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The end is never the end in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Post-credits sequences have become supremely important to the MCU, convincing the masses to sit through several minutes listing the names of underpaid and overworked VFX artists to get just a little more time with our favorite heroes.
Beloved as they are, not every post-credits scene is equally compelling or entertaining. Sometimes, they’re outright annoying. So let’s go ahead and sort them out.
Of course, there are a lot of post-credits scenes in the MCU. So, to keep this list from being too unwieldy, we’re putting in some limitations. This list won’t include post-credits scenes that are just pulled from later movies, such as Nick Fury giving Steve Rogers a new mission, which first played in Captain America: The First Avenger but was part of The Avengers. The list also won’t include anything from the One-Shots, Special Presentations, or TV series, as most of those set up something resolved in a later episode or, as in the case of Bruno telling Kamala that she’s a mutant in Ms. Marvel, get ignored altogether.
Even with those qualifications, we still have a lot of scenes to discuss, so no more waiting! Here are the MCU post-credits scenes ranked!
54. Still Not Ready (Eternals)
The second post-credits scene from Eternals was bad when it first played, and has now become embarrassing. It makes perfect sense to add a scene in which Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) takes the Ebony Blade, getting one step closer to becoming the Avenger Black Knight. But the decision to have him stopped by the voice of Blade (Mahershala Ali), completely off-screen and completely unidentified, is baffling. The fact that this is still, and may likely always be, the only bit of Ali’s Blade that the MCU ever gets makes the scene ten times worse.
53. Ant Rocks (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
By the time Ant-Man and the Wasp rolled around late in Phase Three, everyone had come to expect post-credits scenes. But the last bit in Ant-Man and the Wasp feels perfunctory, just a couple seconds of giant-sized Antony playing the drums. More than any of the others, the movie’s post-credits feel like an insult to the audience, even more so than the scene that actually teases the viewers for waiting around through the credits.
52. Tony Stark Walks Into a Bar (The Incredible Hulk)
Up until recently, The Incredible Hulk was the black sheep of the MCU, and not just because it featured Edward Norton’s one turn as Bruce Banner. The movie began life as a pseudo-sequel to And Lee’s Hulk, not as the second entry in a shared universe. Ironically, the one scene that ties Incredible Hulk to the MCU most underscores that difference, a clearly tacked-on moment in which Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) meets with Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) to say something vaguely Avenger-y.
51. Leading Nowhere (Captain America: Brave New World)
Den of Geek gave Captain America: Brave New World a relatively positive review, but even we can’t justify the way the film squanders Tim Blake Nelson’s return as Samuel Sterns. They don’t even bother calling him the Leader, and obvious reshoots make him feel disconnected from the rest of the movie. Those problems only compound in the final scene, in which Sterns warns Cap (Anthony Mackie) about other heroes from across the Multiverse, which leads into Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, but isn’t exactly new information.
50. A Happy Embrace (Thor: The Dark World)
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the last post-credits scene in Thor: The Dark World. We like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), we like seeing them hug, and the bit with the rampaging frost monster is humorous. But all of that should have been in the actual movie. Saving it for the post-credits adds nothing.
49. A Gathering of Losers (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)
Behold, the most cursed post-credits sequence in Marvel history! When Immortus, Rama-Tut, and the Centurion gather their fellow Variants in the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, it was supposed to set up the next major arc across Phases Five and Six. Instead, the off-screen actions of Kang actor Jonathan Majors forced Marvel to scuttle the idea, making the scene feel like a clip from another franchise in another reality.
48. Not Nick Fury (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
After Spider-Man: Far From Home, we learn that Nick Fury and Maria Hill are not in fact the human leaders of SHIELD, but rather the Skrulls Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and Soren (Sharon Blynn), filling in for their friends off-planet. The reveal is kind of cute, until you realize that it absolutely doesn’t jibe with what we have just been watching—even Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders had no idea, and so they played Fury and Hill straight. Worse, the scene leads directly into Secret Invasion, and nobody wants Secret Invasion.
47. Bucky Belongs in a Museum (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Look, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) has established himself as one of the bedrocks of the MCU. And that turn began in Winter Soldier, in which he changed from Steve’s (Chris Evans) old war buddy to a conflicted hero doing his best. But the bit of him visiting the Captain America museum to learn about himself adds no pathos or plot, and feels just like a scene cut from the main part of the movie and just shoved into the end.
46. Harry Styles, What a Pip (Eternals)
Eternals has the sad distinction of being the movie with not one, but two post-credits scenes teasing things that have never come to pass. Getting Harry Styles to play Starfox, an Avenger with questionable emotion-manipulating powers, made teens in the audience squeal—as did getting Patton Oswalt to voice Pip the Troll, just for cynical Gen Xers. But whatever excitement they generated has long since dissipated.
45. Too Many Sorcerers (Doctor Strange)
Doctor Strange gives us another end credit that sets up an immediately ignored plot point. The scene finds Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) continuing the heel turn hinted by the film’s climax by stripping away the magic from a paraplegic man played by Benjamin Bratt. Had Mordo actually become the villain he is in the comics, then this scene would be fine, perhaps even good. But when Ejiofor returns for Mutliverse of Madness, he’s playing a good Mordo from another reality, so what was the point?
44. It’s Wasp’s Damn Time (Ant-Man)
Film critic Tasha Robinson may have coined the term Trinity Syndrome in 2014, but the best example came a few years later in Ant-Man. Trinity Syndrome refers to a female character who already has all the skills to be a hero, but must train a doofy male instead… which is exactly what Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) does for Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). The fact Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) teases her becoming Wasp at the end only makes things worse, a sting somewhat lessened by the fact that she’s a co-headliner from there on out.
43. The Spider-Signal Activates (Captain America: Civil War)
Tom Holland makes for a delightful Spider-Man, and we only get a bit of him in Civil War, so more is good right? Well, mostly. It is nice to see Peter activate the Spider-Signal, a weird gadget from the comics that hasn’t shown up in any film adaptation. But at the same time, the scene only underscores how much Tony Stark becomes Peter’s rich benefactor, totally supplanting ol’ blue collar Uncle Ben.
42. Asgard Gone for Good (Thor: Ragnarok)
The first of Thor: Ragnarok‘s two post-credits scenes is a joke, and not a great one. After watching their home get destroyed, Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stand on the bridge of their ship, talk about how Asgard is a place and not a people, and say everything is going to be okay. And then Thanos’ massive ship arrives. Look, most of the jokes in Ragnarok land, so we can’t get too mad at a misfire. But it is a misfire that undercuts whatever thematic elements Ragnarok may have had going for it, especially when we see what Thanos has wrought in Infinity War.
41. Goose Coughs Up Continuity (Captain Marvel)
By the time we get to the post-credits scene in Captain Marvel, we already know the joke about Nick Fury’s scars. He didn’t get them by doing something cool. He got them when Goose the catflerkin scratched him. But even if that reveal annoyed you, you can’t get too mad at the bit in which Goose coughs up the Tessaract like a hairball. Did we need the continuity patch that the scene provided, tracking the Tesseract from the First Avenger to The Avengers? No. Was it irritating? Not if you’re a cat person.
40. Jane Foster’s Just Reward (Thor: Love and Thunder)
In a better movie, Jane Foster meeting Heimdall (Idris Elba) in the afterlife and being welcomed to the land of the gods would be sweet and cathartic. Jane’s return as the Mighty Thor carried weight, and it would allow us to see her one last time without undercutting her sacrifice. But because it occurs in Love and Thunder, the scene feels like an Old Spice commercial, from the shoddy special effects to Portman’s awkward and “cute” take on Jane going to Valhalla.
39. Bucky’s Back (Black Panther)
When Shuri (Letitia Wright) comes to roust Bucky back into action, she’s setting up Infinity War, in which the Winter Soldier will reunite with the heroes who had a huge fight with him in Civil War. That’s exciting, but the execution of the scene fails to live up to its potential. Instead, the scene feels more like a reminder to audiences that Cap left his pal in Wakanda, before Bucky (literally) rearms to fight Thanos.
38. Selvig Comes to SHIELD (Thor)
Now we’re firmly in the part of the list that consists of just fine teases for future projects. Is there anything bad about seeing Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) already mind-controlled by Loki and inside SHIELD headquarters? No. Is there anything compelling about it? Not really. It’s just a tease for what’s coming next, nothing more or less.
37. It’s Just Jeff Goldblum (Thor: Ragnarok)
Thor: Ragnarok gives us just one more taste of Jeff Goldblum doing his thing. Even though you can hardly turn on your TV without seeing Goldbum doing his thing on commercials for Wicked and apartments, it’s still funny, so we can’t get too upset about one more minute of Goldblum as the Grandmaster faces Sakaar’s rabble after his deposal.
36. He’s Here, He’s There… (Thor: Love and Thunder)
For a C-list hero, the Mighty Hercules has a surprising amount of great stories and he absolutely belongs in the MCU. And even though most of us only know Brett Goldstein from Ted Lasso, his hairy chest certainly means that he looks the part. But there’s been absolutely no word of Goldstein or Hercules appearing again in the MCU, making this post-credits scene feel more like a lark than a sign of things to come.
35. T’Challa Junior (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever begins as a celebration of late star Chadwick Boseman and the world that Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole created. And then it gets overtaken by Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), all setting up future Marvel stuff. However, the post-credits sequence briefly establishes that former tone by introducing Toussaint (Divine Love Konadu-Sun), the son of T’Challa and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o).
34. Here Comes Clea (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
As with Love and Thunder, the post-credits scene from Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness brings a long-established character into the MCU, where they’re promptly ignored. In this case, it’s Charlize Theron as Strange’s main squeeze, and sometime Sorcerer Supreme, Clea. The only reason that Clea edges out Hercules is that she talks about Incursions, events that will actually be part of the upcoming Avengers movies Doomsday and Secret Wars.
33. The Coming of the Beast (The Marvels)
If Marvel just let the post-credits scene of The Marvels play out, then it would have been a fun surprise. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) wakes up in an alternate reality, where she’s greeted by a Variant of her mother Maria (Lashana Lynch) as Binary and Beast of the X-Men (Kelsey Grammer). But because Marvel really hyped up the scene as the dawn of a new era in the MCU, specifically the coming of the X-Men, the scene gained way too much weight and cannot help but disappoint.
32. The Fantastic Four Power Hour (The Fantastic Four: First Steps)
The opening of a cheap ’60s cartoon about a Fantastic Four cartoon is fun and harmless, and it is. But one cannot help but wonder why in the world it comes at the end, instead of part of the world-building in the first 30 minutes. It’s a fun extra, but totally unnecessary.
31. Quill’s Breakfast (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
The cynical among us might say that the second post-credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 rips off a much better and much more famous scene. And they aren’t completely wrong, as it only consists of Quill eating breakfast at his grandfather’s house and talking about lawn mowing. But you know what? Guardians 3 was an intense watch, so we’ll gladly take a bit of downtime with our favorite legendary outlaw.
30. White Guy Deposit (Captain America: Civil War)
The scene in which Steve takes his pal Bucky to Wakanda is one of the rare (non-Thanos-related) teases for the future that actually pays off. Directed by Ryan Coogler instead of Civil War helmers the Russo Brothers, the scene gives us our first taste of Wakanda proper, whetting our appetite for the world we’ll fully meet in Black Panther. Plus, it cements the relationship between Steve and T’Challa, something that pays off in Infinity War.
29. Arrow Practice (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has five post-credits scenes and all of them are fine. They play like gangbusters when watched after the film, as fans just want to keep the good times going. To that end, the bit with Kraglin (Sean Gunn) accidentally sticking Drax (Dave Bautista) while using the arrow he inherited from Yondu (Michael Rooker) is just good harmless fun. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and it pays off with a goofy gag.
28. Adding to the Collection (Thor: The Dark World)
On the surface, the scene in which Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) bring the Aether to the Collector (Benicio Del Toro) works just as a taste for the next movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. To that end, it’s great, showing the viewers that the MCU is about to get much weirder. But the scene also is the first time someone says the words “Infinity Stones” (not, crucially, Infinity Gems, as they were called in Marvel Comics), thus tying the scene into the franchise’s first grand narrative.
27. The Sinister Two (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Given that the next time we see Michael Keaton’s Vulture after this scene, he’s trying to recruit Jared Leto in Morbius, the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming probably deserves to be a lot lower. That’s especially true since we’ve still never seen Michael Mando as the actual Scorpion. Still, we love Keaton and we love Mando, so we can’t completely hate this (still somewhat squandered) moment.
26. Ten Rings Reformed (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)
One of the better post-Endgame Marvel movies, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has a lot of heavy lifting to do. Not only does it need to introduce new hero Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), but it must also reestablish the Mandarin, leader of the terrorist group the Ten Rings from Iron Man, in the form of Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung). Obviously, there’s still work to be done, as we learn in the post-credits scene that sees Wenwu’s other child Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) ascend the throne as the new leader of the Ten Rings. We haven’t seen what she’ll do in that role yet, but that hasn’t become disappointment… yet.
25. Groot Goes Bad (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
Really, the confrontation between Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and adolescent Groot at the end of Guardians 2 is just another example of the tree-like alien doing something silly. However, this one gets a little more weight for the way it ties into the themes of the movie that proceeded it, as Quill—forced to walk a bit in his adoptive father Yondu’s shoes—has to be the scolding adult.
24. When Howard Met Cosmo (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Howard the Duck belongs in the MCU, but only a little. Before Blade in 1997, Howard was the one Marvel character to actually get his own movie, and an awful one at that. So it’s only fitting that Howard (voiced by Seth Green) get a little screentime at the end of Guardians, in the ruins of the Collector’s home. Even better, the scene lets him interact with fan-favorite Cosmo, long before Maria Bakalova started voicing the Russian space dog.
23. Wong Rocks Out (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)
Half of the other Shang-Chi post-credits scene is irritating, as it teases a team-up we may never get. Via holographic Zoom, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and a no-longer green Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) promise to investigate Shang-Chi’s bands and seem to hint that he’ll be joining the Avengers. But nothing can take away from the pleasure of watching Shang-Chi and Katy (Awkwafina) sing karaoke with Wong (Benedict Wong). Team-ups are temporary, but Wong is eternal.
22. The Creation of Adam (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
Ever since viewers noticed a cocoon in the Collector’s museum, fans have awaited the coming of Adam Warlock. Turns out, they’d have to wait a bit longer, as Guardians director James Gunn decided to do away with that cocoon and give us another one, this time in one of the post-credits of the second movie. Sitting in her golden palace, a defeated Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) looks at her own cocoon and pronounces her creation, “Adam.”
21. Dr. Banner Psych Out (Iron Man 3)
As the bottom of this list demonstrates, some of the worst post-credits scenes are the simple gags, jokes that aren’t funny enough to justify making audiences sit through the credits. Some may lump the post-credits scene of Iron Man 3 (certainly a divisive film) in with those, as it simply reveals that the voiceover throughout the movie comes from Tony Stark treating Bruce Banner as his unwilling psychiatrist. But as the joke provides genuine catharsis for the high stakes of the movie that precedes it, we kinda like the Iron Man 3 post-credits scene.
20. Thunderbolts, Assemble (Black Widow)
In one of the few examples of a TV post-credits scene actually mattering, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier actually introduced CIA head Val before she showed up on the big screen. And when she appears in Black Widow, visiting Yelena Balova (Florence Pugh) at Natasha Romanoff’s grave, she’s there to set up a plot beat in Hawkeye. But even more than her conversation with John Walker (Wyatt Russell) in Winter Soldier, Val’s Black Widow appearance shows that she’s got something devious up her sleeve, which eventually come to fruition with the Thunderbolts.
19. Spilled Venom (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
The Venom-focused post-credits scene from Spider-Man: No Way Home probably doesn’t belong on this list, as it’s a scene that gets used (in some form) in Venom: The Last Dance, nor does it belong this high, as it teases something that probably won’t happen when a bit of the Symbiote gets left on a Mexican bar. But we can’t help but love watching Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), transported to the MCU by the magical nonsense in the main movie, try to make sense of this new world he’s (briefly) in.
18. The New Guardians (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
By the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hit theaters, fans knew that James Gunn was leaving Marvel to be co-Head of DC Studios, leaving many to assume that most of the Guardians would die in his final outing. Instead, Gunn not only kept most of the team alive, but he also introduced a new team called the Annihilators of the Galaxy, which adds Adam Strange (Will Poulter) and Phyla-Vell (Kai Zen) alongside Kraglin, Rocket, Cosmo, and Groot. We haven’t seen much of this new incarnation yet, but it’s good to know they’re still out there.
17. Watchers, Not Listeners (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
Stan Lee cameos are just as much a part of the MCU as post-credits scenes, so it’s surprising that the two elements came together only once. In one of Guardians 2‘s post-credits scenes, we see that the astronaut played by Lee has finally bored members of an ancient race known as the Watchers, who quietly shuffle off. It’s a good joke that doesn’t take too long and leaves room for Jeffrey Wright’s more conventional take on the Watcher in the animated show What If….
16. Wade Knows He’s in a Movie (Deadpool & Wolverine)
People come to Deadpool movies to hear the Merc’ With a Mouth make jokes about superhero movie tropes. But it’s a very welcome relief to find that he doesn’t spend the post-credits scene of Deadpool & Wolverine commenting upon post-credit scenes. Instead, Wade breaks into the TVA to assuage (some) of his guilt for getting Johnny Storm (Chris Evans, of course) killed by editing footage from earlier in the film, now showing the Human Torch unleash a string of vile insults about Cassandra Nova, thus justifying the hero’s horrible death.
15. Meet the Maximoffs (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
The three characters introduced during the end credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier have changed a lot from that first meeting. Baron Strucker, a great villain wasted by the movies, dies off-screen at Ultron’s hand. Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is annoying for a while and then dies in that same movie. But Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) goes on to become one of the franchise’s best characters, a story that starts with this weird scene.
14. Breakfast of Champions (Thunderbolts*)
Who can hate Alexei Shostakov, the lovable Russian supersoldier played by David Harbour? Sure, he may be an enemy of America as the Red Guardian, and he may let his desire for fame and acceptance lead him into entanglements with Val. But he has a good heart, even when he looks stupid, which is exactly what happens at his highest moment. Alexei may have made it onto a Wheaties box in Thunderbolts*, but he’s still big nobody.
13. Ant-Man Lost (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
It’s hard to replicate the power of Infinity War‘s ending. The good guys lose to Thanos, and we have to watch as Spider-Man, Black Panther, and other beloved heroes waste away to nothing. Somehow, Ant-Man and the Wasp admirably repeats that moment in its (good) post-credits scene, showing Scott get stranded in the Quantum Zone after Hope, Hank, and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) get turned to dust in the Blip. Even better, the scene sets up an incredibly emotional beat for Scott in Endgame.
12. Pizza Poppa Pops Off (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
With the exception of James Gunn, Sam Raimi is the greatest director of superhero movies. And there’s nothing Sam Raimi loves more than making his childhood pal Bruce Campbell look stupid. He, of course, gets to do that in the main part of Multiverse of Madness, when Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) curses Campbell’s Pizza Poppa to punch himself in the face. But it’s even better when we revisit the Pizza Poppa in the post-credits scene, to see his suffering end long enough for Campbell to do a take to the camera.
11. The Original Guardians Unite (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
James Gunn is a comic book nerd, and comic book nerds that Star-Lord actually leads the second incarnation of the Guardians. The first incarnation is a group of alien freedom fighters in the 30th century, who carried their own book for a while in the 1990s. That team shows up during Yondu’s funeral in Guardians 2, but they really come together in a post-credit scene. That’s where Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone), Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum), Aleta Ogord (Michelle Yeoh), Krugarr, and Mainframe (voiced by Miley Cyrus) band together once again.
10. Carol Calls Upon the Avengers (Captain Marvel)
As a movie, Captain Marvel belongs firmly toward the bottom half of rankings, hampered by its 1990s setting and a confusing flashback-heavy structure. But when the post-credit sscene gives us a fully-powered Carol Danvers meeting up with the Avengers in a post-Infinity War present, it doesn’t disappoint. While the rag-tag Avengers try to figure out what to do in the wake of the Blip, Captain Marvel flies in and demands answers. She may initially rub her soon-to-be teammates the wrong way, but Carol immediately establishes that she has incredible power, something the Avengers will need to fight Thanos.
9. T’Challa Shows Them Who He Is (Black Panther)
Most of the entries on this list are either jokes or plot points. Black Panther features one of the few post-credits scenes built around the movie’s theme. The film has followed the newly-installed king T’Challa as he moves Wakanda from isolationism to embracing its responsibility to the world. So when T’Challa, joined by Nakia and Okoye (Danai Gurira), is challenged by a UN delegate about what his country can offer the world, we know that his response will be the fruit of his character development.
8. Paging Captain Marvel (Avengers: Infinity War)
While her first solo movie may have fumbled her introduction in the 1990s, Captain Marvel had one of the best overall introductions in the entire franchise. At the end of Infinity War, after the heroes have lost, just as he fades to dust, Nick Fury produces a pager and contacts Captain Marvel. Most MCU fans have no idea who Captain Marvel is or what she can do. But when her logo shows up on the pager, one thing is certain: help, very powerful help, is on the way.
7. Mad Titans Doin’ It For Themselves (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
Revisionists complaining about Marvel’s last few phases seem to think that Thanos had a much bigger presence in the movies before Infinity War. The truth is, he really didn’t appear outside of the first Guardians film, and even then in just one scene. Yet, the moment in which Thanos, finally voiced by Josh Brolin, grabs the Infinity Gauntlet and declares that he’ll find the Stones himself feels so notable that we believe he’s been there all along, a constant—if unseen—presence.
6. J. J.J. is Back (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
One of the MCU’s greatest strengths is its casting, finding pitch-perfect actors to portray Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and other comic book faves. But even Kevin Feige’s people couldn’t outdo Sam Raimi’s casting team from the first Spider-Man films. So when J.K. Simmons reprised his role as J. Jonah Jameson for Spider-Man: Far From Home, we all let out a cheer—a cheer so loud that we almost missed that he was revealing Spidey’s secret identity to everyone.
5. Groot Grooves (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Groot first appeared in comics as an alien invader from Planet X, one of the many sci-fi monsters that Stan Lee, his brother Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby came up with before the Marvel Age of Comics. But it was the Guardians of the Galaxy movies that made Groot into an A-list character, specifically the post-credits scene from the first film. Watch Groot, now as a sprout after his sacrifice, dance to “I Want You Back” forever won over everyone… well, everyone except for Drax.
4. So, You Want to Watch a Post-Credits Scene (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Throughout this list, we’ve bemoaned the post-credits scenes that seem to insult the viewer for sitting through the credits. But Captain America is so wholesome that he can make an insult feel like a compliment, which is what happens in his post-credits scene from Spider-Man: Homecoming. An extension of the video that Peter watches while in detention, the scene finds Cap extolling the virtues of patience, even if that patience doesn’t pay off with anything more than a jokey post-credits scene.
3. The Avengers Initiative (Iron Man)
The first MCU post-credits scene is still one of the most important. For most of its running time, Iron Man is just a better done version of any superhero movie we’ve seen up to that point, laying out the origin of the hero. But when Samuel L. Jackson appears on screen, looking exactly like the Nick Fury from Marvel’s Ultimate Universe (whom artist Bryan Hitch did base on Jackson), and name drops the Avengers, we realize we’re seeing something more than just a superhero movie. We’re seeing the birth of a cinematic universe.
2. Courting Death (The Avengers)
As stated earlier, people remember Thanos being a much more consistent presence in the first three phases than he actually was. Part of the reason he feels so omnipresent is, of course, the “I’ll do it myself” scene and especially his first appearance at the end of The Avengers, when he’s revealed to be the big bad behind the attack on New York. The simple image of Thanos smiling to the camera, the in-joke pun about courting death (in the comics, Thanos is in love with the physical embodiment of Death); all of it works like a victory lap for the already triumphant film that somehow brought together several solo heroes.
1. Schwarma Dinner (The Avengers)
Some may say that MCU movies are sci-fi films, others call them action films, and still others see them as fantasies of a sort. While the franchise has all of those elements, Marvel movies are first and foremost light comedies about likable characters hanging out together. For that reason, the finale scene in The Avengers is not just the best post-credits scene, but it’s also the most important moment in the MCU. In that moment, we realize that even more than watching heroes fight supervillains, we like watching these particular characters hang out together, even if it’s just to eat schwarma.
The post The Marvel Post-Credits Scenes, Ranked appeared first on Den of Geek.
