The Thunderbolts* Post-Credits Scene Finally Gets Back To What We've Missed From The MCU

The following contains spoilers for "Thunderbolts*."

Following the initial reactions to the premiere of "Thunderbolts," a common opinion emerged that we've heard many times before. Marvel is back, everyone! But this time it might really be the case. Reviews (like ours) are out for the latest chapter in the MCU and the recurring bit of praise that keeps appearing is "Thunderbolts*" truly feels like a Marvel movie with something to say within this massive movie franchise — not simply focused on its own story to tell, but ensuring to branch out into the wider universe that it's a part of. From top to bottom, this is the kind of entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe we've missed for so long, right down to its jaw-dropping post-credit scene.

Excluding the Red Guardian (David Harbour) and his poor salesmanship in the cereal aisle, Jake Schreier's MCU chapter does something that none of the movies have accomplished in a while: it leads us excitingly into the next story on our comic book movie calendar. After learning that Captain America (Anthony Mackie) himself is suing the New Avengers (as the Thunderbolts end up being called by the time the movie ends) they receive an alert that something is entering from the atmosphere that's not from our world. A close-up on the vessel and a bellowing burst of Michael Giacchino's score reveal that it is, in fact, the Fantastic Four making their way from their Earth to this one. It's surprising, it's tantalizing, and it's finally what Marvel Studios has forgotten to do for the fans for some time — it actually gets us excited about what's to come.

It's a weird case of superhero synchronicity that the last time a Marvel movie actually ended by teasing the next direct story was in 2021 with "Black Widow" when Yelena was informed by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) that she knew the whereabouts of her sister's killer, thus opening the door for Disney+ show, "Hawkeye." Since then, almost every other big-screen outing has ended on a flat, floundering post-credit tease that had us asking more questions than getting more answers.

Think of the likes of "Shang-Chi" that saw Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) assess the ten rings, or Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Clea (Charlize Theron) jumping into the unknown at the end of "Multiverse of Madness." So many of these have set up absolutely nothing and in doing so, played a part in the waning interest of the MCU that even Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) confessed has reached a bit of a low point. The "Thunderbolts*" post-credit tease feels like the last minute stings of old, like Steve Rogers waking in present day New York right before we jumped right into "The Avengers." Bringing back this urgency gets Marvel back at the pace we've missed seeing it at for so long, while also showing that the next phase in the MCU actually feels like it has a direction it hasn't had for some time. It just took a B-team to finally get the franchise back on its A-game and we can't wait to see where things are headed next.