The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become known for its after credit stingers and teasers. This is where we were first introduced to Nick Fury at the end of the first Iron Man and the word ‘avengers initiative’ was mentioned. Marvel has started adding two scenes to its movies now with one mid credits and the other at the very end. I decided to look at the two scenes for Captain America: Civil War and guess what they might mean for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That also means that there will be spoilers for the end of Captain America: Civil War and all current Marvel movies. If you don’t want to be spoiled for the film you should see the movie and then come back to see what was going on in those teasers. The movie is excellent and should be viewed without spoilers.
SPOILERS FROM NOW ON
Mid Credits Scene
The scene opens with Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans) in a room that looks like a doctor’s office. Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is on a table with his metal arm still missing from the fight with Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) at the end of the movie. Bucky talks about how it’s safer for everyone if he goes back ‘under’ until they can work out all of the triggers from his time under Hydra and get rid of them. Bucky is put back into cryostasis, and T’Challa / Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) joins Steve. Steve says that if they find out where Bucky is they will ‘come for him’ and T’Challa replies with ‘let them try.’ It pulls back for a look at the jungle environment of Wakanda and a giant statue of a black panther.
This moment was one of the most heartbreaking moments of the film. Steve will always choose Bucky over everyone else in the world. He has spent the last two movies trying to get his friend back and now Bucky is putting himself back to sleep again. While I enjoyed the fact that this means Bucky might get to develop outside of Steve, it made me sad to see them separated again. With Bucky asleep in Wakanda, this means that he could show up in T’Challa’s solo movie Black Panther due out on February 16, 2018. Perhaps someone finding out that T’Challa is hiding Bucky is something that helps kick off the plot, and maybe the two of them could even team up.
From a fans point of view, this scene also featured something I thought I would never see. While talking to Steve about Bucky, T’Challa says “your friend is a victim like my father.” T’Challa lost his father in a bombing earlier in the movie but someone calling Bucky a victim is something I never thought I would see. The comics spend a lot of time hinting that Bucky needs to somehow make amends for the deeds he committed while under Hydra’s control. The fact that someone finally called Bucky Barnes what he is, a victim, means the creative team here is doing something that even the comics never did.
Post Credits Scene
The second credit scene comes at the very end of the credits. The scene opens with Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland) messing around with a piece of tech. His Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) opens the door, and Peter frantically hides the tech. Aunt May asks him about injuries, since he sustained his fair share during the airport fight, and lies about where he got them. Peter makes a comment about the other guy being ‘huge’ in reference to Scott Lang / Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) turning into Giant-Man. When asked about what he’s hiding Peter says he got the tech from ‘Steve from Brooklyn’ (Captain America) and May leaves the room. Peter plays with it for a moment and looks up at his ceiling. A ‘spider signal’ appears and Peter smiles.The screen cuts to black and says ‘Spider-Man will return.’
I have a fairly extensive knowledge of comics, but this is one that I had to do a bit of research on. The scene isn’t a game changer like other mid and post scenes have been in the past. I did a little research, as I’m not someone who has read a ton of Spider-Man, and found that Peter has had a ‘spider signal’ on his utility belt since 1963. This is something that hasn’t been shown in the movies before which is why I think it’s going to confuse quite a few people. I have to wonder if perhaps it’s hinting at something else.
Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is the one that gives Peter his new costume and pulls him into the events of Captain America: Civil War. They have a connection and Tony doesn’t have a lot of allies with all of Captain America’s team fugitives from the law at the end of the movie. It has been confirmed that Tony Stark will appear in Spider-Man’s solo movie Spider-Man: Homecoming due out July 7, 2017. Perhaps this signal is meant to hint that Tony is going to help Peter create the suit known as ‘the Iron Spider.’ This is an armor created by Tony Stark for Peter Parker during the events of Civil War in the comics when Peter is on Tony’s side in the conflict. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that Tony could make this same armor for Peter now that the Civil War is over.
What did you think of the mid and post credit scenes in Captain America: Civil War? I enjoyed them, but neither of them felt like the game changers of having Thanos show up at the end of The Avengers or revealing that Loki had assumed Odin’s identity at the end of Thor: The Dark World.
