Spider-Man No Way Home doesn’t break from the MCU tradition of offering patient audience members some additional scenes as a thank you for sitting through the entire credits.
While some Marvel movies have used their post-credit scenes for comedic purposes, the best MCU post-credit scenes tease future installments in the inter-connected comic book franchise or even hint at new characters set to join the universe in the future.
Thankfully Spider-Man No Way Home’s pair of post-credit scenes fall into that latter category. If you’re wondering how these scenes will impact the MCU going forward, then you’ve come to the right place, as we’re breaking down both post-credit sequences below.
As you’d expect this article contains full spoilers for Spider-Man No Way Home and its two post-credit scenes. Do not continue reading until you’ve seen the movie for yourself. Trust us, you don’t want these spoiled ahead of time. Oh, and there's one other thing to talk about (also, spoiler warning: did you miss the biggest Spider-Man: No Way Home easter egg?).
Spider-Man No Way Home post-credit scene #1: Venom in the MCU (kind of)
If you stuck around till the very end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage then you’ll know that during that movie’s post-credit scene, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) was mysteriously transported into the MCU by a sudden flash of light. No Way Home’s first post-credit scene picks up this plot thread.
We see Eddie Brock/Venom at a tropical bar catching up on the events of the MCU to date thanks to a helpful bartender (Ted Lasso’s Cristo Fernandez). Still trying to wrap his head around the idea of a “world full of superheroes”, Brock decides he needs to go visit Peter Parker in New York to get some answers — although Venom would rather go skinny dipping.
Just as he’s getting ready to leave the bar, Doctor Strange’s spell that puts everyone back in their original universes is cast and Brock disappears in a flash of light, just like the other Spider-Men and their villains. It seems that all is back to normal and the MCU is once again Venom-less, until it’s revealed that the alien creature left behind a small piece of black goo. Just before the credit resume, we see it move along the bartop.
It would appear that Venom has been transported back to his own universe (often dubbed the Sony-verse). It was assumed that Let There Be Carnage’s post-credits scene was setting up Venom joining in the MCU, and presumably going head-to-head with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in a future movie. But that may not be the case anymore. Right now Eddie Brock and Venom are back in their own universe, which is very much separate from the MCU.
This isn’t to say that Venom’s short trip into the MCU hasn’t left an impact. That little bit of black goo will almost surely cause problems down the road. Perhaps it’ll attach itself to Holland’s Spider-Man or maybe there’s an MCU variant of Eddie Brock out there ready to partner up with the symbiote. There's also a new demand for this Eddie Brock to wind up in The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
It would seem a strange decision for the MCU to have its own version of Eddie Brock considering how popular Tom Hardy has become in the role, so maybe the black goo will attach itself to an entirely different host. Spidey's frenemy Flash Thompson’s could be an option — he did become Agent Venom in the comics after all.
How Eddie Brock’s trip to the MCU, and the small piece of black goo that Venom has left behind, will impact both universes remains to be seen, but we’re fairly certain this post-credit scene will be significant in time.
Spider-Man No Way Home post-credit scene #2: First look at Doctor Strange 2
The second Spider-Man No Way Home post-credit scene is really a post-credits trailer. Just like how Marvel used Captain America: The First Avenger as a platform to showcase a trailer for the first Avengers movie, the latest Spider-Man movie ends with a sneak peak at Doctor Strange 2.
This trailer did leak online already, but an official version has yet to be released. That makes sticking around through No Way Home’s very lengthy credits a complete no-brainer. There’s so much teased and showcased in this trailer that it deserves its own article to cover it all. But perhaps the biggest takeaway is the sinister-looking Doctor Strange doppelganger.
This could be the darker version of Stephen Strange, known as Strange Supreme, who appeared in the first season of the Disney Plus show What If…?
That would make the magical sequel the first time that a character from the alternative reality animated show has been brought into the MCU proper. If you skipped the show originally you might want to catch up between now and May.
It looks like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will have multiple ties to Disney Plus shows,. The trailer also see the return of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) who appears to be living in solitude now. There’s even a direct reference to the events Westview which took place in WandaVision.
Other reveals in the trailer include the return of Christine (Rachel McAdams) and Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). We also see a massive green creature that could be the Shuma-Gorath from the Captain Carter episode of What If…?
We can’t wait till the trailer is released properly online so we can dissect it fully.
