Warner Bros. is relaunching their DC movie franchise with James Gunn's Superman. Critics have been divided on how the film balances its politics, action, exposition, and earnestness. But when audiences get to the credits, they might be more focused on the big feelings brought about by this dashing Man of Steel.
Still, mid-credits and post-credits scenes have come to be a major staple in both the MCU and the DCEU. Sometimes they set up sequels. Sometimes they reveal jaw-dropping cameos, like when Harry Styles joined the MCU for about a minute.
As the director of all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Gunn has had his fair share of post-credits scenes, many of which established canon for the MCU's motley crew of space vigilantes (and some of which were just Groot being cute). So for Superman, what tone is he setting for the future of DC movies?
Spoilers below.
What happens in Superman's mid-credits scene?
Beyond the Boy Scout in blue himself (played by David Corenswet), Superman is full of familiar characters from the comics, like Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Yet the scene-stealer for this superhero movie might well be Clark's furry sidekick, Krypto.
The foster dog who can't be trusted alone in the Fortress of Solitude is a playful but deeply protective pup. And after much derring-do throughout Superman, the mid-credits scene gives him and Clark a chance to catch their breath and just rest, looking down on the Earth from a great height. But you know, they're still caped up and ready for action. After so much mayhem, it's a terrific and brief scene for the pair to reconnect.
What happens in Superman's post-credits scene?
The day has been saved. More specifically, Metropolis has not fallen into the tear in space-time that Lex Luthor caused with his pocket dimension prison. Instead, Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) entered the code in the nick of time to stitch up the tear, patching the city and its rivers back together again. But — uh — it wasn't a seamless job.
Rather than introducing any more DC characters or suggesting where a sequel or spinoff might go, Gunn opted for an Avengers-like post-credits scene. In Superman's post-credits scene, Superman and Mr. Terrific look at a skyscraper that was torn in half by the dimension tear, but now is rejoined, albeit roughly. The bricks don't align like they once did. And Superman looks to Mr. Terrific with this realization.
On top of being brilliant, daring, and able to put up with the obnoxious Green Lantern, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific is also a bit touchy about his work. So, when Superman notes the patch-up wasn't perfect, Mr. Terrific storms off annoyed.
After trying to apologize ("Hey man, I'm sorry!"), Superman — who notes that he's human like us in how he makes mistakes — chastises himself for being a "jerk sometimes."
Superman, he truly is just like us.
