many more have lost limbs in the other phases, but it was the second where the trend lay heaviest.

In Iron Man 3, Aldrich Killian has his arm severed by Tony Stark; in Thor: The Dark World, Loki cuts of Thor’s hand to trick Malekith; in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky loses his arm in a fall from a train; in Guardians of the Galaxy, both Groot and Nebula are victims; in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ulysses Klaue’s arm is cut off in Ultron’s anger; and in Ant-Man, Yellowjacket loses his right arm before disappearing into the Quantum Realm.

Chris Hemsworth took home only around $150,000 for ‘Thor’ in 2011

He might be one of the biggest names in cinema now, but that certainly wasn’t the case when Thor was first released in 2011. Taking home only $150,000, the lead actor shot to fame. In the subsequent Avengers film, Hemsworth earned around $2–3m, and took home $15m each time for Thor: Ragnarok, Infinity War and Endgame. It’s fair to say that Marvel Studios now knows his worth to the franchise.