Before
Tyler Durden is introduced in the movie, he pops up and then disappears in four different scenes, it happens very quickly and it is easy to miss, in fact each of appearances only last for one
frame each (Thanks
TallRoo for the frames detail). The places he shows up are:
- When The Narrator (Edward Norton) is at the copy machine and is staring into space, Tyler appears.
- When the doctor tells The Narrator that real pain can be seen at the testicular cancer meeting, Tyler appears behind him.
- At the testicular cancer meeting, the chairman calming down Thomas from talking has Tyler appear behind him with his arm around his shoulder.
- When The Narrator sees Marla Singer leave the brain parasites group and watches her walk down the street, Tyler appears between the two of them in the street.
There is a fifth time that Tyler shows up that is not subliminal, when The Narrator is in his single serving hotel room, the television is on and an image is shown of a group of waiters all saying welcome. Tyler is the waiter in the first row on the far right hand side.
The first time we actually get to "see" Tyler is on the flat escalator travelling in the opposite director to The Narrator. This isn't a subliminal scene or a hidden reference as such, but rather the last real step before Tyler enters The Narrator's world.
Another interesting thing to note is that in the credits Edward Norton's character is only described as "The Narrator" and even though there is the running "I am Joe's..." joke, through-out the movie we are never told his actual name.
Finally in the last few seconds before the movie finishes a cock is flashed on the screen, the same cock that Tyler was using to splice into Disney films. This one is a little easier to pick and you know exactly what it is when you see it.
Yes I am aware that in the movie it is "I am Jack's..." Thanks go out to the fifty odd people who have messaged me informing me of that fact. However in the book it is
I am Joe's, and there is a
I am Joe's node that lists all the different things of Joe that I am. Thus the reason for
I am Joe's... in the above w/u and not Jack's... Please no more messages telling me it is Jack not Joe.