The superhero movies of theMCU, theDCU, and other franchises often feature post-credits scenes, but some of them are truly awful. Long before themovies of the MCUmade the genre the most successful in modern cinema, superhero movies adapted the characters and stories of popular comic books to the big screen. With many iconic heroes appearing in live-action movies, the superhero genre has always been one of the most larger-than-life in Hollywood.
One of the staples of the genre is the inclusion of a post-credits stinger to tease future sequels or narratives. Thepost-credits scenes of the MCUpopularized may have popularized the phenomenon, but they did exist in the years before the franchise. Unfortunately, not all of them are of the highest quality, with many teasing events that never came to pass or even struggling to make sense altogether. With that in mind, here are the 10 worst superhero movie post-credits scenes of all time, ranked.
10Dr Sivana Meets Mister Mind
Shazam! (2019)
Though theDCEU’s movie timelineultimately proved to be shortlived, it featured many memorable moments. 2019’sShazam!stood out for many as one of the best movies in the franchise, as it brought some much-needed levity to the DCEU after a number of gritty and divisive releases. However, the movie’s post-credits scene was notably bad, particularly when reconsidered in hindsight following the death of the DCEU.
The scene shows the film’s villain, Doctor Sivana, imprisoned after being captured by Billy Batson. While lying in his cell, Sivana is approached by another villain, who initially appears to be little more than a disembodied voice. He’s then revealed as Mister Mind, an evil alien caterpillar. Though Mister Mind is an interesting addition, he never made a full appearance in the DCEU. As such,the post-credits scene is simply a dead-ended teaser for a future that never occurred, and seems especially uninteresting as a result.
9Thor And Jane Kiss
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
TheMCU’s movie timelineis positively packed with incredible post-credits moments, but not every one of the franchise’s final stingers are quite so impressive.Thor: The Dark Worldfeatures one of the worst post-credits scenes in the MCU, though it didn’t seem quite so bad upon the film’s initial release. The scene simply shows Thor arriving at Jane Foster’s home, with the pair then reuniting and sharing a kiss.
Seeing the pair reconcile might have initially seemed a positive development, subsequent movies reframed it in a worse light. After the post-credits scene,Jane Foster was absent from Thor’s subsequent MCU appearances, with it being explained that the pair broke up off-screen. This makes the scene seem completely pointless in hindsight, making it one of the MCU’s worst even after Jane’s eventual reappearance inThor: Love and Thunder.
8Superman Races The Flash
Justice League (2017)
The DCEU reached a crisis point with the release ofJustice Leaguein 2017, as it turned out to be one of the franchise’s most unpopular movies. There were many criticisms of the film, though its final moments continue to stand out as some of its most frustrating. One of the film’s post-credits scenes in particular is especially bad, partly due to the nature of the scene, and partly due to the wider context of the DCEU.
The scene in question shows the Flash and Superman preparing for a race to determine which of them is fastest. In principle, it’s a light-hearted moment that should dispel some of the seriousness ofJustice League’s story. Unfortunately,not only does it come off as tonally inconsistent with the rest of the movie, but no insight into how the pair’s race went was ever offered, especially as Superman made no other significant appearance in the franchise other than brief cameos.
7Baba Yaga Plans Revenge
Hellboy (2019)
2019’sHellboyserved as a cinematic reboot for the titular Dark Horse Comics character of the same name, following the two successful and popular movies made by Guillermo del Toro and starring Ron Perlman. The reboot saw David Harbour cast as the paranormal investigator, though it ultimately proved inferior to its predecessors. The movie’s post-credits scene was every bit as disappointing as the movie itself, teasing a sequel that destined not to happen.
The scene sees the return of Baba Yaga, who Hellboy visits and deceives earlier in the movie. She swears revenge on Hellboy, enlisting the help of a disembodied voice as the camera remains fixed on her.The scene was unimpressive in its own right, offering very little context for its own tease.Even worse, the sequel it set up was never made, being scrapped due toHellboy’s poor reception.
6Morbius Meets Vulture
Morbius (2022)
Morbiuswas one of the most talked-about movies in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, although not for particularly positive reasons. The movie’s issues were numerous and remain well-known, though its final stinger was one of its most pointlessly confusing elements.Morbius’ post-credits scenesaw Michael Keaton’s Vulture cross over into the Sony Universe, meeting the titular vampire and setting up aSinister Sixmovie featuring the pair.
The first of the two post-credits scenes explained Adrian Toomes’ arrival in the universe, crossing over from the MCU in a moment that made very little sense and was poorly explained. The second showed the two Spider-Man villains meet, planning a team-up in a universe with no confirmed Spider-Man in it.Considering the SSU was later canceled after the poor reception to its movies – includingMorbius– the scene seems especially bad in hindsight.
5Drunken Aquaman Lays In A Puddle
The Flash (2023)
The DCEU’sThe Flashgave the hero his first solo movie, and despite its mixed reception, it proved relatively successful. FollowingThe Flash’s ending, the movie’s post-credits scene was especially disappointing. Having embarked upon a Multiversal adventure through time, Barry Allen returned to his present to discover himself in an altered timeline. The post-credits scene that followed showed Barry exiting a bar with a drunken Aquaman, who promptly collapsed into a puddle.
The scene did nothing to reference the movie’s intriguing ending, but rather featured Aquaman ahead of his final DCEU appearance. However, it also did nothing to set upAquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but instead reduced the hero to an inconsequential joke that did not land particularly well.The post-credits scene ofThe Flashdidn’t tie in to eitherThe Flash’s story or the DCEU’s future, making it especially poor as a result.
4Orm Eats Cockroaches
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomserved as the final movie of the DCEU, marking the end of the franchise after a decade of behind-the-scenes turbulence. The movie itself received a lukewarm reception, but its post-credits scene was the cause of much debate. The scene showed Orm eating a burger on the surface, then catching a cockroach and eating it with his meal in a callback to an earlier joke in which Arthur tricks his brother into believing insects to be a surface delicacy.
The joke is largely unfunny, particularly as it simply continues a gag from earlier in the movie. What’s worse, as the final moments of the DCEU, many believed thatAquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s post-credits scene might offer some meaningful insight into the death of the franchise or possibly the DCU’s future. Instead,it offered nothing but a relatively juvenile joke that had no real significance of any kind.
3Professor X Steals The Body Of His Secret Twin
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Widely considered among the worst ofFox’s X-Men movies,X-Men: The Last Standwas a movie with many issues. As well as killing off several beloved X-Men characters in an underwhelming fashion,The Last Stand’s story was jumbled and incoherent. This continued into the movie’s post-credits scene, which added a nonsensical caveat to the film that felt cheap and undeserved, particularly after the events ofThe Last Stand’s narrative.
Following his death at the hands of the Dark Phoenix, Professor X is revealed to have preserved his consciousness via telepathy. The post-credits scene sees him reveal himself to a doctor, identified as Moira McTaggert, with it explained that he was inhabiting the body of his previous unmentioned comatose twin brother.The scene felt all too convenient and somewhat insulting to the audience’s intelligence, offering up a cheap sequel tease thatThe Last Standsimply didn’t deserve.
2Blade Drives A Car
Blade: Trinity (2004)
Just as superhero movies were fully breaking into Hollywood’s mainstream,Blade: Trinitywas released. The third film in the Wesley Snipes-ledBladetrilogy,Trinitywas a marked disappointment compared to its predecessors, earning little popularity as a result. The film also featured a post-credits scene, which, by today’s standards, is one of the worst in the history of the superhero genre.
The scene showed Blade driving a car silently into the night. The short scene simply followed the vampire hunter as he wordlessly drove off to his next adventure, confirming his survival and teasing a potential cinematic future.Judged on comparisons with other movies in the genre, the scene is laughably lackluster, as it offers nothing at all to the overall experience of the film.Released asBlade: Trinitywas, before post-credits scenes became the norm, it’s perhaps not surprising that it pales compared to many other post-credits scenes.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men Origins: Wolverineis a contentious film, as its terrible handling of certain characters was offset by a handful of memorable and well-executed action scenes. The film’s treatment of Deadpool has served as an unshakable black mark against its reputation, as it thoroughly underestimated the need for comic accuracy regarding the character.X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s post-credits scene saw the decapitated Deadpool return to life, shushing the audience as his eyes opened once again.
The scene teased the return of one of the most reviled Marvel movie characters in history. The movie’s adaptation of Deadpool remains thoroughly despised, and the tease that he might return is still baffling in its naivety even years later. As a result,X-Men Origins: Wolverineboasts the unenviable accolade of having the worst post-credits scene in any of the superhero movies of theMCU, theDCU, and every other similar franchise.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
