The Fantastic Four: First Steps Credit Scenes Explained

This post contains spoilers for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps."

Well, that's it for another year of big-screen Marvel movies. Marvel Studios' 2025 cinematic stories have wrapped up with director Matt Shakman's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," and all that remains is for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's newest heroes to roll out the red (though he'd probably prefer green) carpet for what's next. We are, of course, talking about the glorious leader of Latveria, Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), who is about to make his villainous move against Earth's Mightiest Heroes in "Avengers: Doomsday," scheduled for release in 2026. 

For years in the comics, Victor von Doom has been a force to reckon with by both heroes and villains alike, to the point that he recently became the emperor of the world. Some of his most terrifying feats include turning Thanos to dust, transforming Galactus into a giant battery, and even outsmarting Mephisto in a dangerous game of soul-trading better than Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, might think she has lately. Since debuting in "Fantastic Four" #5 in 1962 and being a key part of The First Family's history, it only makes sense that he visits them in their first MCU film and amps up the hype for his official, full-fledged appearance. He's not the only villain showing up at the end of the movie, though, as we also get our best look at another bad guy that we unfortunately only meet in animated form after the live-action one got snapped out of the film entirely.

With the Devourer of Worlds moved to the other side of the universe and Earth-828 safe from his insatiable hunger, the son of Reed (Pedro Pascal) and Sue (Vanessa Kirby), Franklin Richards, is free to grow up under the protection of his superhero family, seemingly with his potential god-like powers still to be fully revealed. In the mid-credit scene, however, we're transported four years into the future to a quiet afternoon at the Baxter Building, where Sue is reading to her son. After she goes to change books for Franklin, she returns to find an uninvited guest sitting with him, whom her son is reaching out to touch the face of. This mysterious mug can't be seen as it's concealed beneath a green cloak and hood. What is unmistakably on display, though, is Doctor Doom's metal mask, before the scene cuts to black.

As far as debut appearances go, this one is perhaps even more tantalizing than when Thanos first grinned at audiences at the end of "The Avengers" in 2012. While the Mad Titan kept an eye on us for his plans, it's clear that Doom has his eye on Franklin and might try to exploit his powers the same way Galactus (Ralph Ineson) attempted and failed to do. We'll just have to wait until next year to see how successful he is in his mission. From here, though, Shakman wraps up his first introduction with the First Family with a nostalgic nod to a bygone era and a villain we never got to see.

Even after appearing in the first trailer for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," it was revealed before the film's release that Oscar-winning actor John Malkovich, as Red Ghost, had been removed from the project as a casualty on the cutting room floor. With that said, throughout the movie, there were little snippets that remained, linking to his interference with the Fantastic Four's heroism, including a post-credits nostalgic nod to the team's animated series from their dimension.

Just like "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" ended with the original 1967 animated show, we get to see the intro to the Fantastic Four cartoon, which reveals our supervillain-stopping team going up against a variety of rogues, including Malkovich's Red Ghost. In that signature animated '60s fashion, he's seen donning some red threads and the long hair we saw him with in the trailer, along with another Fantastic Four foe, Draconus. Much like the tacked-on moments of DC Studios' "Superman," this post-credit clip for "The First Steps" doesn't hold any relevance to the grander plot of its founding franchise or the titular team themselves. Instead, it's just a sweet send-off for a film that feels like a Saturday morning cartoon, ending with one of its own. As great as that is, though, perhaps the next time the Fantastic Four go it alone in another movie, they bring the Red Ghost back for some actual screen time while they're at it.