Summary

• Iron Man's post-credits scene introduced Nick Fury and teased the crossover potential of the MCU.
• Thor's post-credits scene revealed Loki's survival and introduced the Tesseract, setting up The Avengers.
• The Avengers' post-credits scene introduced Thanos and provided comedic relief after the epic action.

Since the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a wide selection of end-credits scenes have been attached to Marvel Studios' film and Disney+ shows. Jon Favreau's Iron Man kicked-off the MCU in 2008, and since then, Marvel Studios has made a habit of using end-credits scenes to provide further content for theatergoers. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige's attempt to emulate the tactic used by 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off - keeping audiences in theaters until the last second so they can appreciate all the creatives that made the project - has become an MCU staple, and continues to delight viewers to this day.

While some of the end-credits scenes in several long-form MCU TV series' on Disney+, there are a huge number of end-credits scenes for audiences to , which can understandably be quite tough, even for Marvel Studios' die-hard fans. As of 2023, Marvel Studios has produced 78 end-credits scenes. Here is the complete list.

Nick Fury Makes His Grand Entrance

Iron Man

Iron Man marked the start of Marvel Studios' franchise by introducing Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, and the film's single post-credits scene began to establish the shared universe potential of the budding MCU. To those who hadn't read the Marvel Comics source material, seeing Nick Fury, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, arrive in Stark's living room to discuss the Avenger Initiative would have seemed unexciting. However, the simplicity of this moment, and its effectiveness at teasing the crossover potential of the new cinematic franchise, means Iron Man's post-credits scene is still widely regarded as one of the best in the MCU.

Tony Stark Wants To Put A Team Together

The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk released only a month after Iron Man, and once again featured Tony Stark in its post-credits scene. Tracking down General Thaddeus Ross, played by the late William Hurt, in a bar, Stark propositions, "what if I told you we were putting a team together?" This scene leads on from Iron Man's post-credits scene, suggesting Stark had fallen into business with Nick Fury and SHIELD, and realized that Bruce Banner (then played by Edward Norton), a.k.a. the Hulk, would be a perfect fit for the Avengers. This scene implies that Stark was supposed to lead the Avengers before Joss Whedon came on board for 2012's crossover film.

Agent Coulson Finds Mjolnir

Iron Man 2

Clark Gregg reprised his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Iron Man for the 2010 sequel, tasked with keeping a watchful eye over Tony Stark. During the film, Coulson is transferred to New Mexico for an unknown purpose, but Iron Man 2's post-credits scene reveals that Coulson had been relocated to take point on the discovery of a mysterious object buried in the desert: Thor's hammer Mjolnir. For fans of Marvel Comics, Mjolnir was instantly recognizable, and directly teased the MCU's next film, as Thor would release a year later. Subtle, but effective, this scene marked the first time a future film had been teased, rather than a future MCU team.

Erik Selvig s SHIELD

Thor

Although another project was set to release between 2011's Thor and 2012's The Avengers, Thor's post-credits scene directly set up the events of the MCU's first team-up movie. Nick Fury returned alongside Stellan Skarsgård's Erik Selvig and Tom Hiddleston's Loki, who had both been introduced during Thor, and this scene also marked the first appearance of the Tesseract. Though Loki was assumed to be dead by the end of Thor, this post-credits scene revealed that the God of Mischief had actually survived, and seemed to already have some sort of control over Selvig, as the scientist repeats Loki's line word-for-word, "I guess that's worth a look."

The Avengers Is Teased

Captain America: The First Avenger

After Captain America: The First Avenger's main action ended with Chris Evans' Steve Rogers waking up in the MCU's present day, the film's post-credits scene features the WWII hero acclimatizing to his new life, and expressing his frustrations at the gym. There, he's approached by Nick Fury, who states they need Rogers' help to save the world. While this actual post-credits scene was short - a trimmed down version of a full scene from The Avengers - the moment leads directly into the first official trailer for The Avengers, getting audiences riled up for the MCU's first crossover event which would release in the following year.

Thanos Makes His Debut

The Avengers

2012's The Avengers was the first Marvel Studios project to include two end-credits scenes, with the first coming after the animated credits sequence, rather than the ending of the full credits. During this ground-breaking mid-credits scene, the Other informs his enigmatic master that Loki's invasion of Earth had been unsuccessful, and warns that to challenge Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be to "court death." In response, his master turns to the camera, and reveals himself to be the Mad Titan Thanos, an iconic supervillain from Marvel Comics. Here, Thanos was portrayed by Damion Poitier, while Josh Brolin would assume the role from Guardians of the Galaxy onwards.

The Avengers Eat Post-Battle Shawarma

The Avengers

It would have been difficult to top Thanos' introduction in The Avengers mid-credits scene, so the film's post-credits scene, which came after the full credits sequence, didn't try to. Instead, the post-credits scene caught up with the MCU's new Avengers team in the wake of the Battle of New York, quietly sitting down to enjoy shawarma together, as had been suggested by Tony Stark in the moments after his victorious return through Loki's portal. This was Marvel Studios' first scene used simply for comedic relief, and also allowed the audience a moment to breathe after the epic action of The Avengers.

Bruce Banner Isn't That Kind Of Doctor

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 appeared to end Tony Stark's career as a superhero - though this would be changed in Avengers: Age of Ultron - so the film's post-credits scene didn't tease Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU future. Instead, this scene marked the return of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, who is revealed to have been listening to Stark's of his battle against Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian. The voiceover throughout Iron Man 3 is revealed to be Stark's speech to Banner, though the latter responds by stating that he isn't "that kind of doctor." This moment solidified the friendship between Stark and Banner that would continue into the MCU's future.

The Collector Gets An Infinity Stone

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World's mid-credits scene took the first steps to establishing the Infinity Stones as a threat in the MCU. After dealing with the Aether, a.k.a. the Reality Stone, in the Thor sequel, the Asgardians decide it would be best to keep it away from Asgard since the Tesseract, a.k.a. the Space Stone, is already stored there. In the scene, the Reality Stone is delivered to the mysterious Collector, played by Benicio del Toro, with the scene acting as setup for Guardians of the Galaxy, which del Toro would appear in next. Through this scene, Thor: The Dark World started to expand on the cosmic side of the MCU.

Jane Foster & Thor Reunite

Thor: The Dark World

While Thor: The Dark World's mid-credits scene helped to tease a future storyline for the MCU, the film's post-credits scene is widely regarded as one of the most pointless moments in the MCU's history. Simply showing Chris Hemsworth's Thor returning to Earth to kiss Jane Foster, portrayed by Natalie Portman, the scene had very little purpose other than establishing the fact that Thor and Jane were officially in a committed relationship - though she wouldn't be seen again until Thor: Ragnarok. A beast from Jotunheim is also seen on the loose on Earth, though this moment had no consequences on the future of the MCU whatsoever.