Part of this episode is set at Culver University. Culver University is where Bruce Banner Hulked out in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Two of the villains recruited by Cal originated in Daredevil comics. David Angar (aka Angar the Screamer) first appeared in Daredevil #100 (1973) and Karla Faye Gideon made her debut in Daredevil: Redemption #1 (2005).
This episode reveals that Fitz ( Iain De Caestecker ) owns the Grumpy Cat mug from A Fractured House (2014).
The title "One of us" is a reference to the 1933 classic film Freaks, about circus freaks. It's the line repeated by the freaks in the final scene.