From IRON MAN To SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME - 10 Best And Worst Post-Credits Scenes In The MCU Ranked

Spider-Man: Far From Home wrapped up Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so we're now looking back at every single post-credits scene to count down the ten best efforts...and ten that disappointed!

By JoshWilding - Aug 30, 2019 06:08 AM EST

Filed Under: Far From Home

Much to the disappointment of some comic book fans, Avengers: Endgame didn't feature a post-credits scene. There was a good reason for that, though, as the Russo Brothers wanted that movie to serve as an end of an era, hence why teasing what comes next just didn't feel right to them. Spider-Man: Far From Home ressurected the tradition, though, in an undeniably amazing way!

Looking back over the past eleven years, we've been treated to a lot of stingers from Marvel Studios, some of which were there solely for entertainment purposes and others that managed to set the stage for future adventures and major twists and turns we never could have seen coming.

All of them have their good points, so it was hard to single out those that stand out from the crowd as well as the extra scenes that either failed to live up to expectations of fans, or were just plain bad!

So, to see which we've chosen as the best and worst, simply hit the "View List" button below.

THE BEST

10. Thor's Hammer (Iron Man 2, 2010)

Another early post-credits scene, we all knew that Thor was coming when Iron Man 2 was released, but this stinger provided our first look at Mjolnir after it had crash landed on Earth.

While it left us with a lot of questions, it was impossible not to feel psyched after witnessing this tease for the God of Thunder's arrival and knowing it would be a game-changer for the MCU as we moved from the grounded adventures of Iron Man to the alien halls of Asgard.

9. "Adam" (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017)

James Gunn's critically acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy sequel features more post-credits scenes than any other Marvel movie, but this was an undeniable highlight. For years, speculation had been running rampant about the possibility of Adam Warlock coming to the MCU, and the filmmaker finally laid the groundwork for that with this intriguing sequence.

Non-fans would have no doubt been left baffled by the mention of "Adam," but we all knew what this meant and seeing it pay off in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 promises to be a lot of fun.

8. Captain Marvel Tease (Avengers: Infinity War, 2018)

Marvel Studios did a great job of keeping Avengers: Infinity War's biggest surprises under wraps and that meant we had no idea what to expect from the massive superhero ensemble's post-credits scene.

Kicking off with Nick Fury and Maria Hill's investigation of Thanos' attack on Wakanda, we were left reeling when they both turned to dust and the mysterious device the former dropped displayed a logo that was instantly familiar to fans of the comic books. Captain Marvel had finally arrived (sort of), and this definitely increased excitement for her solo adventure.

7. Groot Dances (Guardians Of The Galaxy, 2014)

This may have just been a "fun" post-credits scene, but Marvel Studios never could have realised what sort of impact it would have. This brief - and ridiculously cute - sequence featuring Baby Groot dancing away led to huge demand for merchandise which Disney hadn't thought to produce and they were left scrambling to catch up.

It also served as an introduction to the baby version of Groot we'd all end up falling in love with (even more than we already had done) a few years later with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

6. Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014)

In many ways, the MCU was still in its infancy back in 2014 and so the introduction of characters like Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch was a considerably bigger deal than it is now.

Serving as a tease of what was to come in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we got a glimpse of "The Twins" in action, and while we weren't entirely sure whether they would be heroes or villains (or even mutants) at this point in time, this sneak peek was an absolute treat and gets bonus points for tying into the events of the movie it was attached to by mentioning HYDRA's apparent downfall.

5. Stan Lee Reports To The Watchers (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017)

How could you not love this?

The late, great Stan "The Man" Lee made a number of memorable cameos in the MCU but the apparent revelation that he had been sent to Earth by The Watchers to keep an eye on things was a game-changer, and something fans had been theorising for years.

Just seeing The Watchers in live-action was amazing, and now that the rights to the Fantastic Four have returned home, here's hoping we'll finally get to see Uatu appear during key moments.

4. The Avengers Initiative (Iron Man, 2008)

This was where it all began. While details had leaked online beforehand, social media was in its infancy back in 2008 so it's not like it was all over Twitter and Instagram! As a result, the handful of fans who decided to wait until the very end of the credits were treated to witnessing the introduction of Samuel L. Jackson and getting to hear about The Avengers Initiative for the first time.

It was clear that Marvel Studios was using The Ultimates for inspiration here, and that was exciting for a lot of reasons. However, the very ideas of The Avengers assembling on the big screen was hard to believe and most of us didn't think it would ever come to much.

3. Thanos Arrives (The Avengers, 2012)

By now, we've seen an awful lot of Thanos, so it's fair to say that the novelty has somewhat worn off, right? Well, while fans waited patiently for a post-credits scene at the end of The Avengers, they were treated to the big screen debut of the Mad Titan as we learned that he had been the one pulling Loki's strings from the start.

Brought to life with practical effects rather than CGI, he didn't look great, but was more than enough to have fans losing their minds. It's crazy to think how long it took for this to pay off, but the wait was worth it and this proved that Marvel Studios had big plans.

2. The Avengers (Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011)

I bet you forgot about this one, right? Captain America: The First Avenger arrived in theaters in July and the first trailer for The Avengers didn't come our way until October. However, providing you waited until the very end of this movie, you would have been treated to a teaser eaturing very early footage that left everyone talking.

We got to see Loki in custody, new costumes, and a conversation between Iron Man and Thor - something it was hard to imagine ever happening at the time. Proving that The Avengers movie was really happening, the excitement this created at the time is probably hard to imagine for younger fans used to releases as large in scale as Avengers: Endgame!

J. Jonah Jameson Returns (Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019)

Alas, Spider-Man's time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seemingly reached its end, but he certainly went out in style. In this mid-credits scene, the wall-crawler's attention was grabbed by a news report in the Big Apple which not only featured the shock return of J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, but also the hero's secret identity revealed to the entire world!

Both of those moments were genuinely jaw-dropping and nicely set the stage for this version of Spidey to be branded a "menace" after he was framed for the murder of Mysterio. This has to be the most exciting tease ever and it's just a shame we won't get to see Kevin Feige pick up on it...still, perhaps Venom will go hunting for Spider-Man if he's now a "Lethal Protector."

THE WORST

10. Patience (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)

On the one hand, I really enjoyed this post-credits scene. It's a lot of fun and genuinely very funny, as Marvel Studios uses a recurring joke from Spider-Man: Homecoming to poke fun at the fans who diligently stick around for these extra scenes at the end of the credits.

Well, therein lies the problem, as this ultimately felt like a very underwhelming way to wrap up the first solo outing for the wall-crawler in the MCU. I'm sure something a little more exciting could have been used, especially as Spidey was set to return in Infinity War.

9. Bruce Banner Falls Asleep (Iron Man 3, 2013)

The first movie to follow The Avengers was controversial for a number of reasons. After realising that humour was a key component in the success of these movies, Iron Man 3 really upped the laughs and even ended up making The Mandarin something of a punchline, much to the chagrin of comic book fans.

So, while Bruce Banner dozing off as he listens to Tony Stark's story may have been pretty amusing and a decent enough cameo, this wasn't a strong scene and I'm willing to bet you forgot all about it!

8. Karl Mordo Breaks Bad (Doctor Strange, 2016)

At the end of Doctor Strange, a disgusted Karl Mordo wipes his hands with his friend upon realising that The Ancient One betrayed them and Strange has used the Time Stone to manipulate events to his liking. That left the character in an interesting place, but by the time the post-credits scene arrived, he had become an unhinged villain who suddenly wanted to wipe out all sorcerers.

While there was nothing wrong with setting the stage for Mordo to embrace his evil persona from the comic books, this felt too rushed and a tad forced, hence why it earns a place here.

7. Wakanda Opens Its Borders (Black Panther, 2018)

On the one hand, there was nothing wrong with this scene and it was obviously cool to see T'Challa open Wakanda's borders to the rest of the world. The problem here, however, was that this was originally intended to be the movie's final scene and it being moved essentially made it a repeat of Black Panther's conversation with Shuri where Erik Killmonger was brought up.

Throw in the fact that we saw this in the movie's trailers, and it didn't exactly have a huge impact.

6. Loki Returns (Thor, 2011)

At the time, the reveal that Loki was alive and well and seemingly in control of Dr. Erik Selvig was pretty cool, even if it is somewhat tame by today's standards. However, proving that Marvel Studios was still finding its feet, by the time The Avengers rolled around, this proved to be mostly irrelevant aside from getting Selvig to the right place at the start of the epic superhero ensemble.

We also already knew that Loki would return to plague Thor and Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the movie, so his resurrection was not exactly a shocker. I guess the plus side is that this did at least offer a first look at what was to come in Joss Whedon's The Avengers!

5. Mac Gargan Hatches A Plan (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)

As post-credits scenes go, this felt more like a Sony Pictures decision than a Marvel Studios one. While fans remain optimistic that the Sinister Six are coming to the MCU, Mac Gargan approaching Adrian Toomes feels too on the nose, and wasn't even followed up on in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

In the comics, Gargan has a pretty cool origin story, but rushing it like this does the character a disservice and if I didn't know any better, I would say this was a deleted scene from The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

4. "Secret Invasion" (Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019)

I'm well aware that many fans loved this, but, for me, it was just pointless and confusing. Making Nick Fury a Skrull for the entirety of the movie just so he could have a "vacation" makes his interactions with Spider-Man worthless; had this been setting the stage for Secret Invasion, then that obviously would have been a completely different matter!

As it stands, though, everything that happened between Spidey and Fury didn't really count and if this was Marvel's way of revealing that Captain Marvel 2 will feature Fury in space, there are a million better ways that could be achieved. I didn't like this at all, but I appreciate this might be a "best" for some fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

3. "I'll Do It Myself" (Avengers: Age Of Ultron, 2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron gets a bad rap, but I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon's sequel. However, there's no getting around how underwhelming this particular post-credits scene was.

It felt like a rehash of what we saw at the end of The Avengers, and Thanos declaring, "Fine, I'll do it myself!" would have had a lot more impact had we had seen the Mad Titan in more than just Guardians of the Galaxy. It says a lot that the Russo Brothers have since retconned this scene and attempted to explain it away on a number of occasions!

2. Captain Marvel's Arrival On Earth (Captain Marvel, 2019)

Hey, I'm surprised to see this scene here too, but couldn't think of a better place for it. Following the release of Captain Marvel (and since that tease at the end of Avengers: Infinity War), we had all been speculating about how Carol Danvers would return to Earth and rumours ran rampant that a clash with Earth's Mightiest Heroes might be on the cards.

Instead, she just randomly appeared in the Avengers Compound and Avengers: Endgame failed to expand on this or show us how the team responded to her arrival on Earth. As a result, it's hard to get around the fact that this was ultimately a major let-down.

1. The Giant Ant (Ant-Man And The Wasp, 2018)

Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but what the heck was this?

After a game-changing mid-credits scene featuring the deaths of The Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, and Hank Pym, I fully understand why Marvel Studios wanted to add some levity to the proceedings, but a Captain Marvel tease totally unrelated to this adventure would have been better than a silly sequence showing that giant ant playing the drums.

When you also take into account the fact this was included in the trailers, it just makes it worse!

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36 Comments

bobbo68 - 8/30/2019, 6:06 AM

You forgot Tony Stark and General Ross's end credit scene in The Incredible Hulk.

MosquitoFarmer - 8/30/2019, 8:58 AM

@bobbo68 - That was technically the last scene of the movie, as it happens just before the credits roll.

knocturnalzen10 - 8/30/2019, 6:09 AM

reach for it Josh ....... you're almost there :)

SpideyPuffsMJ - 8/30/2019, 6:11 AM

Wildly off-topic:

Have any of yall watched all of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the End of Evangelion movie??

I just watched the movie after finishing the series last night. Oh my God.

KWilly - 8/30/2019, 6:14 AM

Funnily enough, the Captain Marvel post credit scene was the best part of the whole movie for me.

Havenless - 8/30/2019, 6:15 AM

Wow these lists are nearly entirely backwards.

GarthRanzz - 8/30/2019, 6:18 AM

My number 1 was putting Tony Stark in the Hulk. You missed it. I also don't think that's Adam Warlock in GOTG2. Adam is an earthman and was created by the Enclave.

GhostDog - 8/30/2019, 6:21 AM

They must have raised Josh's rent or he owes some money to a guy either named Vinnie, Tony, or Paulie

OmegaDaGrodd - 8/30/2019, 6:26 AM

I feel like the only 'bad' ones are Age of Ultron, Cap TFA (that was a weak Avengers teaser, even for 2011 standards), Thor TDW, Thor Ragnarok (very jarring) and Doctor Strange.

The rest range from either fun to Epic.

The FFH ones with the Skrulls was probably the biggest mind[frick] I've had from one of these, and Captain Marvel showing up saying "where's Fury" was GREAT, especially coming out of a movie that really didn't connect to Infinity War much at all (and kinda made her lack of presence in Endgame disappointing)

And Iron Man Three's was perfect. Y'all just lack culture

tmp3 - 8/30/2019, 6:35 AM

Out of all the times to have released this article, why now? Because Far From Home had a re-release this weekend??

SplattyMcJoj - 8/30/2019, 6:36 AM

Liam Neeson and his damn lists...am i right?

knocturnalzen10 - 8/30/2019, 6:38 AM

@blackbeltjones- Josh is deep with the Sharks soccer hooligans style maybe ?

regularmovieguy - 8/30/2019, 6:55 AM

@TheDoctor1225

Didn’t Jon Watts say that was exactly why they did it? Lmao...putting Skrulls in charge of international security isn’t the best idea either Fury.

Also doesn’t make sense for them to track down Peter Parker.

bkmeijer2 - 8/30/2019, 7:18 AM

I disagree. The patience one is by far the best one

blackandyellow - 8/30/2019, 7:52 AM

What about the one from Thor 2 where the monster was running loose on Earth and then never mentioned again?

MosquitoFarmer - 8/30/2019, 9:02 AM

Let me be one to say that I thought the ant playing drums scene was very unsettling, especially with Scott now stuck in the Quantum Realm and the world in a state of tragedy and confusion.

Kumkani - 8/30/2019, 9:04 AM

I'll be honest: I kinda like that the latest string of MCU post credits scenes are less about teases for sequel and are mostly gags or continuations of the film. These things worked best in Phase 1 especially but not always in Phase 2. Moving forward with these Phase 4 films that don't seem to have a clear through line between them, I'm hoping they try to do less of the setting up thing. Let these films exist on their own.

tmp3 - 8/30/2019, 9:26 AM

OT: First images from Birds of Prey

Very obvious that it's from the same cinematographer of A Star is Born (2018)

tmp3 - 8/30/2019, 9:53 AM

@TheDoctor1225 - I think he's a great DP, and even Iron Man looks great imo. His smaller projects like Black Swan and A Star is Born look great too. Venom is one of the only films he's done that I'd call ugly

tmp3 - 8/30/2019, 9:59 AM

@TheDoctor1225 - Trailer's coming with IT 2, but it's 39 seconds for some reason... WB marketing makes no sense to me.

tmp3 - 8/30/2019, 10:14 AM

@TheDoctor1225 - Yeah, would make sense. Probably a final trailer with (checks films opening in January) Bad Boys for Life?

regularmovieguy - 8/30/2019, 10:14 AM

@tmp3

Ewan McGregor as Black Mask has my money

regularmovieguy - 8/30/2019, 10:53 AM

@KingCipher

Not easier for me...☹️

LaserKing - 8/30/2019, 2:08 PM

I know this does not count but I loved the main 6 spotlight at the end of Endgame and the hammer sound from the cave.

CaptCoulson - 8/30/2019, 2:43 PM

I've been watching IRON MAN 3 again, and even though I didn't have a problem with the Mandarin twist, it did occur to me now, I wonder if at the time there was even one single screening across America on opening night where as soon as the "Trevor" scene begins, one person in the audience very loudly and distinctly bellowed out "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE [frick]ING KIDDIIIIIING ME!" lol

TsekCBM - 8/31/2019, 1:24 AM

╭∩╮（︶_︶）╭∩╮ to CBM

KungFuKoala - 9/2/2019, 8:12 AM

I don't know what's worse - scenes appearing in the top 10 best that deserve to be in the top 10 worst, or the scenes missing entirely from either list (TDW we're looking at you!)

The Adam scene is trash. Mainly because it undoes the awesome Easter Egg from The Collector's collection.

The Loki scene at the end of Thor was wild at the time! My fav PCS up until that point. As a previous poster said, those scenes in Phase 1 really helped build the MCU and the whole DNA of the MCU experience.

10 Best

1. IM1
2. Thor
3. IM2
4. Avengers
5. Ant-Man & The Wasp - (Dusted)
6. Infinity War
7. Thor TDW - (Collector intro)
8. CA: TWS - (The Twins)
9. Spidey FFH - (JJJ)
10. Ant-Man - (Civil War tease)

10 Worst

1. TDW - (Jane reunion)
2. BP - (United Nations)
3. Homecoming - (Patience)
4. Ragnarok
5. Guardians 2 - (Adam)
6. Spidey FFH - (Skrulls)
7. Guardians 2 - (Stallone)
8. Ant-Man & The Wasp - (Playing drums)
9. Guardians - (Howard the Duck)
10. Homecoming - (Scorpion)