8 MCU Post-Credit Scenes That Still Haven't Paid Off Yet

Marvel’s Phase Five is underway, with a less-than-stellar start. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe struggles with setting up another major villain, they’ve also revealed most of their major projects for the next several years.

The MCU knows what direction it wants to take, and fans have a mix of excitement and disappointment when looking to Marvel’s future. In the last 15 years, Marvel has released 32 blockbuster films and eight connected Disney+ series within the MCU, with more to go. However, as fans are teased with and disappointed by hints at potential stories, it has many questioning why Marvel bothers to tease them at all.

What is a post credits scene?

Marvel is famous for their mid- and post-credit scenes after each of their films, many which introduce upcoming characters, set up the next big team-up movie, or mention a plot point only to be made irrelevant later. One of the most popular post-credits scene is the “Shwarma” scene from The Avengers (2012). Even the Disney+ series have them, like WandaVision setting up Wanda’s descent into madness in the Doctor Strange sequel.

Others are simple confirmations that characters like Captain America or Loki will return in the next movie or next season, adding nothing major for fans to expect. Every Marvel movie except Avengers: Endgame (2019) has a post-credits scene, but not all of them end up paying off for fans.

Post-Credit Scenes That Never Paid Off

There’s several MCU films that included a mid- or post-credit scene that attempted to introduce a character or plot point that was never mentioned again. Let’s go over the list of Marvel post-credit scenes that went nowhere since Iron Man first created the MCU in 2008.

Doctor Strange (2016)

In the post-credits scene for Doctor Strange, fans are introduced to sorcerer Karl Mordo, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Mordo is a member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts who helped train Stephen Strange, but in the credits scene, it’s clear he has his own intentions for the sorcerers. He finds Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt), a former Master of the Mystic Arts trained by the Ancient One.

Mordo finds Pangborn in the post-credits scene, removing the power from his body. As he does so, Mordo tells Pangborn that the world has “too many sorcerers,” and he’s taking care of that problem. Unfortunately, this plot twist isn’t a focus in the sequel, nor is it ever really mentioned again.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming had two post-credits scene, one featuring Captain America was meant as a gag to the audience, explaining the importance of patience and that not everything has to pay off right away, like that specific scene. However, the other scene included actually hasn’t paid off yet, and doesn’t seem like it will anytime soon.

In the mid-credits scene, Adrian Toomes aka Vulture (Michael Keaton) is shown in prison after his confrontation with Spider-Man. He’s approached by another inmate who has a scorpion tattoo on his neck, telling Toomes he’s heard he knows who Spider-Man is. While Toomes denies knowing the information, he does flash a look to the camera before the scene is cut. Fans were thrilled at the hint of Scorpion being introduced to the MCU and Vulture’s possible return.

However, both follow-up Spider-Man films focused on other villains and storylines, building up to the Avengers finale and Doctor Strange sequel, leaving both characters ignored by the MCU.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

One of the first films in Marvel’s Phase Four, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a breath of fresh air for fans wanting a break from the massive Avengers plot that had just wrapped up two years prior. The mid-credit scene shows Wong pulling Shang-Chi and Katy through a portal to discuss Shangi-Chi’s rings.

It does include hologram versions of Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) discussing the rings’ origins, but other than explaining they don’t know where they come from, the scene gives no further context. The second scene shows Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing, as she seemingly works to set up a spy organization of her own, using her father’s power and rebooting the Ten Rings.

Although a more recent Marvel movie, Shangi-Chi or his rings haven’t been mentioned in another MCU film. Even in Doctor Strange’s sequel, which is weird considering Wong featured in both films. Shang-Chi is set to have a sequel but other than that confirmation, not much else is known about it at this time.

Eternals (2021)

Eternals is the MCU’s forgotten child. With negative fan response and a plot and characters that came seemingly out of nowhere, Eternals was a miss for Marvel Studios. However, it did have one major reveal and a tease that’s yet to be completed.

The first scene introduces Eros, Thanos’s brother. Also known as Starfox, the character is known to team up with both the Eternals and the Avengers in the comics, having a relationship with She-Hulk at one point. The character was played by Harry Styles, causing many fans to be hopeful he’ll make a return at some point. While She-Hulk has officially been introduced to the MCU on Disney+, there’s been no word on another Eternals project.

In the second scene, Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) finds a box with the Ebony Blade. As he goes to try and open it, a voice off-screen asks if he really wants to do that. The voice belongs to Mahershala Ali, who is set to take on the role of Blade in the upcoming reboot with Harrington’s character presumably going to take on the mantel of the Black Knight. The Blade reboot was originally scheduled for a 2024 release but has been delayed due to the current writer’s strike, with no predicted timeframe of when production will resume.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home saw the long-awaited team-up of  Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland all playing their specific variants of Spider-Man. It also allowed the Sony universe to crossover into the MCU and introduced several Sony characters, including Eddie Brock and Venom (Tom Hardy).

In the post-credit scene, Eddie Brock is transported back to his own universe, although part of Venom’s symbiote is left behind. This sets the stage for a Marvel version of the character, but with no further live-action Spider-Man projects currently lined up and no Venom tease, this may be a tease that goes nowhere.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

The post-credit scene for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduces a brand new character, named “Clea” in the credits. She’s clearly from another universe or dimension, dressed in all purple with sorcerer-adjacent power. She explains that Stephen has caused a problem and they need to fix it.

He goes with her willingly, suggesting he may know her, but she has no other background or information given about her. While Clea is a major player in the comics and a romantic partner of Stephen’s, it’s unclear how she fits into the current MCU lineup.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Thor: Love and Thunder had a love-hate relationship with fans. The fourth film in the Thor franchise, it followed the tone set by its previous film, with bright colors, heavy ’80s inspiration, and a Thor that seemed more like a friendly but ferocious golden-retriever than the warrior-at-peace he had become.

In the film, Thor and his friends travel to visit Zeus to ask for his help. After an argument, Thor blasts him, and he’s presumably killed. The end-credits scene shows that not only did he survive, but also introduced his son, Hercules. The second scene shows Jane Foster being welcomed to Valhalla, the land of the gods.

Currently, there’s no other Thor project announced and Chris Hemsworth has decided to step away from acting for a while to spend time with his family after an early Alzheimer’s diagnosis. It’s possible that Hercules, Clea, and Eros could be connected somehow, as powerful beings from different dimensions and two of them literal gods, but it doesn’t seem likely that Hercules will be given a major story.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicked off Marvel’s Phase Five, further cementing Kang the Conquerer as the next major villain after he was introduced in Season 1 of Loki. The post-credit scene shows an army of Kang variants gathered together to discuss the Avengers and the imminent battle between them.

Kang was rumored to be a bigger villain than Thanos, with the next major Avengers movie slated as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, as harassment and abuse allegations against Kang actor Jonathan Majors have come up, it’s thrown Phase Five into a whirlwind.

Major’s position within Marvel is up in the air, with much speculation on whether he will be dropped or recast. Recent news about Jeff Loveness, who wrote the script for Quantumania, revealed he was let go from writing the script for The Kang Dynasty, adding to the uncertainty of the project. At this time, it’s unclear if Marvel will just recast Majors and continue the Kang storyline or overhaul the entire thing, but either way, it’s possible that the army of Jonathan Majors Kang variants will be a post-credit scene that never pays off.

Whether they’ve paid off or not, the post-credit scenes have become a staple of Marvel films, including various funny jokes or nods to the audience that make them worth waiting for. It’s possible the above-mentioned scenes will end up paying off in a future project, but so far they’re just hints of what could have been.

What’s your favorite Marvel post-credit scene? Let Inside the Magic know down below!