Iron Man
When you think of post-credit scenes in the 21st Century, the world of Marvel superheroes immediately comes to mind.
Iron Man in 2008 was the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and kicked-off the tradition of the comic book adaptations always delivering something extra at the end.
After the credits have rolled, Iron Man/Tony Stark goes back to his futuristic home only to find a mysterious figure named Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) waiting for him in the shadows. Fury tells Stark that he is a representative of S.H.I.E.L.D., an agency that deals with national and global security, and adds: “Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.”
In just a few seconds, the scene set up The Avengers Initiative and a whole series of future Marvel movies.
Since then almost every MCU film has had a post-credit scene, and the tradition doesn’t look like it’s going to die out anytime soon. The scenes have varied from big teases of new characters (such as Harry Styles’ Eros in Eternals or Brett Goldstein’s portrayal of Hercules in Thor: Love and Thunder) to previews of the next films in the series – or even the occasional trolling, such as Captain America’s appearance at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming to effectively admonish the audience for sitting through the credits for nothing.