The Golden Gun. Classic.

The Cross of Lorraine flag (the one hanging next to the Dracula banner) is a reference to Magnum PI–it was the emblem of Thomas Magnum’s Vietnam SEAL team.
 
Andy’s a big Magnum fan; Pony Magnum has been in every one of his story arcs.

@Background Pony #3510 More like she probably seduced him and smothered him with her giant fat cakeflank.

The gun AJ is looking at, it’s not Francisco Scaramanga’s golden gun, is it? (Checks the tags) Wow, I guess it is.

Pinkie Pie ; Behold Dashie this lantern!  
Rainbow Dash : Wooooaaaaaahhh!

@Background Pony #2D2C  
Naval Ensign or Gunkanki.
 
And we’re speculating/headcanoning on that.

Why is the Imperial Japanese flag hanging in the cavern?

@Background Pony #E00D  
I believe that James bond is not a codename, but a Time Lord.

@SaburoDaimando  
“She has a powerful weapon, she charges a million a shot…”

@platypusmac  
But did James Bond know Celestia? She’d make a great Bond girl.

@Hippodrome  
The other flags could be the spoils of similar exploits in human history as well.

@Antonyourknee  
Probably also taken because of similarities in worship to the Sun.
 
Shinto for the win.

@SaburoDaimando  
Perhaps Starswirl used the magic mirror to travel to Earth(specifically Imperial japan) during the early 20th century and stole a flag for “research purpose”.you could say that the mirror inverts times so it could be possible that he did that a thousand Equestrian years ago even thought on earth it was only about a hundred years presuming the time frame in EQG is in that time frame.

@Sr Pelusa  
So, Celestia knows James Bond?  
Daaaaamn, by sealing the original door Starswirl locked away the possibility of calling the multiverse’s greatest heroes to the rescue, should the need arise…

I see a rendition of Our Gunkanki, and instantly like it.

@Background Pony #3510  
@Lathius
 
Arguably, this is one of the “lightest” issues in terms of cultural references from the Price/Cook team. In a “fun” story, like Luna’s micro, flooding it with pop culture jokes can be good, but I’m glad on this more serious story they toned it back, and where they pop up, they are there for flavor or background elements, and not as forced as some other cases. Like this shot of SStB’s cave - it immediately gives an idea of his eccentricity that we later get from the flashback panels, as well as a bit of foreshadowing why there are some anachronistic things in that shot.

@Background Pony #3510  
I think its fine as long as its simply in busy scenes like these and doesn’t obfuscate every other panel.

@platypusmac  
It is Francisco Scaramanga’s Golden gun from ames Bond The Man With the Golden Gun book and movie.

So Many Refrences. One of the other images has Jefreys Tubes mentioned. That’s from Star Trek!

@Heterodyne  
It is that gun (look around for the replicas that can be assembled to make the “gun”)

@Background Pony #3510  
Isn’t that exactly what they did?

@Background Pony #3510  
Gotta admit, they do go overboard with them at times.

@JP  
She could have probably already copied what information she could into some other blank books for the royal library. As for everything else, she maybe left it the way it is out of respect for Starswirl.

if there is at least one thing I dislike about the comics, one thing, is that they go WAY overboard with the references. here I think they are having a reference seizure personally.
 
it can be funny and amusing, but not when we have it seem that they are stealing stuff from human diemsnions even or something……….
 
though if this was truly canon and what it looks like, it means that celestia killed james bond………….  
huh, probably just used common sense.