Ranking The DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE's Post-Credits Scenes From Worst To Best

The DC Extended Universe is relatively young, all things considered, and has essentially been rebooted following the poor critical and commercial response to movies like Suicide Squad and Justice League. As a result, there really haven't been that many post-credits scenes to speak of, especially as Warner Bros. has never really seemed to have much of a plan in place. 

There have been some amazing ones, however, and we're now ranking them all from worst to best!

Whether it's hints about where a certain character's story will go next or a fan-pleasing sequence which was like watching a comic book brought to life, the DCEU hasn't disappointed... well, for the most part anyway.

So, to check out this ranking of the DCEU's post-credits scenes (and a chance to watch them all over again), simply hit the "View List" button down below!

6. Shazam Channels His Inner Aquaman (Shazam!)

It's unfortunate that we have to start this list with a disappointing post-credits scene, but just like that ant playing the drums in Ant-Man and The Wasp, it was very anticlimactic to stick around for a comedic sequence that was a) not that funny, and b) something we'd already seen in the trailers! 

This was basically a deleted scene that was stuck at the end of the credits, and a major let-down. 

Shazam! was a comedic movie and so a funny stinger wasn't necessarily a bad decision on Warner Bros.' part - it just shouldn't have been something we'd already seen that wasn't particularly funny!
 

5. Bruce Wayne Meets Amanda Waller (Suicide Squad)

When Suicide Squad was released, the DCEU was very much in its infancy, so getting to see Batman pop up in during Task Force X's big screen debut was a genuine treat for fans. With Justice League rapidly approaching at the time, any hints about what that might entail was appreciated, so this meeting between Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller was more exciting that it sounds on paper. 

As well as revealing that the Dark Knight was doing a Nick Fury by finding out all he could about Earth's Metahumans in order to put a team together, we found out that Waller knows how Bruce spends his nights. 

Immediately, it was hard not to wonder if a Suicide Squad sequel might put the spotlight on Task Force X attempting to bring down Batman at Waller's behest. There were even rumours to that affect at the time! Sadly, it didn't come to pass, but that makes this no less of an awesome teaser. 
 

4. Black Manta's Revenge (Aquaman)

Black Manta only had a very minor role in Aquaman, so this scene essentially confirming that he will be the sequel's big bad was definitely welcomed by fans. It also promised a much larger role for Randall Park's Dr. Shin in the follow-up, and comic book fans will be well aware that he has quite the storied history with Arthur Curry. 

As post-credits scenes go, this was a fairly simple one, but it did its job extremely effectively. 

Time will tell whether Black Manta is Aquaman 2's sole big bad, but he's a great villain and Shin's involvement should ensure it doesn't just feel like a repeat of what we've already seen. 
 

3. "A League Of Our Own" (Justice League)

This sequence was heavily reshot and it's thought that it may have originally been part of the movie itself rather than a post-credits scene. After all, Deathstroke was originally supposed to be The Batman's lead villain back when Ben Affleck was set to direct, and Lex Luthor sending Slade Wilson after the Dark Knight would have made perfect sense. 

Regardless of what might have been (this isn't a story about the "Snyder Cut" after all), this was still a fun little scene and the promise of the Injustice League assembling was pretty cool. 

At this point, we knew it was probably never going to happen, but Lex interacting with Deathstroke in a live-action setting was a comic book fan's dream come true. Sure, it didn't ultimately lead anywhere, but there's no denying that it's a strong post-credits scene in its own right. 
 

2. Meet Mister Mind (Shazam!)

It's fair to say that most of us were hoping to see a Black Adam tease of some sort at the end of Shazam!, but Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's busy schedule seemingly put a premature end to that.

Despite that, the unexpected introduction of Mister Mind was really cool, and while he may not be an A-List villain, he's one of Shazam's biggest foes and someone who will make the Shazam Family's life very difficult if and when a sequel happens. Visually, he's obviously very unique, and the return of Dr. Sivana also has a lot of potential. 

There's still no word on that follow-up, of course, but this set one up in a pretty perfect way!
 

1. Superman Races The Flash (Justice League)

This scene was shot by Joss Whedon, and his fingerprints are all over it! That's no bad thing, of course, and while we would all like to see what Zack Snyder originally had planned for his much darker version of the franchise, this is arguably what most fans want from a Justice League movie. 

Sure, we don't get to see who wins this race between Superman and The Flash, but just the fact that they have one at all is fantastic - even if it's somewhat ruined by Henry Cavill's horrible CGI jawline. 

As things stand right now, there's a chance this was Cavill's final appearance as the Man of Steel in the DCEU. As sad as that might be, there are definitely worse ways to bid him farewell!

How do the Marvel Cinematic Universe's post-credits scenes compare?
Continue reading below to see our 10 favourites...and 10 least favourites!
 

THE BEST

10. A Team Assembles (The Incredible Hulk, 2008)

The Incredible Hulk seemingly remains the black sheep of the Marvel Studios family but it had plenty of good points, one of which was its post-credits scene. For starters, it featured our first crossover as Iron Man entered the Jade Giant's franchise for a meeting with General Ross.

Conceived before Joss Whedon joined the MCU and rewrote Zak Penn's The Avengers screenplay, this not only gives us a glimpse of what might have been (The Avengers assembling to battle The Hulk) but also served as something to get really excited over at the time, a sentiment I'm sure you'll agre with if you're old enough to remember watching this in theaters. 
 

9. Thor's Hammer (Iron Man 2, 2010)

Another early post-credits scene, we all knew that Thor was coming when Iron Man 2 was released but this stinger provided our first look at Mjolnir after it had crash landed on Earth. 

While it left us with a lot of questions, it was impossible not to feel psyched up after witnessing this tease for the God of Thunder's arrival and knowing it would be a game-changer for the MCU as we moved from the grounded adventures of Iron Man to the alien halls of Asgard. 
 

8. "Adam" (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017)

James Gunn's critically acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy sequel features more post-credits scenes than any other Marvel movie but this was an undeniable highlight. For years, speculation had been running rampant about the possibility of Adam Warlock coming to the MCU and the filmmaker finally laid the groundwork for that with this intriguing sequence.

Non-fans would have no doubt been left baffled by the mention of "Adam," but we all knew what this meant and seeing it pay off in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 promises to be a lot of fun. 
 

7. Captain Marvel Tease (Avengers: Infinity War, 2018)

Marvel Studios did a great job of keeping Avengers: Infinity War's biggest surprises under wraps and that meant we had no idea what to expect from the massive superhero ensemble's post-credits scene.

Kicking off with Nick Fury and Maria Hill's investigation of Thanos' attack on Wakanda, we were left reeling when they both turned to dust and the mysterious device the former dropped displayed a logo which was instantly familiar to fans of the comic books. Captain Marvel had finally arrived (sort of) and this definitely increased excitement for her solo adventure. 
 

6. Groot Dances (Guardians Of The Galaxy, 2014)

This may have just been a "fun" post-credits scene but Marvel Studios never could have realised what sort of impact it would have. This brief - and ridiculously cute - sequence featuring Baby Groot dancing away led to huge demand for merchandise which Disney hadn't thought to produce and they were left scrambling to catch up. 

It also served as an introduction to the baby version of Groot we'd all end up falling in love with (even more than we already had done) a few years later with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
 

5. Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014)

In many ways, the MCU was still in its infancy back in 2014 and so the introduction of characters like Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch was a considerably bigger deal than it is now. 

Serving as a tease of what was to come in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we got a glimpse of "The Twins" in action and while we weren't entirely sure whether they would be heroes or villains (or even mutants) at this point in time, this sneak peek was an absolute treat and gets bonus points for tying into the events of the movie it was attached to by mentioning HYDRA's apparent downfall. 
 

4. Stan Lee Reports To The Watchers (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017)

How could you not love this? 

The late, great Stan "The Man" Lee made a number of memorable cameos in the MCU but the apparent revelation that he had been sent to Earth by The Watchers to keep an eye on things was a game-changer and something fans had been theorising for years. 

Just seeing The Watchers in live-action was amazing and it's now the rights to the Fantastic Four have returned home, here's hoping we'll finally get to see Uatu appear during key moments. 
 

3. The Avengers Initiative (Iron Man, 2008)

This was where it all began. While details had leaked online beforehand, social media was in its infancy back in 2008 so it's not like it was all over Twitter and Instagram! As a result, the handful of fans who decided to wait until the very end of the credits were treated to witnessing the introduction of Samuel L. Jackson and getting to hear about The Avengers Initiative for the first time. 

It was clear that Marvel Studios was using The Ultimates for inspiration here and that was exciting for a lot of reasons. However, the very ideas of The Avengers assembling on the big screen was hard to believe and most of us didn't think it would ever come to much.
 

2. Thanos Arrives (The Avengers, 2012)

By now, we've seen an awful lot of Thanos so it's fair to say that the novelty has somewhat worn off, right? Well, while fans waited patiently for a post-credits scene at the end of The Avengers, they were treated to the big screen debut of the Mad Titan as we learned that he had been the one pulling Loki's strings from the start. 

Brought to life with practical effects rather than CGI, he didn't look great, but was more than enough to have fans losing their minds. It's crazy to think how long it took for this to pay off but the wait was worth it and this proved that Marvel Studios had big plans. 
 

1. The Avengers (Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011)

I bet you forgot about this one, right? Captain America: The First Avenger arrived in theaters in July and the first trailer for The Avengers didn't come our way until October. However, providing you waited until the very end of this movie, you would have been treated to a teaser for the movie featuring very early footage that left everyone talking.

We got to see Loki in custody, new costumes, and a conversation between Iron Man and Thor, something it was hard to imagine ever happening at the time. Proving that The Avengers movie was really happening, the excitement this created at the time is probably hard to imagine for younger fans used to releases as large in scale as Avengers: Endgame! 
 

THE WORST

10. Patience (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)

On the one hand, I really enjoyed this post-credits scene. It's a lot of fun and genuinely very funny as Marvel Studios uses a recurring joke from Spider-Man: Homecoming to poke fun at the fans who diligently stick around for these extra scenes at the end of the credits.

Well, therein lies the problem as this ultimately felt like a very underwhelming way to wrap up the first solo outing for the wall-crawler in the MCU. I'm sure something a little more exciting could have been used, especially as Spidey was set to return in Infinity War. 
 

9. Bruce Banner Falls Asleep (Iron Man 3, 2013)

The first movie to follow The Avengers was controversial for a number of reasons. After realising that humour was a key component in the success of these movies, Iron Man 3 really upped the laughs and even ended up making The Mandarin something of a punchline much to the chagrin of comic book fans. 

So, while Bruce Banner dozing off while listening to Tony Stark's story may have been pretty amusing and a decent enough cameo, this wasn't a strong scene and I'm willing to bet you forgot it! 
 

8. Karl Mordo Breaks Bad (Doctor Strange, 2016)

At the end of Doctor Strange, a disgusted Karl Mordo wipes his hands with his friend upon realising that The Ancient One betrayed them and Strange has used the Time Stone to manipulate events to his liking. That left the character in an interesting place but by the time the post-credits scene arrived, he had become an unhinged villain who suddenly wanted to wipe out all sorcerers.

While there was nothing wrong with setting the stage for Mordo to embrace his evil persona from the comic books, this felt too rushed and a tad forced, hence why it earns a place here. 
 

7. Wakanda Opens Its Borders (Black Panther, 2018)

On the one hand, there was nothing wrong with this scene and it was obviously cool to see T'Challa open Wakanda's borders to the rest of the world. The problem here, however, was that this was originally intended to be the movie's final scene and it being moved essentially made it a repeat of Black Panther's conversation with Shuri where Erik Killmonger was brought up. 

Throw in the fact we saw this in the movie's trailers and it didn't exactly have a huge impact. 
 

6. Loki Returns (Thor, 2011)

At the time, the reveal that Loki was alive and well and seemingly in control of Dr. Erik Selvig was pretty cool even if it is somewhat tame by today's standards. However, proving that Marvel Studios was still finding its feet, by the time The Avengers rolled around, this proved to be mostly irrelevant aside from getting Selvig to the right place at the start of the epic superhero ensemble. 

We also already knew that Loki would return to plague Thor and Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the movie, so his resurrection was not exactly a shocker. I guess the plus side is that this did at least offer a first look at what was to come in Joss Whedon's The Avengers!
 

5. Mac Gargan Hatches A Plan (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)

As post-credits scenes go, this felt more like a Sony Pictures decision than a Marvel Studios one. While fans remain optimistic that the Sinister Six are coming to the MCU, Mac Gargan approaching Adrian Toomes feels too on the nose and seemingly won't even be followed up on in Spider-Man: Far From Home if director Jon Watts is to be believed. 

In the comics, Gargan has a pretty cool origin story but rushing it like this does the character a disservice and if I didn't know any better, I would say this was a deleted scene from The Amazing Spider-Man 2! 
 

4. Thor And Jane Foster Reunited (Thor: The Dark World, 2013)

Another forgettable effort from Marvel Studios, Thor and Jane Foster reuniting felt rather touching at the time but now that we know it meant nothing and the latter was just casually written out of the MCU, it takes on a totally different feel and seems like a total waste of time (which is how I'm sure many of you would refer to this entire movie). 

The Jotunheim Beast's brief appearance was fun but like most of what we saw in this sequel, it all simply failed to stick the landing.
 

3. "I'll Do It Myself" (Avengers: Age Of Ultron, 2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron gets a bad rap but I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon's sequel. However, there's no getting around how underwhelming this particular post-credits scene was. 

It felt like a rehash of what we saw at the end of The Avengers and Thanos declaring, "Fine, I'll do it myself!" would have had a lot more impact had we seen the Mad Titan in more than just Guardians of the Galaxy. It says a lot that the Russo Brothers have since retconned this scene and attempted to explain it away on a number of occasions! 
 

2. Captain Marvel's Arrival On Earth (Captain Marvel, 2019)

Hey, I'm surprised to see this scene here too but couldn't think of a better place for it. Following the release of Captain Marvel (and since that tease at the end of Avengers: Infinity War), we had all been speculating about how Carol Danvers would return to Earth and rumours ran rampant that a clash with Earth's Mightiest Heroes might be on the cards. 

Instead, she just randomly appeared in the Avengers Compound and Avengers: Endgame failed to expand on this or show us how the team responded to her arrival on Earth. As a result, it's hard to get around the fact that this was ultimately a major let-down. 
 

1. The Giant Ant (Ant-Man And The Wasp, 2018)

Perhaps I'm being too harsh but what the heck was this? 

After a game-changing mid-credits scene featuring the deaths of The Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, and Hank Pym, I fully understand why Marvel Studios wanted to add some levity to proceedings but a Captain Marvel tease totally unrelated to this adventure would have been better than a silly sequence showing that giant ant playing the drums. 

When you also take into account the fact this was included in the trailers, it just makes it worse!