Marvel movies are known for their post-credits scenes, including “The Incredible Hulk”, “Punisher: War Zone”, “X-Men: First Class”, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”, The same goes for some movies like Fantastic Four. , “Logan,” “Dark Phoenix,” “The New Mutants,” “Madame Web,” and “Kraven the Hunter” surprisingly lack these sequences.
Directors often chose to skip these scenes because the film itself provided a sufficient ending or set-up for future adventures.
This breaks the usual Marvel trend and makes these films notable exceptions.
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What’s the story?
The 2008 film Iron Man not only started the cinematic world trend in modern filmmaking, it also established the post-credits scene.
Usually used to tease sequels or give a final gag, these short sequences have become a staple of Marvel’s superhero movies.
However, not all Marvel movie adaptations followed suit. Some movies based on Marvel Comics characters, such as the recent box office underwhelming Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web, surprisingly don’t have credit sequences.
“The Incredible Hulk” and “Punisher: War Zone”
The second MCU movie, The Incredible Hulk, which was released six weeks after Iron Man, technically didn’t have a post-credits sequence. There was a pre-credits scene where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) approached General Ross (William Hurt) about forming a team.
Similarly, Punisher: War Zone, a 2008 film separate from Marvel Studios and an homage to old grindhouse action films, also had no credits scene.
“X-Men: First Class” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”
The 2011 film X-Men: First Class skipped the credits sequence. This decision was probably due to the ending, which has already teased a future adventure in which Eric Lehnsherr breaks Emma Frost out of prison and declares herself to be Magneto.
Even Ghost Rider’s second standalone film, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, made no attempt to set up further installments for the character. Even though Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider rides off to a new adventure surrounded by blue flames at the end, the audience is not given a credit scene.
“Fantastic Four” “Logan” “Dark Phoenix”
From 2012’s The Avengers onwards, every Marvel film adaptation had a credits scene until August 2015, when Fantastic Four was released with no sequel announcement in the end credits.
Logan also had no credits scene, ending on a definitive note that would have been marred by such a sequence.
Dark Phoenix lacked a credits sequence, as director Simon Kinberg explained that the film itself provided a satisfying conclusion to 19 years of X-Men films.
“The New Mutants”, “Madame Web”, “Kraven the Hunter”
The last Fox/Marvel film before the Disney/Fox merger, The New Mutants, was released in theaters in August 2020 without end credits.
Madame Web director SJ Clarkson revealed that the reason there was no credit sequence in the film was because the film itself said everything she wanted to say.
Similarly, Kraven the Hunter, considered the swan song of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, had no credit sequence.
These films are notable exceptions to Marvel’s tendency to include post-credits scenes in their superhero movies.
