Ranking the Ten Best Marvel Post-Credits Sequences

One of the many impacts on the film landscape that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has imprinted is the post-credit sequence. Ever since the now iconic scene at the end of the first Iron Man, audiences have been trained to stay until the very last credit rolls. Maybe there will be some essential new bit of the MCU revealed? Perhaps it’ll just be a fun little Marvel treat? Regardless, they’ve cornered the market on this. It even has resulted in unfounded disappointment, as when audiences taking in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (reviewed here) didn’t reveal another new character in its second post-credits scene. Well, all of that got me thinking. After ranking the Marvel films on the whole yet again (here), as well as their tearjerker moments (here), why not give these sequences a go? So, that’s exactly what I did…

Below, you can see what I feel are the top ten of these MCU sequences, culled from the full list of 56 that we’ve gotten so far, both on the big and small screens. We teased this on the most recent episode of the podcast (here), but now you can see my expanded list. Your mileage may vary, of course, so be sure to let us know your picks as well!

Here now are my picks for the ten best Marvel post-credits scenes:

10. The Incredible Hulk (Tony pops up) – This scene isn’t anything special in terms of its plot advancing, but it hammered home that the MCU would be connected and would build towards something bigger. That warrants it a spot on this list.

9. Iron Man 2 (Thor’s Hammer appears) – Likewise, this slightly more cosmic scene was our next hint at an Avengers team up coming. I know I was excited when the hammer was found in the desert. Weren’t you?

8. Ant-Man and the Wasp (Everyone else but Scott gets blipped) – Leave it to Marvel to take one of the lighter characters in their roster and throw in the blip during the post-credits sequence. Plus, Scott Lang stuck in the Quantum Realm? Wow.

7. Captain America: Civil War (A glimpse at Wakanda) – The best was yet to come, but seeing where Black Panther came from, in breathtaking fashion, was aa huge moment. It hinted at a place where anything was possible. Boy, were we about to be in for a treat!

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming (One final message from Captain America) – A callback to an earlier joke, this is also a wink at the audience. Captain America preaching patience, etc, in a PSA was incredibly amusing, as well as a bit of a fake out.

5. The Avengers (A long overdue meal) – After the battle we witnessed, not only were we drained, but our heroes were too. So, a bit of shawarma was hardly too much to ask for. A satisfying film ends on a satisfying meal.

4. Thor: Ragnarok (The Grandmaster declares a tie) – Maybe I’m just amused by Jeff Goldblum, but his declaration of a tie cracks me up. Pretty inconsequential (so far at least) within the MCU, it still was good for a really big laugh.

3. Avengers: Infinity War (Nick Fury pages Captain Marvel) – After Thanos seemingly wins, we needed a little hope. It came, wonderfully, in the form of a symbol on a pager. We already were dying for the sequel, but Captain Marvel arriving? Now that was exciting!

2. Spider-Man: Far From Home (Spider-Man is unmasked) – Arguably the biggest shock, in terms of scenes that changed the MCU. Peter Parker revealed to be Spider-Man? This literally set into motion the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

1. Iron Man (Nick Fury appears) – The one that started it all remains the best yet. Samuel L. Jackson‘s soon to be iconic Nick Fury telling Tony Stark “I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative” is the line that truly launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How could anything else be the top pick?

Which of these Marvel moments are your favorites? Let us know!