When it comes to post-credits scenes, Marvel may not have created the now widely used device, but they have certainly cornered the market for it. So far, the only MCU project to no include a post credits scene at all was Avengers: Endgame, and to date, over 45 individual scenes have been created and used in mid and end credits positions. That number is now going to rapidly increase as She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s head writer Jessica Gao has revealed that every episode of the series will feature something extra after the credits roll.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law debuted on Disney+ on Friday August 19, and even in the wake of a wave of review bombing, the series has been a hit with many. The series centers on Jennifer Walters, the lawyer cousin of Bruce Banner, who inherits her cousin’s Hulk powers after coming into contact with Banner’s blood after a car accident. The show is pitched with a lean into comedy, and it seems that this playing for laughs could be extended to the post-credits scenes of the series. Gao told Collider:
"I love end-credit scenes. I love staying in the theater and waiting for the end credit scenes for all Marvel movies. I love end-credit scenes that aren’t in Marvel movies. I love end-credit scenes in any movie. It just always feels like an extra special little treat. It feels like a little reward for your patience. It’s always a fun bonus. So, it was always just a part of it. I always wanted end credit scenes. And for comedy writers, if you tell them they get to write more jokes, they’re gonna write more jokes."
Marvel’s Post-Credits Scenes Have Multiple Purposes
Post-credit scenes have become a major part of the MCU, and audiences have frequently sat through several minutes of credits to see what is sometimes a 20-second scene. The purpose of these scenes has always varied from project to project, and their content has largely depended on exactly where the Marvel narrative is at that moment in time.
The first post-credits scene was in Iron Man back in 2008, and served as a tease of a larger universe to come with the introduction of Nick Fury and his Avengers Initiative. Many Phase 1 scenes acted to either tie up a loose end from the movie, or tease something to come. As the MCU continued to grow and develop, these scenes also grew, and while many mid-credit scenes provide a hint at something in the MCU’s future, the final post-credits scenes have been used more and more as a way of leaving audiences with a throwaway scene that usually gives some light relief.
Recently, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness used its mid-credits scene to introduce Charlize Theron’s Clea and set up Strange’s return, while the post-credits scene saw Bruce Campbell’s Pizza Poppa finally becoming free of Strange’s spell and telling the audience, “It’s over.” Similarly, Thor: Love and Thunder had two additional scenes, one setting up a future clash between Thor and Hercules and a second that seemingly rounded out Jane Foster’s story as she arrived in Valhalla.
From Gao’s comments, it is clear that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will be mostly using is many post-credits scenes to deliver one final joke, which has already seen in the Steve Rogers virginity status gag that signed off episode one. Fans can stick around for additional post-credit scenes each week when new episodes premiere each Friday on Disney+.