Marvel fans across the world are conflicted about their feelings toward the latest entry into the Sony Spider-Man Universe. Morbius received less than stellar reviews andhas one of the lowest cinema scores in Marvel movie history. From production to performance to story, the Marvel faithful are having a hard time wrapping their heads around the Jared Leto-led film. And just when the movie came to a close, Morbius managed to make Marvel history with the post-credits scenes.
The situation between Sony and Disney, the SSU and MCU, and what is canon in each has been volatile at best. While there is a specific lack of world-building between the credits of Morbius, the post-credits scenes are arguably the most consequential deserts fans have ever seen, especially when it pertains to the Sony Spider-Man Universe.
There is a lot to talk about surrounding the context of these two scenes, but it is the connectivity between the two that is historic. Ever since Marvel movies began incorporating two post-credit scenes back in 2012 with The Avengers, the theme has mostly been one world-building and one comedic relief.
Morbius has officially broken that mold.
Morbius Post-Credit Scenes: The First of Their Kind
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Morbius.
To recap, the two Morbius post-credit scenes feature Michael Keaton reprising his role as Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture. The first shows Vulture being transported into the SSU from prison, his last known location in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Toomes seems less than surprised to be in a completely different universe and the screen cuts to the credits scroll. Then, history is made. The second post-credit scene is a direct follow-up to Vulture being transported into this universe as he meets up with the titular character, Michael Morbius, to discuss a team-up to go after the web-slinger known as Spider-Man.
This is the first time in Marvel history that two post-credit scenes in the same movie narratively connect with one another. Until Morbius, a Marvel post-credits tag has never followed up on a story thread that was left hanging in the movie's previous end-credits scene(s).
Furthermore, Morbius is the first non-MCU Marvel movie to feature two post-credit scenes. Morbius has managed to become historic in its own right despite the negative reception from fans and critics alike.
Sony Spider-Man Universe of Post-Credit Scenes
Over the past six months, the post-credit scenes for the Sony Spider-Man Universe have overshadowed virtually anything that happens before the credits roll.
Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage had an entire promotional run solely focused on the post-credit scene before the movie was even released. This highlights what is becoming a real problem for the SSU. These movies are using the MCU connectivity of Tom Holland's Spider-Man as more of a crutch than anything else.
Not only are the two post-credit scenes for Morbius directly connected to each other, but they also feel like they are trying to force audiences to remember that this is technically a Spider-Man movie. The nature of the world-building in this vampire flick boils down to inserting the names of popular characters in the middle of seemingly random sentences, making this historic event of connective post-credit scenes feel more fabricated than earned.
Both Venom 2 and Morbius had post-credit scenes that directly tie into Spider-Man: No Way Home. One of the biggest movies ever made, while being a feather in Sony's cap, is firmly planted in the MCU. This means that arguably the most important pieces of the two most recent entries into the Sony Spider-Man Universe are reliant on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is cause for concern for anyone wanting the SSU to build its own identity and not interfere with the MCU canon.
The dice were rolled in December 2021 when the MCU decided to bring in a variety of pieces from previous non-MCU Sony movies for No Way Home. By most accounts, the dice hit sevens and everyone won. However, it did allow for the risk of the SSU now having some say in the story of the MCU, a risk that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co. surely thought would be handled subtly, and with grace. They were wrong.
It took no time at all for the SSU to not only impact the narrative of Spider-Man: No Way Home but also pull one of the most beloved villains in the MCU into its world. And Sony did it with back-to-back post-credit scenes that frankly had nothing to do with the movie that came before them. It's almost as if the showrunners for Morbius wanted fans to leave the theater believing they had just watched an MCU movie, which historically would result in love and affection from the masses.
The SSU has a major identity problem, and these historical post-credit scenes did nothing to help. The introduction of Vulture in the SSU puts a crack in the already loose shield of the plot for No Way Home. The clickbait-esque use of the word "Spider-Man" shortly after takes any and all focus away from Jared Leto's Morbius. And moving forward, this universe is walking on thin ice with fans looking for a true Spider-Man Cinematic Universe.
If you ask the fans, many want Andrew Garfield to return to this universe to take on the villains they have set up between two Venoms and Morbius. But PTSD sets in when people remember that what allowed Disney to get in on the rights to Spider-Man in the first place was Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker being surrounded by a poorly made universe.
With these post-credit scenes forcing that narrative, fans are barreling toward a similar outcome.
Morbius is now playing in theaters.
