Marvel Studios just released the ninth post-credits scene that sets up Avengers: Doomsday in a meaningful way. Many have criticized Marvel Studios for rushing toward Doomsday, which was announced only two years ago at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Before then, the Multiverse Saga masterplan was built upon Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, due to Majors' arrest, Kang was benched in favor of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, who won't debut in full force until Doomsday hits theaters on December 18.
Still, Doom has made his presence known in two post-credits scenes, which many will be surprised to hear is the exact same as Thanos in the Infinity Saga, although Josh Brolin's Mad Titan also had a minor role in Guardians of the Galaxy. Even though Doomsday hasn't received quite as much build-up as Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, there's no denying that there are nine post-credits scenes from Phases 4 to 6 movies that set up Avengers 5 in crucial ways.
As fans enter the final three-month stretch of the countdown to Doomsday, Marvel Studios unveiled two more all-important post-credits scenes in Avengers: Endgame Encore, the theatrical re-release of the seven-year-old modern classic.
9 MCU Post-Credits Scenes That Perfectly Set Up Avengers: Doomsday
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Welcome
Five years ago, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced Simu Liu's Shang-Chi, and he is finally returning in Avengers: Doomsday. The martial arts flick's mid-credits scene hinted that the Ten Rings are sending out a mysterious signal that has attracted the interest of Wong, Captain Marvel, and Bruce Banner.
While that mystery signal is more likely to define Shang-Chi 2 than Doomsday, this stinger still holds some importance as it welcomes the newbie hero to the "circus" that is the superhero world. That may prove important in explaining how Shang-Chi is suddenly part of the next Avengers roster that Sam Wilson is assembling.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Meet Clea
When Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was released in 2022, the post-credits scene was setting up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, not Doomsday. It introduces Charlize Theron's Clea, a powerful sorceress, and reveals that Strange "caused an Incursion" and they are "gonna fix it" before they leap into a portal.
While the Multiverse Saga switched focus from Jonathan Majors' Kang to Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom, the premise of Incursions tearing apart the Multiverse has been set up since Phase 4, and it has always been heading toward Secret Wars.
It has been heavily rumored that Doctor Strange is secretly working with Doom, as he did in 2015's Secret Wars comics, and perhaps Clea is too, making Multiverse of Madness the beginning of a crucial union in Doomsday.
The Marvels - Reintroducing Beast
Much like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Marvels was released some time before Doomsday was announced, and possibly even conceived. Even so, the Captain Marvel ensemble sequel offered up one of the most important post-credits scenes on the road to Doomsday, as it is the only one to feature the X-Men.
The Marvels left off with Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau stranded in a foreign universe, which turned out to be one inhabited by the Fox X-Men. In the scene, Monica meets Kelsey Grammer's Beast and discovers that her mother, Lashana Lynch's Maria Rambeau, is part of this X-Men team as Binary.
Fans already know that Beast is returning for Doomsday, but there have been few signs of Monica or Maria appearing. As the MCU and Fox universes prepare to face an Incurision, perhaps it was Monica crossing over that caused the Multiversal event and teed up the Avengers vs. X-Men conflict.
Captain America: Brave New World - The Leader Foreshadows
Captain America: Brave New World's mid-credits scene was ultimately rather vague, focusing on Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson visiting Tim Blake Nelson's Leader at The Raft. There, the supergenius villain hinted, "Let's see what happens when you have to protect this place from the [other universes]."
Samuel Sterns utilized his genius intellect and analysis of infinite probabilities to declare that a Multiversal threat is coming. This marks Sam Wilson and the Avengers' only warning that the Multiverse exists and poses a threat, with The Leader likely hinting at the Incursions that are coming to Earth-616.
Thunderbolts* - A Fantastic Landing
Thunderbolts' mid-credits scene is uniquely a clip taken directly from Doomsday that jumps forward 14 months after the Phase 5 anti-hero ensemble.
Not only do the New Avengers reveal that they are already in conflict with Sam Wilson's Avengers over their legitimacy, but Earth is facing a "space crisis" that nobody is telling them about. The crisis comes to a head as the Fantastic Four's ship enters the atmosphere from Earth-828, preparing to arrive on 616.
Fans already saw in the Doomsday trailer that the New Avengers, Fantastic Four, Thor, and the Avengers will unite in the former Watchtower, where Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder delivers a rousing speech. Many have theorized that Chris Evans' Steve Rogers and RDJ's Doctor Doom are equally in attendance.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps - Doom?
Despite what many were hoping for, Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom didn't have any major appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The decision is a strange one, as Doom hails from Earth-828 and was friends with Marvel's First Family, and yet there was no significant inkling of his existence until the mid-credits scene.
The stinger jumped forward four years after First Steps and revealed Doom had entered the Baxter Building and had some encounter with Franklin Richards. Of course, now knowing that Doom is friends with the Fantastic Four, this encounter seems less nefarious than it once did, and he may even be there seeking help.
Still, Franklin could be part of Doom's larger master plan once he eventually double-crosses the Fantastic Four, even if he is there looking to recruit the team to his cause of stopping the Incursions. Perhaps Doom is plotting to utilize Franklin's immense cosmic power as part of his plot to create Battleworld.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day - Swinging in Space
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's post-credits scene is a little less blatant, as it features no cameos or big twists, only a close-up of Ned Leeds' Spidey Tracker app that glitches as it reveals the web-slinger will return... in space?
However, due to Tom Holland's busy filming schedule for Brand New Day and The Odyssey, he isn't expected to appear in Doomsday. It seems likely that his mysterious journey across the stars is the reason he is off the table for Doomsday and won't properly return until Secret Wars.
Avengers: Endgame Encore - I've Come to Collect You
Three months out from Doomsday, Marvel Studios re-released its last Avengers blockbuster as Endgame Encore. The theatrical re-release has four new scenes (three after the credits) that set up Doctor Doom, Incursions, and Avengers 5.
The first lands at the mid-credits and ties directly to the climax of Brand New Day, with Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner now in "self-containment" underground and working on a "gamma suppression serum." But that is interrupted when Victor von Doom himself magically arrives to "collect" the Jade Giant.
Up until now, there hasn't been much to indicate that Ruffalo will return in Doomsday at all, so the Endgame Encore stinger may actually be taking him off the board before her return in Secret Wars. While there are many theories why Doom has enlisted Hulk, it's tough to imagine that his intentions are honorable.
Avengers: Endgame Encore - The Multiverse Is Collapsing
After checking in with the Hulk, Endgame Encore's IMAX and Infinity Vision-exclusive second stinger returns to the Time Variance Authority (TVA) from Loki. Owen Wilson's Mobius, Ke Huy Quan's O.B., and the TVA are observing an Incursion between universes from their offices before they rapidly start escalating to over 3000 separate collisions as O.B. declares, "the Multiverse is collapsing."
An Incursion happens when two universes collide into one another, but they can be prevented if one reality destroys the other before it is too late. That is what fans see as the TVA surprise canonized multiple Marvel universes, with the Earth-10005 (the Fox X-Men universe) firing upon Earth-1127, and vice versa.
Audiences are expecting to return to Earth-10005 in Doomsday as the Fox X-Men and the heroes of Earth-616 come to blows to save their respective universes. The post-credits scene confirms the rumors that this isn't the first rodeo for the X-Men, who have already endured multiple Incursions before the MCU.
