A Definitive Ranking of the MCU Post Credit Scenes

Marvel

Aug 14

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become known for its penchant for post-credit scenes, training audiences to wait through the credits for any movie.

Most scenes involve teasers or some closure to unresolved plotlines. Sometimes though, it’s just wasted space. What follows is a definitive ranking of all the MCU post-credit scenes.

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40. Hawkeye

At the end of Hawkeye’s Christmas adventure, audiences are treated to a musical number from Rogers: The Musical. While humorous, this scene adds nothing to the plot although it did add a new musical show to the real world.

39. Spider-Man Homecoming

At the end of Spider-Man’s first solo adventure, Vulture meets Scorpion in a prison cell but refuses to reveal Spider-Man’s identity. In a hilarious departure from the established trend of teasers, the final scene shows a video of Captain America lecturing about patience, leading to fans feeling like their time was wasted.

38. The Incredible Hulk

In the post-credits scene of The Incredible Hulk, Tony Stark finds General Ross and mentions they’re putting a team together, further cementing the idea that these films take place in the same universe. This scene is a continuation of the famous Nick Fury Avengers Initiative.

37. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

After traversing the multiverse, Dr. Strange meets Clea who accuses him of causing an incursion and drags him to some unknown universe to fix the mistake. This scene does little more than introduce a new character to the MCU.

36. Iron Man 2

After the events of Iron Man 2, Agent Coulson finds Thor’s hammer Mjolnir in a mysterious crater in New Mexico.

This marks the first time the stinger teased an upcoming Marvel movie instead of continuing the Avengers Initiative plotline, but the scene only served to introduce a new character.

35. The Avengers

In a break from the serious post-credit scenes, the end of the movie saw the Avengers enjoying some shawarma, but the MCU managed to keep its trademark stinger with the first appearance of Thanos wearing a menacing smile. Although Thanos introduced a major threat, the scene did little to advance the story.

34. Guardians of the Galaxy

Taking another break from the heavy stingers, the first cosmic adventure of the MCU ended with a scene of Baby Groot dancing while trying not to be seen by Drax.

The final scene was a shoutout showing the Collector drinking with Cosmo and Howard the Duck. This scene is pure fluff with humor and cameos but it’s entertaining nonetheless.

33. Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special

After a holiday romp, Rocket and Cosmo are trying to decorate Groot with Christmas lights. When it fails, Cosmo complains that Groot ruined Christmas again. Rocket snips that they have to have another special to explain this point.

32. Avengers: Age of Ultron

After the Avengers save the world for a second time, the MCU brings back the threat of Thanos as the Mad Titan grabs the Infinity Gauntlet and says, “Fine I’ll do it myself.” Although this did not advance the plot much, Thanos would finally make good on his threats in Infinity War.

31. Spider-Man No Way Home

In the post-credits scene for No Way Home, Venom is enjoying drinks at a tiki hut when he's sent back to his universe and leaves behind a symbiote particle. This scene connects the MCU to Sony’s Venom Verse. In a new scene added in the home release, Betty Brant hosts a newscast with pictures of high school adventures. Peter Parker is missing from pictures to show the full effects of Dr. Strange’s spell. The post-credits scene in theaters was simply a trailer for Multiverse of Madness, leaving fans wondering about Peter’s fate.

30. What If?

Although, What If? is set in a different universe from the main timeline, it is still considered part of MCU’s Phase 4. After an adventure with alternate heroes, Captain Carter discovers the Hydra Stomper that Steve Rogers used to fight bad guys and discovers someone is still inside.

29. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

After Sam and Bucky’s joint adventure, Agent Sharon Carter gets a full pardon and her old position which she plans to use to betray the government by selling confidential information, leading into Captain America: Brave New World.

28. Black Widow

After their time together in Black Widow Natasha’s sister Yelena visits her grave. At the gravesite, Valentina shows up and offers up Clint as her next target, leading directly into the Hawkeye series.

27. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

A post-credits scene in Quantumania revealed a council of Kang variants working together, setting up the threat for Kang Dynasty. Taking a page out of No Way Home, the final scene was a teaser for the second season of Loki where Loki and Mobius find Kang posing as Victor Timely.

26. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

After She-Hulk proves her mettle as an attorney and a superhero, a final scene shows Wong breaking Emil Blonsky out of prison to bring him to Kamar-Taj permanently. This may set up events for a Shang-Chi sequel, but overall, it’s just a funny scene showing Wong defying social and government norms.

25. Eternals

At the end of Eternals, Pip the Troll and Thanos’ brother Eros meet the Eternals and reveal that their friends have been kidnapped and promise to help find them. A second scene shows a man reaching for the ebony blade when an unseen voice asks if Mr. Whitman is ready for it.

24. Iron Man 3

After Iron Man’s last standalone adventure, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo perform a humorous scene as Tony Stark seeks out therapy with Dr. Bruce Banner. Banner tells Tony he’s not that kind of doctor.

23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

After Peter returns to Earth, Mantis explores the cosmos to find herself, and Drax and Nebula devote themselves to building a society on Knowhere, a new team of Guardians consisting of Groot, Cosmo, Kraglin, Adam Warlock, and Phyla with Rocket as their captain protect the galaxy. A final scene shows a humorous with Peter Quill trying to relate to his grandfather. This scene sets up a new team and provides some closure to the previous Guardians’ stories.

22. Captain America: The First Avenger

After the MCU’S Captain America unfreezes in the present day, he is approached by Fury who recruits him to save the world. This is the final post-credits scene leading to the ambitious Avengers crossover film.

21. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

After Shuri finally allows herself to grieve the loss of her brother and mother, she meets her nephew Toussaint, who was living in Haiti with his mom Nakia. Toussaint tells Shuri that his real name is Prince T’Challa, son of King T’Challa. While this scene provides closure to Shuri and audiences, it’s a departure from the traditional stingers and teasers that made the MCU famous for its post-credits scenes.

20. Thor: Love and Thunder

After Thor’s fourth MCU adventure, Zeus bemoans superheroes taking the spotlight away from gods and sends Hercules after Thor. The final scene shows Jane Foster entering Vahalla with Heimdell waiting to welcome her. This provides closure to a character introduced back in Phase 1 and sets up a future threat.

19. Thor: Ragnarok

The end of Thor: Ragnarok leads directly into Infinity War as Thanos’ ship overtakes the Asgardians. In a separate scene, the Grandmaster declares a tie when he’s stranded with revolutionaries in a trash heap on Sakaar.

18. Black Panther

After T’Challa makes history in the MCU, he decides to open Wakanda and its vibranium resources to the world. Meanwhile, Bucky wakes up and is revealed to be the White Wolf. This scene sets up Wakanda to be a key player in the MCU.

17. Iron Man

At the end of Iron Man, Nick Fury approaches Tony Stark about a project called the Avengers Initiative. This moment was the first hint of a cinematic universe and a promise to bring multiple superheroes together in one movie.

16. Thor

After Thor completes his exile on Earth, the end credits reveal Dr. Selby is recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. In a surprise stinger, Loki, thought to be dead, appears when Selby sees the Tesseract. It’s further revealed that Loki is controlling Selby, bringing the God of Mischief into sensitive government operations and setting up an Avenger’s level threat.

15. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The post-credits scene of the second Captain America film revealed that Hydra has possession of Loki’s scepter. The scene panned to reveal Wanda and her brother Quicksilver. The final scene showed Bucky Barnes reading his plaque in the museum, setting up key players in the next Avengers film.

14. Thor: The Dark World

Thanos’ appearance in The Avengers was the first hint of a wider cosmos but this film’s post-credit scene expands on the concept. The Asgardians bring an infinity stone to the Collector to prevent two infinity stones from being in the same place.

13. Ant-Man

After the MCU’s introduction to the shrinking superhero, Hank shows his daughter Janet a prototype for the Wasp suit, setting her up as a superhero in the next Ant-Man. A second post-credits scene features Steve and Sam discussing the captive Bucky. Sam claims he knows a guy and prepares to call Scott Lang for help, setting up events for Civil War.

12. Doctor Strange

Dr. Strange meets with Thor and calls his brother Loki a threat. The Sorcerer Supreme promises to help the brothers find Odin if they return to Asgard afterward.

Meanwhile, Mordu has decided that Earth has too many sorcerers and begins his quest to eliminate them. While nothing came of this plotline, the scene with Strange and Thor leads into the events of Thor: Ragnarok.

11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

After the Guardian’s second outing Kraglin practices using his whistling arrow with disastrous results. The original Guardians from the comic assemble as the Ravagers. The sovereign reveals Adam Warlock’s cocoon, and Baby Groot has aged to Teenage Groot. All of these moments would pay off in Infinity War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. A final scene features a Stan Lee cameo among the Watchers who would become the focus of What If?

10. Moon Knight

After the events of Moon Knight, Arthur is smuggled out of a mental home and meets Khonsu in the back of a limo. Khonsu introduces Arthur to Marc Spector’s third identity Jake Lockley who shoots Arthur on the spot.

9. Ms. Marvel

At the end of the show, Kamala’s bracelet acts up and she switches places with Carol Danvers who’s overwhelmed by the Captain Marvel pictures in the bedroom. This scene is a setup for the plot of The Marvels and is further explained in the recent trailer.

8. Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings

At the end of Shang-Chi, Wong discusses the rings with Carol Danvers, Bruce Banner, Shang, and Katy. Wong reveals that Kamar-Taj felt something when Shang first used the rings. This brings Shang and Katy into the Avengers ranks and Wong tells them to get some rest. However, Wong, Katy, and Shang decide to sing at karaoke. Meanwhile, Xialing becomes the leader of the ten rings and trains an army, setting up a threat for a potential sequel.

7. WandaVision

After Wanda’s suburban dreamscape collapses in the WandaVision series, viewers get a glimpse of the original Vision who’s slated to return in the Vision Quest series. In a setup for The Marvels, Monica Rambeau is recruited by a Skrull. Finally Wanda, in full Scarlet Witch mode, is studying the Darkhold to try to bring her sons back, leading directly into the Multiverse of Madness.

6. Loki

After Loki introduced the MCU fans to the multiverse, Loki finds himself at the beginning of his journey in an alternate timeline TVA with a large Kang statue. Similar to the Thanos scenes setting up the next threat, this hint at the multiverse sets up the next Avengers-level threat.

5. Spider-Man Far From Home

After Peter and his classmate’s adventures in Europe, J. Jonah Jameson shares a video of Mysterio revealing Spider-Man’s secret identity. This marks the first time that Spider-Man is known to the public on the big screen. A second post-credit scene revealed that Nick Fury and Maria Hill were actually the Skrulls Talos and Soren. Fury is in space commanding Skrulls. This reveal finally paid off in the recent Secret Invasion series.

4. Avengers: Infinity War

After Thano’s victory leaves half the population in dust, a post-credits scene shows Nick and Maria fading away. Before he disintegrates, Fury pages Captain Marvel. This scene teases the upcoming Captain Marvel film and the superhero’s appearance in Endgame.

3. Ant-Man and the Wasp

After Scott’s second adventure, he gets stuck in the Quantum Realm when the Pym family turns into dust. This connects the film to the larger crisis in the MCU and sets up Scott’s role in Endgame.

2. Captain Marvel

The post-credits scene in Captain Marvel leads directly into Endgame. Steve, Natasha, Rhodey, and Banner are analyzing Fury’s pager when Captain Marvel appears and asks where Fury is. Another scene with Goose throwing up the Tesseract reveals how S.H.I.E.L.D. got a hold of the infinity stone.

1. Captain America: Civil War

After Bucky’s winter soldier programming causes problems, he chooses to be frozen. T’Challa watches him in Wakanda. Back in New York, Aunt May tends Peter Parker’s wounds after he got punched by a Steve from Brooklyn. When Aunt May leaves the room Peter looks at Tony’s new Spider-Man technology. This scene served as a teaser for an upcoming MCU film and a set-up for the beginning of Infinity War, featuring a detailed setup of every major character’s arc.

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