There are over 45 post-credits scenes hidden like easter eggs at the end of all the films and even shows in theMarvel Cinematic Universe. Some exist to give fans one last laugh, but many of them do contain important information that bridge the 20+ movies and shows together while also giving fans something to chew on as they wonder about where the universe is headed next.
You might’ve missed them if you ran to the bathroom or shut off the TV as soon as you saw the credits roll. Or maybe you caught them but missed the references or would like to know more. Either way, we’ve listed every post-credits scene below, so you can easily watch them all, complete with links to Disney+. We’ve also provided some context to help you make sense of the MCU timeline.
Every Marvel post-credits scene explained
Follow our guide below to learn about all the MCU post-credits scenes (also known as end-credits scenes). At the bottom, you’ll find a spoiler-free version with links to the actual scenes if you wish to watch them.
NOTE: THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW.
Iron Man (2008)
The post-credits scene that started them all sees Nick Fury reveal the Avengers Initiative to Tony Stark.
In this scene located at the end of the Iron Man’s credits, we see Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who - after revealing his identity as Iron Man - returns home to find Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) waiting to admit that Iron Man isn’t the world’s only superhero. Did post-credits scenes even exist before Marvel left a preview of an entire cinematic universe at the end of 2008’s Iron Man?
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
This scene sees Tony Stark approach a down-and-out General Ross to let him know about a team that’s being formed.
Before the credits roll at the end of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Marvel gave us another peek at the Avengers' future; we see Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) approach General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) at a bar to inform him that a team is being assembled.
This scene is particularly interesting to the future of the MCU, as Ross appears at Tony Stark’s funeral in the Avengers: Endgame film and is slated to appear in Black Widow, too. There are also circulating rumours about an appearance in the upcoming Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series and potentially even a Thunderbolts team-up at some point in the future.
This film is currently not available on Disney+, but that’s not surprising, given Marvel wants you to forget about it anyway.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 2’s post-credits scene sees Agent Coulson arrive in New Mexico - where a mysterious hammer has fallen from the sky.
This post-credits scene is nothing but a straight-up teaser for Thor, which released a year after Iron Man 2 premiered. The scene shows Shield Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) arriving at a desert in New Mexico before the shot pans out to reveal Thor’s Hammer at the center of a crater.
Thor (2011)
This scene teases the first Avengers film, as it’s revealed that Erik Selvig is under the control of Loki.
This is another post-credits scene teasing a future MCU film. It previews events in the first Avengers film; we see Nick Fury welcome Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) to a Shield facility so that he can begin to study the Tesseract. However, Selvig is under the control of Loki (Tom Hiddleston).
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America’s post-credits scene sees Nick Fury approach Steve Rogers to ask for help saving the world.
In this scene at the end of the credits, we see further foreshadowing to the first Avengers film, which would come a year later. Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) is doing his usual workout of blowing up punching bags with his fists when Nick Fury appears and asks for help saving the world.
The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers reunite one more time in this post-credits scene, but only to have a bite to eat.
The Avengers is our first film with two scenes. We see them once the credits roll.
The first scene occurs mid-way through and introduces the mad titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin). We see him learn of Loki’s defeat at the hands of the Avengers. The second scene is one of Marvel’s more famous post-credits scenes: The exhausted Avengers, after defending New York and defeating a gigantic invading alien army, reunite for a “Shawarma”, or a bite to eat.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
This scene reveals that the Tony Stark voiceovers throughout the film were just him recounting the story to a sleeping Bruce Banner.
In this scene at the end of the credits, we see Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) recounting the events of the film to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who has drifted off to sleep. While this is played up for laughs, Tony Stark sitting down with Bruce for an impromptu therapy session shows him struggling with the worry that he can’t save everyone, which leads to him creating Ultron.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
The Dark World has two post-credits scenes. The most important of the two reveals that The Collector was given the Aether.
The Dark World gives us another two scenes at the end. The first connects to the future of the Infinity Stones, as we see Thor’s compatriots, Sif (Jaime Alexander) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), give the Aether to The Collector (Benicio Del Toro).
The second scene, which is at the end of the credits, sees Thor (Chris Hemsworth) return to Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and the two share a loving embrace. For a while, it seemed this was the peak of the Thor/Jane Foster relationship, as Portman stopped appearing in the film, and later, in Endgame, Thor references an apparent breakup. However,Portman will return for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
There are two important scenes. The first introduces Wanda Maximoff. The other sees Bucky rediscover his past.
Another double end-scene, nice.
The first foreshadows Avengers: Age of Ultron. We see Wolfgang Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) studying Loki’s scepter/mind stone. He turns to two survivors of tests involving the scepter - Quiksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
The second scene is at the very end of the credits and sees the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) sneak into a Captain America-themed exhibit at a museum, where he then notices a part of the exhibit that is dedicated to his past life.
