Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel’s ThunderboltsI’m very glad Marvel Studios scrapped the original ideas forThunderbolts‘post-credits scenes. Featuring a collection of morally ambiguousMCUcharacters with troubled pasts, the Thunderbolts ultimately came together in their new movie to become legitimate heroes. As such, the post-credits scene we got is crucial to that evolution (though the same can’t be said for the scene we almost got).
Marvel’sThunderboltsfeatures the return of Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, and John Walker (and technically Taskmaster for like two seconds before her surprisingly quick demise). Having been agents of Val and the OXE Group, the “Thunderbolts” eventually join forces to stop Bob aka The Sentry, and his dark transformation into the Void. By the movie’s end, the Thunderbolts are given a brand-new team name by Val,finally explaining the asterisk in theThunderboltstitle.However, it’s easy to argue that the ending ofThunderbolts*would not have been nearly as powerful had Marvel gone with its original post-credits scene.
The Main Thunderbolts* Post-Credits Scene Is One Of The Most Important Scenes In The Entire Movie
Establishing The Newest MCU Team While Laying Groundwork For The Future
After the Thunderbolts manage to get through to Bob and help him regain control over the Void, they set their sights on Val who had originally manipulated them into killing each other before subsequently ordering Sentry to kill them. In a desperate bid to save her own skin in the eys of both the Thunderbolts, Washington, and the public,Val holds an impromptu press conference at the ending ofThunderbolts*,giving them credit for saving the city and claiming to the press that they’ve been working for her all along as “The New Avengers.”
As a result,both the mid-credits and post-credits scenes forThunderbolts*establish this new team as the New Avengers, based out of the old Avengers Tower with new uniforms and resources 14 months later.As such, these final scenes not only confirm that they’ve indeed been publicly recognized as The New Avengers, but also that they’ve been operating as a team of heroes they’d never thought they could be. Furthermore, the scene also sets up bothFantastic Four: First StepsandAvengers: Doomsday, making it one of the movie’s most important scenes in terms of overall MCU interconnectivity.
Based On The Thunderbolts* Director’s Comments About The Original Post-Credits Scene, I Think The New Scene Is Better For The Movie
Guinea Pigs Would Have Been Cute, But Way Less Significant
Keeping the actual post-credits scene in mind, it’s wild to think about what might have been forThunderbolts*.In an interview with Collider,Thunderbolts*director Jake Schreier revealed that the original plan for the movie’s post-credits was to follow up on the guinea pig Yelena Belova saves from the OXE Group’s lab at the beginning of the movie. Apparently, the post-credits would have shown the guinea pig within the Void, running through various shame rooms.
It’s also been revealed elsewhere that very early drafts of the movie would have includedKang inThunderbolts*post-credits scene whenAvengers 5was stillThe Kang Dynasty. Likewise, Baron Zemo was also considered for a final reveal in the new MCU movie. This would have connected to the character’s established Thunderbolts ties in the original Marvel Comics.
Thankfully, the decision was eventually made to giveThunderbolts*more space so that audiences could better sit with the “New Avengers” reveal before the movie’s end. This was first done by showing the various headline reactions from the media to the new team in the credits themselves, and then the mid and post-credits showing them as an established superhero team, new uniforms and all. As a result, I do think this was the best path, as the name change and major status quo shift for the MCU would have felt way more jarring than it arguably already is.
Why Thunderbolts*' Post-Credits Scene Is So Perfect For The MCU Movie
Becoming The Heroes They Never Thought They Could Be
Overall,Thunderbolts*post-credits scene works on multiple exciting and important levels. It confirms the team’s status as the New Avengers, reveals their place in the MCU in contrast to theAvengers being assembled by Sam Wilson’s Captain America, and also lays the groundwork for the future with teases that are guaranteed to be paid off within the next two years of the MCU. Guinea pigs wouldn’t have been able to do all that, and it’s hard to imagine the movie’s ending without such a critical scene.
