I've recently purchased the Marvel Phase One Limited Edition Collector's Set and, as any fan would have, I've been watching the movies in sequence. As I finished with The Avengers, I started to wonder why Marvel has been so successful thus far. There are many things that Marvel has done right, but, in my opinion, two stand above the rest. The first is the meticulous continuity of Phase One. I'm sure some of us hard core fans can try really hard to find something off, but for the most part, Phase One of the MCU was consistent in maintaining continuity. This alone would have been enough to keep comic book fans coming back for more, but what about the other audiences? What could Marvel do to keep the average person coming back for more and more? I attest Marvel's success in doing this to their masterful use of the final/after credits scene. I'm going to breakdown and discuss each one, starting with Iron Man and leading up to, and including, The Avengers.
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After Credits Scene:
We see Tony Stark entering his home to find Jarvis has been hacked and someone is standing in the shadows of the room. The shadowy man reveals himself and we get our first glimpse of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Director Fury talks about The Avengers Initiative.
At this point, any comic book fan massively geeked out, but what about the average person who isn't familiar with the the comic book world? I'm sure they began asking themselves, "Who the hell is Nick Fury and why should I care about him? What is 'The Avengers Initiative'?" After either talking to a comic book fan about these things or looking them up online, the interest of the average person would be peeked.
Final Scene:
General Ross is sitting at the bar, obviously drowning his sorrows in alcohol. You hear a familiar voice in the background and it's revealed to be Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man. They chat for a minute and then Stark tells Ross that they're putting a team together.
At this point, most people in the audience would know that Stark is referring to The Avengers Initiative. Fans and average people alike would be excited by this short scene connecting the first two films of the MCU.
After Credits Scene:
Agent Coulson is now in New Mexico and pulls up to the surround area of a large crater. There are trucks and spectators all around the crater looking at what lies in the center. Coulson makes a call on his cell phone and states, "We've found it." We cut to a camera shot of a large hammer with a leather wrapped handle and leather strap attached to it's handle.
This scene made every comic book fan in the audience have a nerdgasm. Mjolnir on screen was confirmation that a Thor movie was in the works. Once again, any who didn't know of Mjolnir would've looked it up or inquired as to why the hammer was of any significance.
After Credits Scene:
Dr. Eric Selvig is walking down a corridor when he hears a voice call him from down the hall. The voice turns out to be Nick Fury. They converse for a few moments and then Director Fury opens a briefcase revealing a glowing cube that he refers to as 'power'. You see Loki in the glass behind Selvig and Loki exerts some sort of control over him. Loki and Selvig both say, "Well, I guess that's worth a look."
This scene made comic book fans salivate in want. The thought of the Cosmic Cube, or Tesseract, being introduced into the MCU brought forth so many possibilities for future plot lines. Once again, the average person would be intrigued as to the importance of this glowing cube. This scene was very important to future plots, as the cube was heavily focused on for both Captain America The First Avenger and The Avengers. Also, this scene confirmed that Loki was not dead and would return in future films.
Final Scene:
Steve Rogers wakes up in a small hospital room that looks as if its from his time period. After listening to the radio and realizing that he'd already been to the baseball game being announced on the radio, Steve busts out of the fake room and runs into the streets of modern day New York City. It's here that Nick Fury reveals to him that he's been 'asleep'(frozen) for 70 years.
This scene brought Captain America to modern day. There were really no important points brought out by it, but it was necessary to have him available for The Avengers.
After Credits Scene:
The Avengers Teaser! Not a whole lot to see but just enough to wet your appetite for comic book movie gold.
Mid Credits Scene:
Thanos is revealed as the one behind Loki's attempt to rule the Earth! What a brilliant idea this was. Phase One ends with the Avengers Assembled... now, where the hell will they go with the story? Not wanting to disappoint fans, Joss Whedon and Marvel revealed that Thanos will be a future villian in the MCU. Whether The Avengers will face off against him or not is unknown, but we do know that he'll pop up again.
After Credits Scene:
The team kicking back and eating Shawarma. A funny end to a great movie.
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Marvel has executed a brilliant sequence of final scenes and after credit scenes to make six distinct movies come together as one complete universe. Where they go from here, we have no idea. However, if we've learned one thing from them thus far, it's this... DON'T LEAVE BEFORE THE CREDITS ROLL!
Thanks for reading!
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