Morbius is now playing in theaters, and if you're looking to waste a couple of hours of your life this weekend...go watch anything else you can find instead. As we've established, the movie isn't good on any level, but one of its most glaring flaws are two unbelievably awful and stupid post-credits scenes.
Clearly added in a hurry after Spider-Man: No Way Home's release (and the decision to keep Tom Holland's Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), the stingers don't make any logical sense. As if that wasn't bad enough, they also set the stage for something we can't imagine any Marvel fans actually want to see become a reality, making them feel more like a threat than an exciting future tease.
As bad as these scenes were, we can't help but be curious about what the hell Sony was thinking. With that in mind, we've compiled some of the biggest questions they've left us with, and attempt to figure out what the plan might for this weird Marvel Universe moving forward.
To take a look through this Morbius feature, click on the "Next" button below for more of our thoughts.
5. That's Not How Doctor Strange's Spell Worked, Is It?
Did we miss something here? At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange agreed to cast a spell that would return those Variants to their respective realities and make the world forget who Peter Parker is. With that, he sent everyone home and then finished the spell while the web-slinger bid a tearful farewell to MJ and Ned.
In Morbius, Adrian Toomes - who, like the villains that were pulled into the MCU, knows Peter is Spider-Man - is pulled into the Living Vampire's reality. That's not how the spell works, and as Toomes wasn't a Variant, there's no reason he should have been taken from his world and thrown into another. That didn't happen to any of Peter's friends, the Avengers, or allies like Happy Hogan and Matt Murdock!
We're assuming that Sony wants us to believe The Vulture was inadvertently pulled into the spell because he's a villain, but if so, that's a dumb explanation that majorly contradicts No Way Home.
4. How Did The Vulture Rebuild His Suit?
Spider-Man: No Way Home established that Toomes was able to build his Vulture costume from weaponry recovered from various battles in the MCU (such as the Chitauri attack on New York City). However, following his arrival in the Venomverse, the villain is quickly freed from prison and somehow manages to rebuild the exact same suit with a new helmet that's a little more vulture-like.
The Vulture suiting up again with no resources simply doesn't add up, though we have to concede that a retcon down the line could reveal that he has a benefactor, for example.
Similarly nonsensical, though, is the mysterious meeting Toomes orchestrates in the desert. When Morbius ends, the belief is still that the Living Vampire is a killer who has sucked the blood of countless innocents. We see no reason whatsoever why The Vulture would fancy teaming up with someone like that, especially as his time in the MCU suggested Toomes might not be all as evil as he appeared.
3. So, Morbius Kills People Now?
Throughout Morbius, we're constantly reminded that Michael's bloodlust is growing steadily worse and that he'll reach a point where synthetic blood won't satisfy him. When that happens, he'll die an agonising death, with his afflictions returning along with some severe withdrawal symptoms.
As he heads into battle against Milo, it's with a serum that will kill his former friend. Once that's done, Michael plans to use it on himself as he doesn't wish to become a true Living Vampire, feeding on people to remain healthy. Well, he kills Milo, but then flies away and eventually meets up with Toomes. So, we're guessing that means he's decided, "F*** it, I'll just kill people and stay alive for now."
With so much of the movie suggesting that Morbius would ultimately make this sacrifice, it's baffling to see that he's seemingly decided to become a bloodsucker. We're sure his next appearance could explain that Michael is still trying to cure himself or that he's found a way to hold off on drinking actual blood, but nothing about this really adds up, and it feels like lazy, inconsistent storytelling as a result.
2. A Heroic Sinister Six? Really?!
"I'm still figuring this place out, but I think a bunch of guys like us should team-up. Could do some good." Are you f***ing kidding with this? We didn't get the Sinister Six in Spider-Man: No Way Home for reasons no one has made clear, but it's now safe to assume it was because Sony plans to put all these characters - Venom, Kraven, Morbius, etc. - in a Sinister Six movie of some sort.
Spider-Man may or may not factor into that, but it's a dumb idea either way. These villains have all been reimagined as anti-heroes in this Marvel Universe, and The Vulture deciding to assemble them all to "do some good" leaves us scratching our heads so much that it's actually starting to hurt.
There's no denying the prospect of seeing Venom hanging out with Morbius or The Vulture meeting Kraven the Hunter is an intriguing one, but it should be happening in a Spider-Man movie where they're actually villains, not whatever the hell this nonsense is supposed to be teasing. Sony had a bad idea for a Sinister Six movie over half a decade ago, and now looks set to return to that well.
1. What About Spider-Man?
For now, it appears as if Tom Holland's Spider-Man will remain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, safe from Avi Arad and his bonkers plans. We don't even want to think about what could have happened had Sony and Marvel Studios not agreed to continue working together, but there's no denying this new Marvel Universe needs a Spider-Man or some sort of spider-themed superhero (Spider-Woman?).
This is driven home by the second post-credits scene, though it's telling Morbius had no real reaction when The Vulture suggested his arrival in this world was connected to Spider-Man.
We're partly putting that down to the scene being a blatant product of reshoots and neither actor ever having stepped in the same frame together, but the mention of Spidey leaves us wondering if The Vulture plans to find a way to return home with some villainous friends at his side. With a better creative team in charge, that could work, but as things stand, we're concerned for the future.