Random MCU Mid/Post-Credits Scenes That Make No Sense (14 items)

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  (#1) The Incredible Hulk

  • Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, Christina Cabot, Peter Mensah, Lou Ferrigno, Paul Soles, Débora Nascimento

  The post-credits scene in The Incredible Hulk features Tony Stark walking into a bar to meet a drunken General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and ask him “What if I told you we were putting a team together?”

  It was obvious at the time, and even more so in hindsight, that the clip was meant to signal the cohesive nature of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe and hype up the Hulk’s eventual appearance in The Avengers - but it also doesn’t make a lot of sense. Who exactly is Stark trying to recruit here? It’s almost certainly not General Ross himself, and it’s definitely not Bruce Banner either - Ross just spent an entire movie proving how bad he was at controlling the Hulk.

  The only interpretation that really tracks is that Stark is looking to add Emil Blonsky, AKA the Abomination, to the roster, but that would be a terrible choice. And why is Stark doing the recruiting anyway? At this point in the story, he’s not even an Avenger himself and won’t be for several years. 

  In fact, the scene was so incongruous that Marvel Studios later released a One-Shot called The Consultant which explains the entire thing away as a scheme by Phil Coulson. Basically, someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted Blonsky to join Earth’s Mightiest Initiative, and Coulson knew that was a bad idea, so he sent in the one guy he knew Ross would refuse - Tony Stark, in all his smug glory.
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  (#2) Avengers: Age of Ultron

  • Robert Downey, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Kretschmann

  The mid-credits scene of The Avengers introduces Thanos, and then the post-credits one from Avengers: Age of Ultron sends him off on his quest for the Infinity Stones. He walks down a high-tech corridor, puts on the empty Infinity Gauntlet, and says “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” in foreboding fashion.

  But with just five words of dialogue, the Mad Titan raises a lot of confusing questions. First and foremost, why is this scene being shown now? The timing and phrasing would imply that the events of this film were yet another attempt by Thanos to gather the Stones - but then that means that he planned for Loki to lose the Mind Stone and have it affect Tony Stark’s new robot, which seems like a major stretch.

  The moment also contradicts its sequels, Infinity War and Endgame, in multiple ways. Thanos says he’ll do it himself and gears up, but then proceeds to sit on his purple behind - until Nebula and Gamora spill the beans on the Soul Stone years later. And why does he have the Infinity Gauntlet already, anyway? Thor’s visit to Nidavellir makes it seem like the glove had been constructed recently, but apparently it’s been in Thanos’s possession all this time - and Eitri has just been chilling in the dark for the interim.
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  (#3) Thor: The Dark World

  • Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Howard

  The mid-credits scene in Thor: The Dark World closes off the film’s plot by having Sif and Volstagg deliver the Aether to Taneleer Tivan, the Collector - because, as Volstagg puts it, “the Tesseract is already on Asgard. It is not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together.” 

  It is only after the Asgardians depart that the Collector ominously declares “One down, five to go.”

  This scene both debuts an important character from Guardians of the Galaxy and provides the first mention of the words “Infinity Stone,” so it’s an integral one to the overall plot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it’s also a strange decision on behalf of the Asgardians, and one that doesn’t bear much scrutiny.

  Forget Taneleer’s moral ambiguity. If keeping the Stones separate is the goal, why would they give one to a being who is literally named the Collector? Of course, he’s going to want to collect the rest - that’s the entire purpose of his existence. His decision to immediately start going after the Power Stone barely counts as a betrayal - what was he supposed to do? Not collect?
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  (#4) The Avengers

  • Robert Downey, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Clark Gregg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cobie Smulders

  The Avengers was the first time the MCU crossed over with itself in full earnestness - and then the mid-credits scene let fans know they hadn’t seen anything yet. The dramatic moment sees the being known as the Other informing Thanos of Loki’s failure and opining that to challenge the Avengers is "to court Death.” The Mad Titan turns around and smiles.

  It’s quite clear that when the Other says “Death,” he’s not referring to the general concept - Thanos isn’t some daredevil looking for a thrill, and the “D” is even capitalized in the official script. Instead, he’s obviously talking about the long-time Marvel Comics character Death, the literal embodiment of mortality and Thanos’s primary love interest. In the comics, Thanos is motivated by little else than his desire to win Death’s affections.

  This plot point must have got dropped somewhere along the way as the Thanos that audiences eventually meet in Avengers: Infinity War has a very different purpose in life - one that is arguably a lot more reasonable than just wanting to hook up with a skeleton.
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  (#5) Thor

  • Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, Clark Gregg, Jaimie Alexander, Tadanobu Asano, Josh Dallas

  The first Thor film is a rather large departure from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to this point, but it snaps back to the main plot in the post-credits scene. Dr. Erik Selvig is called in by Nick Fury to examine the Tesseract - but is then shockingly revealed to be under the mind-control of Loki!

  Except that shouldn’t really be possible. Moments earlier, Loki was falling into an Asgardian abyss to his presumable demise, and he’ll eventually end up rescued by Thanos - but at what point does he take over Selvig’s mind? It makes more sense to be after his meeting with the Mad Titan and acquisition of the Mind Stone, but then that would mean that the scene actually takes place long after Thor.

  Even if that’s the case, how exactly is Loki controlling Selvig from such a distance? In The Avengers, Loki needs to touch people with his scepter to brainwash them, but according to this scene, he’s also apparently able to do it from galaxies away. To make matters even more complicated, Loki goes on to tap Selvig with the scepter in The Avengers - but why would he need to re-mind-control a man already under his thrall?
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  (#6) Doctor Strange

  • Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Zara Phythian, Alaa Safi, Katrina Durden, Amy Landecker

  Comic book readers know Baron Karl Mordo as one of Stephen Strange’s greatest foes, but he’s an ally for almost the entire runtime of Doctor Strange - before finally breaking bad in the film’s post-credits scene. There, Mordo confronts Jonathan Pangborn - a man who just wanted to learn enough magic to cure his paralysis - and forcibly removes his mystical abilities, leaving him paralyzed again.

  Mordo’s sole stated reason for doing this is that he sees “at long last what is wrong with the world - too many sorcerers.” But if that’s really what Mordo believes, why did he make such a harmless individual his first target? Why was it so important to him that Pangborn not be able to walk anymore?

  The fact that Mordo clearly didn’t start eliminating sorcerers in large numbers - there are still hundreds around for Wong to summon in Avengers: Endgame - means he specifically focused on this one person and hasn’t been in much of a hurry to get to the rest. And that really just makes him come off as a huge jerk in this scene - which does at least suit the purpose of firmly transforming him into a villain.
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  (#7) Captain America: Civil War

  • Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl, Martin Freeman, Alfre Woodard, Jim Rash

  The post-credits scene for Captain America: Civil War features the recently debuted Peter Parker toying around with his new Tony Stark-built web-shooters in his bedroom. He’s astonished to learn that they can project a holographic menu onto his ceiling of all the various options Stark put into his suit - but why would such a function even exist?

  Readers of comics will recognize the moment as a shoutout to the Spider-Signal, an infrequently used part of Spider-Man’s traditional arsenal that is quite frankly ridiculous even in comic book form. But it’s even more ridiculous attached to a piece of Stark technology, especially a suit that audiences later learn comes with a built-in AI assistant that completely eliminates the need for such a gaudy user interface. Why would Stark also take the time to design a flashy menu that must be projected onto a flat surface to work and would surely attract a lot of unwanted attention?
   
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  (#8) Guardians of the Galaxy

  • Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Laura Haddock, Sean Gunn, Peter Serafinowicz, Christopher Fairbank

  When Howard the Duck shows up inside Taneleer Tivan’s collection in the post-credits scene for Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s an amusing shoutout to the first real Marvel movie. It’s also troubling for a number of reasons.

  Howard is later shown partying it up in Contraxia and even fighting alongside the Avengers in Endgame, so he’s clearly a sentient being with his own hopes, dreams, and desires - along with at least somewhat of a heroic streak. At the very least, he seems like a creature that would greatly dislike being imprisoned. And yet, when given the opportunity to escape from the Collector’s collection, Howard just sits there, drinks a beverage, and cracks wise. He should be duck-tailing it out of there, but he appears to be in no hurry - and downright chummy with the same guy who just had him locked up for who knows how long.

  And that’s not even getting into the fact that the scene opens with the Collector having his face licked by one of the most powerful psychics in the Marvel Universe. 
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  (#9) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

  • Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah, Ronny Chieng, Zach Cherry, Dallas Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Jayden Zhang, Elodie Fong

  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ring ends with a series of rapid-fire cameos, some of which make more sense than others. Wong pays off his brief appearance in the Golden Daggers fight club to interrupt Shang and Katy's drinks with friends and officially bring them into the Avengers/Kamar-Taj fold. While that tracks with the ancient magic of Ta Lo and the Ten Rings (seemingly), it's the mid-credits scene that poses way more questions than it answers.

  After analyzing the rings for their power source, Wong consults with Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner for their input. Apparently, the Rings send out a cosmic signal deep into the MCU's cosmos that not even Captain Marvel knows about. That seems to be setting up a cosmic threat that is a couple movies away, but Banner's appearance directly contradicts the growth he seemingly found during the Blip. Banner found a sense of balance with "the green guy" that allowed him to exist with his own own mind in the Hulk's super strong body. In Shang-Chi, Banner is back in his human form, which means Banner discovered a new internal conflict offscreen. It's just too many questions to tack on at the end of a new hero's MCU debut.
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  Officially Licensed Marvel Collector's Chess Set

   

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  Womens Marvel Spider-Man Red Spider Logo V-Neck T-Shirt

   

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  (#11) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

  • Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Sylvester Stallone, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki, Tommy Flanagan, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn

  Stan Lee’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 pokes fun at a long-time fan theory that he’s been secretly portraying a Watcher this entire time, but it also raises some questions. For one, Lee tells the Watchers about his time as a “Federal Express man,” but that’s a reference to his cameo in Captain America: Civil War - which is set two years after this film. Does that mean Stan the Man is a time-traveler too?

  The last of five post-credits scenes doesn’t clear up the matter of Lee-as-Watcher-informant any more - it only further complicates it. The Watchers silently bail on him as he laments, “You were supposed to be my lift home! How will I get out of here?” Does this mean that the Watchers are in the habit of recruiting informants, shooting them through time and space, and then abandoning them on random moons once they’re done with them? 

  And if so, who’s guarding the galaxy from this group of sociopaths?
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  (#12) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  • Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Stan Lee, Callan Mulvey, Jenny Agutter, Bernard White

  All things considered, the mid-credits scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an important one. It leads directly into Age of Ultron, introduces two heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and furthers the Infinity Saga by revealing that Loki’s scepter was really the Mind Stone all along.

  But it’s also a jarring and abrupt smash-cut from a film that has come to be considered one of the greatest spy thrillers of this era. One moment, Steve Rogers is dealing with political intrigue and secret societies - and the next, a man with an eye-patch and a glowing scepter is giving superpowers to random European teenagers.

  The scene at least tries to address the dissonance with Wolfgang von Strucker’s final line, “It's not a world of spies anymore. Not even a world of heroes. This is the age of miracles, doctor.” That’s all well and good, but it’s a weird thing to hear at the end of a two-hour movie about spies and politics.  
   
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  (#13) Bucky Barnes Visits The Smithsonian In ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

  After a barnburner of a mid-credits scene, the post-credits stinger for Captain America: The Winter Soldier is short and sweet. Bucky Barnes goes to the Smithsonian Exhibit on Captain America and the Howling Commandos to re-learn his own life story.

  It’s a touching and symbolic moment, but it really stretches the bounds of believability. Barnes is still the nation’s most-wanted fugitive at that point in time, and he’s a super-spy who has enough know-how to keep himself hidden for several years thereafter.

  So why is he going to the one place in the country that is plastered with photos of himself? And why is he doing it with nothing but a baseball cap for a disguise? 

  Steve Rogers learned about the internet pretty quickly, and he was frozen for way longer. Surely Bucky can figure out how to Google himself and avoid such a needless risk of getting busted.
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  (#14) Iron Man

  • Robert Downey, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Leslie Bibb, Sayed Badreya, Clark Gregg, Bill Smitrovich, Jon Favreau

  Iron Man may have marked the official beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the franchise didn’t kick off fully until the post-credits scene in which Nick Fury shows up to chide Tony Stark and talk to him about “the Avengers Initiative.”

  But what exactly is the Avengers Initiative, and who is involved? Fury asks Stark if he thinks he’s the only superhero out there, but he absolutely is at that point. Captain Marvel is long gone, Captain America is still on ice, the Hulk is uncontrollable, and Thor hasn’t made an appearance on Midgard in centuries. Even by the time The Avengers begins, the team essentially consists of just Iron Man and Cap - and at that rate, they should call it the Avengers Lack of Initiative.

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