The Marvel Cinematic Universe has used the post-credits scene as a rather essential part of the narrative. It has been a massive part of the narrative ever since the very first MCU movie which started with 2008’s Iron Man. Fans have always stuck around in the cinema halls so that they could watch the post-credits scenes after the movie ends. These scenes actually tend to show the interconnectivity the movies will have and work on the massive narrative of the franchise. But recently, some Phase 4 post-credits scenes might be having a few adverse effects on the overall narrative of MCU.
Post-Credits Scenes
The very first post-credits scene from Marvel is etched into the brains of the Marvel fans because of the very purpose it served on a larger scale. We saw Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury emerge from the shadows to talk to Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. This trend would go on to form one of the most massive superhero team-ups in the history of superhero movies. With each of those post-credits sequences, we would also get an idea about the larger things at play in the universe and this would ultimately lead to the Infinity Saga.
Finally, with Avengers: Endgame we would get the sense of an ending for the entirety of the Infinity Saga, and thus it did not include a post-credits scene. Eventually, a hint towards the events of Far From Home would be added to the ending after a few weeks of the theatrical release. But a major part of this included an interconnected tale that would actually end up giving way to the next big Marvel project. One can say it all seemed justified and fans were well aware of what this might mean for the future of the franchise.
Why The Initial Post-Credits Scenes Were Awesome
From the very first post-credits scenes we started getting a sense of what Kevin Feige and the rest of the team at Marvel were trying to build. Each movie worked as a block and the post-credits scenes acted like the cement that linked each of these blocks thus making a strong structure over which a final piece could be set up. While the heroes fought with their villains in the solo ventures, the post-credits scene hinted at a larger villain lurking around waiting to show up and make a move. Thus while the movies were essential solo pieces the post-credits scene gave them something that would end up forming a satisfying overall narrative.
Why Phase 4 Post Credits Scenes Are Bad
Avengers: Endgame was one of the most massive events of the MCU and it was a massive game-changer for how Marvel treats its characters. Fans felt like it would mark the end of the MCU as a whole but it was later announced that there are a lot more stories to tell. Marvel tried to indicate that there were was a much bigger universe and a lot more events yet to be addressed in the movies. Phase 4 had the massive responsibility to move on after the events of the Endgame and set up their own tales. But it seems that the movies in Phase 4 are focusing on what is to come next instead of what is present in the narratives, which is rather opposite to the way MCU’s end-credits scenes navigate.
Another major problem with these post-credits scenes is the fact that they end up overshadowing the plot of the original movie. The major appearances become something fans expect from these ventures and hence the attention seems to lighten on the plot of the movie itself. Black Widow gave us a post-credits scene where we are introduced to the idea of how Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova might end up taking revenge on Hawkeye. At the same time, the movie as a whole was half as exciting as the mere idea of thinking how Yelena Belove might face off against Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.
This was even bigger in the case of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings where we saw the narrative of the entire movie being resolved by a massive CGI battle. But the post-credits scene gave us a look at Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner and Brie Larson’s Carole Danvers. The movie concluded with events that told us what to expect from future movies of the same solo venture. Even Eternals did the same thing while leaving us with lesser than expected movie.
Even past movies have often failed at utilizing the post-credits scene with Ant-Man and the Wasp basically only existing for the sake of the post-credits scene that set up the events of Avengers: Endgame. But the same thing existing for all the Phase 4 movies might impact the franchise on a much larger level. Fans have high expectations from these post-credits scenes. Let’s hope the future projects live up to deliver the post-credits scenes we used to sit back at the cinema halls to wait for.
Hopefully, the rest of Phase 4 post credits scenes will be an improvement.
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