Each sequel has a not very subtle reference to the film before it

First Blood (1982) references in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985):
- In both films Rambo is captured and one of the villains (Galt, Padovsky) takes Rambo's knife and starts playing with it
- In both films Rambo escapes his captures after he snaps and grabs his knife on his way out
- In both films Rambo destroys an empty building with an M60 machine gun
- In both films Rambo does not kill the final enemy (Teasle, Murdoch) but scares the living sh!t out of them.
- The shot of Rambo holding the knife above Murdoch is almost identical to Rambo holding the knife above that kid with the hunting rifle
- As Rambo is loading the POWs onto the chopper we hear the same music from when Rambo jumped off the cliff and rammed the road block
- Very unnecessary shot of Stallone's rear end.

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) references in Rambo III (1988):
- Co's necklace
- The scene where Zayson interrogates Trautman is almost identical to the scene where Padovsky interrogates Rambo.
- In both films Rambo steals an enemy chopper.
- In both films the Russians are the bad guys.
- Both films have almost the exact same score.
- In both films Rambo has to infiltrate an enemy prison camp and is unsuccessful in freeing the hostages the first time and must return a second time.
- Both films have explosive arrows
- In both films Rambo starts by wearing a black tanktop which is later discarded
- Both films show Rambo putting on his Buddha necklace and bandanna in the same way.
- Both films feature a scene where the villain drops a tank of napalm from a chopper and Rambo has to outrun it (or outclimb it). The same music also plays in both scenes.
- Same shot of Rambo assembling his bow and arrow.

Rambo III (1988) references in Rambo (2008):
- In both films Rambo initially refuses to go on the mission.
- In both films someone (Griggs and the Pastor) shows up to tell Rambo that the mission wasn't successful and that motivates him to go in
- In both films during the final fight he is reinforced by a group of rebels (Mujaradeen and the Karen rebels)
- Both films portray the villains as rapists
- In both films Rambo attaches an object (blue light, part of Sarah's jacket) to an explosive and when the villains pick up said object the explosive detonates.
- In both films Rambo hijacks a turret on the end of a truck.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine