Spoilers to follow.
After 10 years and 17 films, comic book movie fans have been conditioned to expect one or two post-credits scenes to follow each new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And Black Panther is no different.
Soon after Marvel lifted its social media embargo, opening the floodgates to a sea of positivity, one Redditor claimed that the Ryan Coogler-directed spinoff featured not one, but two post-credits scenes. And now, having seen the film for ourselves, we can tell you that yes, there are multiple tags during the credits (though none of them involve Iron Man). Or to be more specific, there’s one that comes halfway through and another arriving right at the end. So, par for the course, then.
As for what they consist of, well, neither are terribly significant or exciting, but for a movie like Black Panther, we didn’t expect them to be. After all, this is a film that very much stands on its own two feet. Don’t get us wrong, there are certainly easter eggs, references and familiar faces to spot, but for the most part, Coogler’s spinoff doesn’t concern itself with other outings in the MCU and is probably the least Marvel-y Marvel movie out there.
Like we said above, though, there are still two post-credits scenes and the first one acts as a conclusion of sorts, to wrap up the story. It sees T’Challa at the UN, essentially telling the world that Wakanda is coming out of hiding and will be sharing their tech with the rest of the globe, in order to make planet Earth a better place. There’s no significant tease for a sequel or any other Marvel film here. Instead, it’s simply just a sound epilogue for the movie itself.
As for the second one, well, that’s where fans will get their tease. In the scene that comes after the final credits roll, we’re taken to a village in Wakanda, which seems to be off the beaten path and away from the main city. As the camera focuses on a hut, we hear a group of children playing inside before we see Shuri yell at them, telling the kids to leave the man inside alone.
They run outside and as they do, we see just who this man is. None other than Bucky Barnes comes into view, as the Winter Soldier himself steps out of the hut and into the open – sans an arm. Shuri greets him and asks how he’s feeling. He tells her he’s much better and she says she’s happy, as there’s a lot more to learn. Then, they walk off together as the screen goes black.
It’s not much, as you can probably tell, but it is a nice little set-up for Avengers: Infinity War, which is the next MCU movie to arrive after this one and will feature Shuri, Bucky and Wakanda all quite prominently. In fact, from what we understand, it’ll be Shuri who’s responsible for both Barnes’ new arm and rebooting him, which is teased here.
And though most fans may be upset that this post-credits scene is fairly subdued compared to some of the other more exciting ones in the franchise, it’s totally appropriate for a film like Black Panther, which again, is pretty disconnected from the wider cinematic universe. At least, compared to what we usually see when it comes to Marvel movies.