The DC Extended Universe remains in flux, but, all things considered, it has essentially been rebooted following the poor critical and commercial response to movies like Suicide Squad and Justice League. As a result, there haven't been that many post-credits scenes to speak of, especially as Warner Bros. has never really seemed to have any sort of concrete plans for the DCEU's future.
That's slowly started to change, though, and we've had stingers during both that divisive "SnyderVerse" era and in this time of reboots/sequels like Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad.
Whether it's big hints about where a certain character's story will go next or a fan-pleasing sequence not unlike watching a comic book brought to life, the DCEU hasn't disappointed... for the most part.
So, to check out this ranking of the DCEU's post-credits scenes (and for an excuse to spend a few minutes rewatching them), click on the "Next" button below to take a look at how they stack up.
9. 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 actually already seen in the trailers!
This felt a lot like a deleted scene that was just stuck at the end of the credits, and as Shazam! had already referenced members of the Justice League on several occasions, it did nothing to enhance what we'd seen leading up to this point (we get it, Aquaman talking to fish is "funny" to human characters).
Shazam! was a comedic movie and so a funny stinger wasn't necessarily an awful decision on Warner Bros.' part; it just shouldn't have been something we'd already seen that wasn't particularly funny.
8. Weasel Lives (The Suicide Squad)
We're aware that this might make us look like a right miserable bunch, but let's face it, this was another comedic post-credits scene it's impossible to rank any higher given its sheer unimportance!
However, while there are many superior efforts above this one, we still enjoyed the reveal that Weasel managed to survive The Suicide Squad's opening massacre. It's a little troubling to think he's now free to kill as many children as he pleases on Corto Maltese, but James Gunn clearly felt that moviegoers would be charmed by his unusual, animalistic demeanour (hence why he survives).
There's always a chance we could see more of Weasel (even if it's just a reference in Peacemaker), but this achieved a lot more than Shazam!'s stinger and was quite a bit funnier than that effort.
7. 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 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 were appreciated, so this meeting between Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller was more exciting than it sounds on paper.
As well as revealing Bruce was doing a Nick Fury by finding out all he could about Metahumans in order to put a team together, we discovered Waller knows how the billionaire 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 that might be in the works, but it didn't come to pass for obvious reasons as Warner Bros. reconfigured its shared world for the umpteenth time (and all these years later, they're still doing that it seems).
6. Lynda Carter Is Asteria (Wonder Woman 1984)
There's no denying that nostalgia factors into this post-credits scene ranking so highly, but how can you be anything other than excited about Lynda Carter's return to the Wonder Woman franchise?
In the scene, we find a mysterious woman who we learn is Asteria, the previous owner of the Golden Eagle armour Diana Prince wears in Wonder Woman 1984. After saving someone, the Themysciran warrior mentions that she's "been doing this all this time;" a hint, perhaps, that she has been serving as a hero in the shadows for many hundreds of years after her apparent death.
We still don't know if this is leading somewhere, but you can't watch this stinger without wondering by what implications it could have for the franchise. After all, if Wonder Woman 3 is set in the present day, then we could see Gal Gadot fighting right alongside Carter's own Amazon warrior. Epic.
5. Black Manta's Revenge (Aquaman)
Black Manta only had a relatively 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 due to his obsession with everything Atlantis-related.
As post-credits scenes go, this was a fairly simple one, but it did its job extremely effectively for a follow-up we now know will see the spotlight placed squared on Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's villain.
He's a great baddie, and Shin's involvement should ensure it doesn't just feel like a repeat of what we've already seen (there have been rumblings of another undersea kingdom being introduced, though). We'll find out how this all plays out in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom a little over a year from now.
4. "A League Of Our Own" (Justice League)
As we now know after watching Zack Snyder's Justice League, this sequence was heavily reshot and was originally supposed to have been part of the movie itself rather than a post-credits scene. In the "Snyder Cut", Lex Luthor revealed Batman's secret identity to Slade Wilson, and sent him after the Dark Knight in a bid for vengeance after being imprisoned in Arkham Asylum.
Joss Whedon definitely screwed up Snyder's vision, but we have to admit that this version was still a fun little scene. The promise of the Injustice League assembling was also pretty cool.
Even in 2017, 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 this now meaningless tease is a strong post-credits scene in its own right.
3. Peacemaker Is Alive And Kicking (The Suicide Squad)
Heading into The Suicide Squad, none of us knew whether HBO Max's Peacemaker was going to be a prequel or sequel. The former seemed more likely given the nature of Task Force X, and when the villain was gunned down by Bloodsport, it looked a lot like a prequel story was fully confirmed.
However, just as we sat there grumbling about how anticlimactic it would be to follow Christopher Smith before he was enlisted by Amanda Waller, a second post-credits scene cleared things up. In that, we learn he survived what happened in Corto Maltese and is now needed to "save the f***ing world."
This is a post-credits scene done right; it both surprised us as moviegoers and nicely set the stage for what comes next. Now, we just have to hope that Peacemaker proves to be a ride worth taking.
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 any potential cameo.
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 Warner Bros. chooses to head down that route. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that will be in this sequel, so perhaps it's building to a third instalment?
Regardless, Mister Mind is obviously very unique from a visual perspective, while the return of Dr. Sivana also has a lot of potential. We'd like to think Shazam, Black Adam, and the entire Shazam Family will need to team up against this group of villains, but time will tell on that front.
1. Superman Races The Flash (Justice League)
This is another scene shot by Joss Whedon, and his fingerprints are all over it. Earlier this year, we got to see what Zack Snyder originally had planned for his much darker vision for the franchise, and as much as we enjoyed that, 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 because this is a moment lifted straight from the comic books that we definitely weren't going to see in Snyder's bloody, R-Rated sequels depicting the fall of the League at the hands of Darkseid and his Parademons.