When done properly, cliffhangers can serve as an effective way to enhance a story and get viewers excited about what comes next. Only a handful of superhero movies have made use of them over the years, and those that have definitely left a lasting impact which fans still talk about to this day.
With that in mind, we're now taking a look through those we consider to be the 10 greatest of all time!
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the DC Extended Universe, and even the Marvel and DC films set outside both, these were all amazing, and undeniably perfect cliffhangers which left us all excited about what might come next.
We're not just talking about post-credits scenes, either, as many of these movies also ended in a way that left moviegoers' jaws on the floor and anxious to see what the future held in store.
To take a look through this ranking, simply click on the "Next" button below.
10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier featured not one, but two great cliffhangers. These came courtesy of post-credits scenes that laid the groundwork for both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.
The first revealed that despite HYDRA's defeat, Baron Von Strucker's experiments continued and that with the use of an Infinity Stone, he had given "The Twins" superpowers. Of course, comic book fans instantly recognised them both as Quicksilver and his sister, the Scarlet Witch.
In the second scene, there's a strong hint that despite his time as The Winter Soldier, Bucky has finally started remembering his past, a tease which definitely left us massively excited for his MCU future.
9. Justice League
After Joss Whedon butchered Justice League with his rewrites and reshoots, Warner Bros.' plans for the franchise quickly fell apart. Zack Snyder's Justice League offered a different cliffhanger, but this movie ended in a way which definitely left a lot of fans wanting more...albeit with someone else at the helm.
As Deathstroke made his way to a yacht out at sea, he met with Lex Luthor who suggested forming a "League of our own." That's a nod to the Injustice League, and more than likely meant to set the stage for a Justice League vs. Injustice League movie of some sort one day.
A Justice League sequel to either cut will never happen, but that concept is one we'd argue had at least some potential.
8. Eternals
We know this movie wasn't for everyone, but Eternals delivered a trio of exciting cliffhangers when it arrived in theaters back in 2021.
Firstly, Arishem arrived on Earth and kidnapped the remaining Eternals in order to cast his judgement on them and Earth after they stopped Tiamut's emergence. We were left every bit as shocked as Dane Whitman, a character who later found himself confronted by Blade in a stinger that also made for edge-of-your-seat viewing if you're a comic book fan.
There was also the arrival of Harry Styles' Eros/Starfox, with the brother of Thanos promising to help the other Eternals find their friends. As we write this, there's still no news on a sequel that will tackle these cliffhangers...
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming
We have to talk about Spider-Man: Homecoming's spectacular ending. After turning down Iron Man's offer of revealing his identity to the world and becoming an Avenger, Peter Parker returns home and dons the Stark Suit his mentor gifted him.
While it looked like the reboot was setting the stage for a classic movie moment which would have seen the web-slinger don his mask and swing off into the distance, we instead see Aunt May arrive, realise that her nephew is Spider-Man, and shout "What the fu-" before the credits roll.
This was a really fun note to end things on, and one that left us hanging for two years as we wondered what the resolution would be!
6. Spider-Man 2
Sticking with the webbed warrior, Spider-Man 2 also boasted an ending which perfectly set the stage for Spider-Man 3 (a movie which sadly didn't end up doing it justice). We are, of course, talking about Harry Osborn discovering that his father, Norman, was the Green Goblin!
Vowing revenge on Peter Parker after learning that he was secretly Spider-Man, a shocked Harry came across his father's stash of weapons and held the Goblin Serum in his hand.
The groundwork was laid for him to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming the new Green Goblin, but what followed was obviously a crushing disappointment. Instead of following the comic books, the threequel made Harry a weird goof who donned what looked like snowboarding gear.
5. Iron Man
Secret identities don't really exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that was a conscious decision on Marvel Studios' part. However, it wasn't until Iron Man's closing moments that became clear.
Despite initially claiming that Iron Man is his bodyguard (a story which sounded particularly silly in the real world), Tony Stark decides to do away with all that, and instead tells the world: "I am Iron Man." It was a legit shocker which set the tone for what would become known as the MCU, and left us hanging.
Of course, equally as notable a cliffhanger was Nick Fury confronting Tony and telling him about the Avengers Initiative, a truly unforgettable stinger which created the MCU as we now know it.
4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has only just arrived in theaters, but there's a good reason why the middle chapter of this trilogy has been compared to The Empire Strikes Back.
Miles Morales races home in an effort to save his father's life, but things don't seem quite right. When his Uncle Aaron walks in, that's all but confirmed, and Spider-Man quickly realises that he's stranded on Earth-42. Tied up after being attacked, he wakes up face-to-face with that reality's Prowler: Miles G. Morales!
This set the stage for a fantastic final chapter which will see Miles' friends attempt to save him. The teenager will also be forced to contend with his sinister doppelganger, all while the clock runs down on Jefferson Davis' life...
3. The Dark Knight
Batman Begins sort of had a cliffhanger ending when Jim Gordon told the Caped Crusader about a criminal leaving a "Joker" playing card at the scenes of his crimes, but it was The Dark Knight that really delivered an Empire Strikes Back-style cliffhanger in Christopher Nolan's trilogy of films.
With the Clown Prince of Crime defeated, but Two-Face dead, Batman decides he must take the blame for the fall of Harvey Dent in order to preserve his memory and keep Gotham City safe.
As the movie ended, he ran into the darkness with the police in hot pursuit, a wanted criminal. It was a completely unexpected move, and one which left us, well, in the dark about the hero's future.
2. Spider-Man: Far From Home
Yes, we're back to Spider-Man! This one very nearly earned the top spot, because it's without a doubt the best post-credits scene we've ever seen from Marvel Studios. However, this isn't a ranking of our favourite stingers, so it narrowly misses out. As cliffhangers go, though, you can't deny that this was simply amazing.
We weren't sure what to expect when Spider-Man drops MJ off in the middle of the Big Apple after taking her for a ride through the city, but as a news report starts, it's clear something is up.
The first surprise comes when J.K. Simmons reprises the role of J. Jonah Jameson, and while him sharing that video of Mysterio framing Spidey for his murder would have been a huge cliffhanger in its own right, even bigger is the fact TheDailyBugle.net Editor also reveals that Spider-Man is Peter Parker!
1. Avengers: Infinity War
It really doesn't get better than this, right? Just as it was beginning to look like Thanos would be defeated at the last second by Thor (a standard ending for most superhero movies), we realised that the God of Thunder really should have gone for the head when he attacked the Mad Titan.
After he snapped his fingers, we watched as heroes like Spider-Man, Groot, Bucky, Star-Lord, and Doctor Strange all faded away into dust; The Avengers had been defeated, and Thanos retreated to a new planet where he sat down and watched the sun rise over a "grateful" universe.
With that, the movie ended, and we were left on the edge of our seats for an entire year until Avengers: Endgame finally rolled around and blew us all away...