Morbius Credits Scene Explained: A Familiar Face
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Morbius."
The wait is finally over – "Morbius" is in cinemas now, just two years after its first trailer was released online. But what secrets does the Living Vampire hold? Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, a renowned scientist with a rare blood disease. Going to extraordinary lengths to cure himself and others, Morbius uncovers a potential cure only to find himself transformed into a horrific, blood-sucking creature – a living vampire.
It's currently unclear how "Morbius" fits into Marvel and Sony's ongoing plans, but there are certainly plenty of opportunities. And with references to other stories within the multiverse, it feels as though "Morbius" is pointing toward something big. Heading back to the comic books, Morbius first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #101 way back in 1971. He was originally a villain, going toe-to-toe with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but later became an antihero in his own right. Of course, he's teamed up with plenty of other heroes and villains since then.
At various points, Morbius has been part of the Midnight Sons, the Legion of Monsters, and has even worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. But could he now be part of Sony's own version of the Sinister Six? A familiar face appears in two new credits scenes, and that suggests that a villainous team-up is well on its way.
Morbius meets the multiverse
The first stinger appears shortly after the credits roll, so there's not long to wait.
Opening on a shot of the New York City skyline, the scene is interrupted when a giant purple rift appears in the sky. That's right — it's one of the cross-dimensional rifts which were opened up by Doctor Strange in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Essentially, this connects "Morbius" to the Marvel multiverse ... but wait, there's more.
A quick cut to an empty prison cell seems baffling at first. That is until we see who has appeared there, as if from nowhere. It's none other than The Vulture (Michael Keaton) aka Adrian Toomes, who has been pulled across from the MCU into the same universe as "Morbius." But there's a catch.
Although Adrian Toomes was caught and arrested in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" for his illegal activities, he's not a criminal in this universe. Here, he's an ordinary man who has appeared out of thin air in an empty jail cell ... and a news report confirms that he's being released. Unfortunately, it's not really clear when this takes place within the movie itself. But it looks as though Sony is keen to set up its own Sinister Six, and by bringing The Vulture in here, they're well on their way. Especially when it comes to the film's second credit scene.
Enter The Vulture ... again
Halfway through the credits, we're treated to another mid-credits scene. This time, it's a little shorter, with Dr. Michael Morbius heading out into the wilderness, driving a sports car to a dark, sinister, and incredibly remote location. Morbius pulls over and gets out when his bat-sonar starts to tingle. Suddenly, out of nowhere, The Vulture appears in a modified version of his flight suit from "Spider-Man: Homecoming." He lands next to Morbius and the two get acquainted as Toomes admits that he has no idea how he got here.
However, he does think it has something to do with Spider-Man. Interestingly, he has a proposition for Dr. Morbius, suggesting that if they teamed up, they could "do some good." Morbius says only one thing in response: "Intriguing." And that's the end of that. Clearly, Sony is attempting to get more bang for its buck by building out its Spider-Verse. Re-introducing Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes is a bold move — however, it does seem entirely out of place in the context of the movie.
Still, it's an exciting scene that's clearly building up to more ... and there's an indication that we could even see some of Spider-Man's other rogues return in the Sony-Verse.
The return of Rhino?
Although "Spider-Man: No Way Home" introduced some of Spider-Man's classic villains to the MCU, there was one face notably missing — Paul Giamatti's Rhino. He originally appeared in the opening scenes of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" as Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich, who managed to get his hands on an experimental Oscorp exosuit, turning himself into The Rhino.
Sure, Giamatti was particularly wince-inducing with his cheesy performance. But The Rhino is one of Spider-Man's iconic rogues... and it makes sense for him to return in some way. That's where "Morbius" comes in. Sadly, the mechanical monster doesn't appear in the movie, but he is referenced on the front page of the Daily Bugle. Here, a headline states: "Rhino on the loose: Zoo hoax fools us all." Yes, it could be a reference to an actual rhino ... but given Spider-Man's rogue's gallery, that's unlikely. Instead, it feels more like a tease that The Rhino is still out there in this universe. And he could be ready for a team-up.
Setting up the Sinister Six?
The Vulture and Rhino aren't the only Spider-Man villains that seem to exist in the "Morbius" universe. Black Cat (Felicity Jones) is also mentioned on the cover of the Daily Bugle, although it's unknown whether it's the same version of the character we've seen before.
There's Venom, too.
That's right — Tom Hardy's very own Venom exists within the same universe as Morbius the Living Vampire, as we hear two cops discussing the San Francisco incident at one point during the film. That's a clear reference to "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" which sees the Marvel antihero take on the Carnage symbiote and Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) at a cathedral in San Francisco. While Eddie Brock ends up transported to the MCU universe, it's revealed in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" that he's ultimately transported back, presumably meaning he and Venom are available for a team-up with the rest of the Sinister Six.
And most importantly, he also knows who Spider-Man is. How does all this tie into the "Morbius" credits scenes? Well, it seems clear that Sony is assembling its Sinister Six — a move that has long been rumored but never quite made it to the big screen. The Vulture's suggestion that he and Morbius could "do some good" is rather ominous, too. And while nothing is confirmed, it looks as though these credit scenes could be hinting at the creation of the Sinister Six. But for now, we'll have to wait and see.