Each phase 3 post credit scene, ranked

Phase 3 of the MCU took the universe beyond its already impressive heights to produce several record-breaking films and direct much of the even more ambitious Phase 4 and beyond. With Phase 4 now over, it’s a very interesting time to look at how the structure of Phase 3 has shaped what fans have experienced over the past several years.

The post-credits scenes in Phase 3 of the MCU ranged from gags made fun of the audience to big banter for projects that were on the horizon then, and in some cases still are. Avengers: Endgamemade the decision to forego a post-credits scene and simply ended with the sound of metal banging in the distance, evoking the memory of Tony Stark building his armor in the original MCU film. iron man. But even without one for this film, Phase 3 ended up having 10 post-credits scenes as well as a multitude of mid-credits scenes. However, some are better than others.

10/10 Goose coughs up the Tesseract – Captain Marvel

Released between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel had a lot of fun playing with fan expectations. While the film’s mid-credits scene actually gave a glimpse of the events of what was to come endgamethe post-credits scene was once again a bit of a troll on the part of the film.

A static shot shows Nick Fury’s desk before Carol Danvers’ trusty Flerken, Goose, suddenly jumps onto it and spits out the Tesseract. It’s as solid a gag as any of the others in Pase 3’s post-credit scenes, but it lacks the charm that the actor’s performances lend in the others.

9/10 Mordo attacks Jonathan Pangborn – Doctor Strange

Despite being a main antagonist of Doctor Strange in the comics, Mordo is no enemy of Stephen Strange during his MCU debut. They start off as friends and the rift between the characters only solidifies towards the very end of the film.

After going strange following the events of the film finale, Mordo attacks the peaceful Jonathan Pangborn and sets up his villainous turn down the road. Fans could see some more of this progression in the variant of Mordo that Doctor Strange encounters Multiverse of Madnessbut seeing Chiwetel Ejiofor truly bring his iteration of Mordo to the dark side is something that still remains an enticing, half-fulfilled promise.

8/10 An Ant Plays Drums – Ant-Man And The Wasp

The tone of ant man Movies is one of the lightest of the MCU’s many overlapping franchises, though it still tackles some of the MCU’s heavier themes. Ant Man and the Wasp ends just as Thanos’ snapshot is wiping out half the universe, so the mid-credits scene shows Scott Lang getting stuck in the quantum realm preparing for his entrance Avengers: Endgame.

The post-credits scene therefore has the difficult task of providing another joke to draw out the film while still acknowledging the serious situation the main heroes now find themselves in. This brief scene of one of Hank Pym’s giant ants playing Scott’s drums in his empty house with the distress signal blaring in the background captures the uncertainty of the moment well, although it’s another gag scene that doesn’t give fans any real information about the future of the MCU there.

7/10 Peter Parker in his room – Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War introduced a number of key new characters to the MCU, including Black Panther and the MCU’s new Spider-Man, with the first co-production between Sony and Marvel Studios, Spider-Man: Homecoming​​​​​​, planned for the following year.

After the teasing from Wakanda shown in the mid-credits scene, the post-credits scene follows for civil war features a small additional look at Peter Parker giving Aunt May his classic excuses for his injuries sustained while he was Spider-Man. It’s not much more than a gag scene that showcases a little more of Tony Stark’s upcoming spider-suit tech, but the chemistry between Tom Holland and Marisa Tomei makes it enjoyable nonetheless.

6/10 Bucky emerges – Black Panther

After fans saw him cryogenically frozen in Wakanda in the mid-credits scene civil warBucky Barnes was absent from the events of the MCU through the post-credits scene Black Pantherset up his appearance in Avengers: Infinity War.

The scene is short and to the point, but rather than directly building a movie that should be released, this little nod to Bucky is the start of storylines that stretch well beyond the rest of Phase 3. As he shares the scene with Shuri, it feels a lot more like a look at the foundation for Phase 4 and the future, making it a rare MCU post-credits scene that has actually gotten better over time .

5/10 Nick Fury Turns to Dust – Avengers: Infinity War

Following the Avengers’ devastating defeat at the end of Infinite War, the film knows fans will be searching for every faint ray of light in the bleak situation. When fan-favorite characters Nick Fury and Maria Hill finally appear in the film, only to turn to dust shortly thereafter, it’s another heartbreaking moment.

As the shot moves towards the device, which Fury drops to the ground, it keeps the audience’s eyes in hopeful anticipation for a sign of what will reverse the dark predicament. When Captain Marvel’s symbol flashes onscreen at the last moment and the music swells before the shot goes black, it feels like more than just the standard Teze for the next MCU film. Although Captain Marvel himself has relatively little to do with the events of the following Avengers film, the prospect of more exploits to come is exactly what the MCU’s post-credits scenes are about, and this one conveys this feeling better than most.

4/10 A Secret Invasion – Spider-Man: Far From Home

Spider-Man: Far From Home marked the end of Phase 3 of the MCU and while the film’s mid-credits scene leads straight into the beginning of No way home In Stage 4, the post-credits scene looks even further into the future through Stage 5. Since it shows Talos and Soren filling in for Nick Fury and Maria Hill while the real Fury is off-world, the scene raises questions the plot of Secret invasion Series planned for 2023.

Considering that the scene shows that two of the film’s most important supporting characters weren’t who the audience thought they were, it adds something special to the film itself and makes future viewing a little different.

3/10 Captain America’s PSA – Spider-Man: Homecoming

The cruellest, funniest joke the Phase 3 post-credits scenes pulled has ended Spider-Man: Homecoming with a PSA from Captain America due to patience, with Cap himself giving it up due to lack of interest before he can finish his point.

While Dead Pool The style of breaking the fourth wall has already caught on in the MCU She-Hulk: Lawyerneither Sony’s Spider-Man Movies, nor the MCU, are known for speaking directly to audiences in this way. But it’s a funny joke that shows how responsive the MCU is to its fans, and Chris Evans’ short and sweet performance makes it a standout moment in Phase 3 overall.

2/10 The Grand Master’s Surrender – Thor: Ragnarok

Jeff Goldblum was one of several standout new comedic additions to the MCU introduced in Thor: Ragnarok. So the film’s ending and its mid-credits scene lead straight into the tragic opening of Avengers: Infinity Warreminding the audience that Goldblum’s grandmaster is still out there to provide more laughs later was a good touch to end the film.

Goldblum’s brilliant performance aside, it’s also a great change of pace from the intensity of the film, which features many big changes to Thor and the MCU between its action sequences and the comedic riffing of Taika Waititi’s signature comedy.

1/10 Stan Lee and the Guardians – Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

From the movies in phase 3 of the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 had by far the most mid-credit scenes. The whole film is a huge tribute to the characters and the comics they come from. Stan Lee appears earlier in the film, describing events with a group of observers in a way that makes him seem like a being similar to them that the MCU has been observing in each of its many cameo appearances. This last little gag at the end of the film shows the guards leaving him while he worries about how he will get home.

Although Lee would appear in more cameos from Marvel movies, this scene is a great closing note in his performances, as he tells the Guardians that he has so many more stories to tell, which, as melancholic a thought as it is, is , as most comic book fans like to think of Stan Lee.

NEXT: 10 Non-Marvel Characters Created by Stan Lee