The episode was adapted from the San Francisco arc from the Shin Lupin manga.
The mercenary looking for Lupin is nicknamed by some fans as Spike Spiegel due to the vague resemblance of the character from Cowboy Bebop (itself was influenced from Lupin and that Norio Wakamoto voiced Vicious and this character). His actual name is Starmow.
The smile that Starmow makes in the car with the rocket launcher is similar to the smile that Cobra from Space Adventure Cobra makes.
The car that Starmow drives is a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Seville.
There are no palm trees south of Miami. However, because the establishing shot takes place in a dream, the error can be forgiven.