Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Thunderbolts*‘The ending ofThunderbolts*finally revealswhat that ever-mysterious asterisk means, but as any Marvel fan knows, the fun isn’t finished when the credits start to roll. It’s more than reasonable to expect at least one end-credits sequence, though two is also more than common. In the case ofJake Schreier’s ambitious ensemble film, it’s the latter, with one credits scene being purely comedic and the other setting up another massive debut for the MCU.
When Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) decides to tie up loose ends while facing a government impeachment, she unwittingly turns her operatives against her as Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko… just kidding, RIP Taskmaster). The anti-heroes are forced to work together when Valentina tries to forceRobert Reynolds (Lewis Pullman) to accept his role as the almighty Sentry, only to unwittingly unleash his unstable alter-ego of The Void onto New York. Thankfully, Yelena and her colleagues succeed in saving the city, leading Valentina to throw one last curveball and introduce these so-called “Thunderbolts” as “The New Avengers”.
The introduction of a new Avengers team raises so many questions about the MCU’s future, and also intrinsically teases what’s to come inAvengers: Doomsday. Are any of these questions answered in either of the two end-credits scenes? Read below to find out.
Alexei Gets His Wheaties Box Wish in the Mid-Credits Scene of ‘Thunderbolts*’
We’ll move through this one quickly, as there isn’t too much to cover regardingThunderbolts*’s mid-credits scene. Paying off a joke made by Alexei much earlier in the film,The Thunderbolts, or rather, The New Avengers, have indeed managed to be featured on boxes of Wheaties cereal around the country. Alexei, now sporting a stylish mustache, tries to have a tender fan moment with a simple shopper, only to come off as the classically awkward Red Guardian.
While it’s overall a simple comedic scene, this moment and the first round of credits overall do give an idea of how The New Avengers is being perceived in the public eye. Overall, there’s a lot of confusion and uncertainty revolving around how thisgroup of former criminalscan take on the mantle as Earth’s newest mightiest heroes. The mid-credits scene doesn’t elaborate too much, but thankfully, the post-credits scene does.
The New Avengers Prepare for a Fantastic Arrival in the Post-Credits Scene of ‘Thunderbolts*’
The unusually lengthy post-credits scene ofThunderbolts*picks up several months after the film’s main events, wherethe team has gotten comfortable intheir base of Avengers Towerand even solidified their status as The New Avengers with some spiffy new uniforms. Alexei has a particularly bizarre look with an ad-laced tracksuit, but that’s to be expected from everyone’s favorite pseudo-capitalist Russian. The only member of the group who doesn’t have a new supersuit is Bob, who explains that he can’t take on the mantle of Sentry without risking another Void outbreak, indicatinghis shadowy alter-ego is still very much a threat.
The post-credits scene also offers much moreclarification on how the other major characters of the MCU are reacting to The New Avengers, namely Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). The relatively recently dubbed Captain America is not on board with the idea of these people being the world’s premier superhero team, even arguing with his close friend Bucky. The impression is also given that Sam is now leading a more official Avengers team already, leaving The New Avengers in the dust while Sam and his companions — likely consisting of members fromAvengers: Doomsday’s announced castlike Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), and more — are dealing with a cosmic threat in outer space.
What might that be? Well, the post-credits scene wraps up with one final zinger of what could be part of this new possible catastrophe. The New Avengers get a message that an interdimensional ship has broken through toward Earth’s orbit, and the team observes theretro-futuristic spacecraft, which has an oh-so-prominent “4” on its hull. This seems like the clear and blatant arrival of The Fantastic Four into the MCU, though how Reed Richards’ (Pedro Pascal) family will factor into the Multiverse Saga’s final chapters remains to be seen. That said, the release ofThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsin the coming months will certainly lead directly into the inevitable arrival of Victor Von Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
Thunderbolts*comes to theaters on May 2.
Thunderbolts*
