From the very beginning, post-credits scenes have been a delightful hallmark of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A clever construct that allows for subtle stitching of the overlapping films between the core narratives, Marvel has leveled up their offerings over the years with the addition of mid-credits scenes and better-crafted plot teases. But James Gunn raised the game with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which hits the audience with not one, not two, but five post-credits scenes ranging from comedy bits and cameos, to a critical seed for the future of the MCU.
Now that the movie is in theaters, we're breaking down all five after-credits scenes, and considering that Gunn is confirmed to return Vol. 3, which means he was probably laying the seeds for things to come, we're taking a look at the possible implications of what they might mean for the Guardians and the MCU at large.
Obviously, this article is just packed with spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie or you don't want to know, get the heck out of here!
Kraglin's Got Some 'Splaining to Do
Kraglin learned some hard lessons in Vol. 2. Yondu's right-hand man watched his friends get killed off, one-by-one, after accidentally sparking a ravager mutiny, leading to the short-lived rise of Taserface (*cue laughter*). But the soft-spoken sweetheart in Ravager's clothing won back Yondu's trust, earning a spot with the Guardians along the way, when he helped the team escape the clutches of the Sovereign and joined them in the battle against Ego.
After Yondu's tear-jerking death and self-sacrifice in the finale, Quill gave the Yaka Arrow to Kraglin in a moment that screams "this guy has a much bigger role to play in the third film." Which is great, because Sean Gunn is a delight. But the first post-credits scene (technically pre-credits, but Gunn has established that he counts this as one of the five) makes it clear he's got a ways to go before he can step into the shoes of our dearly departed Yondu, who had the whistle of an angel. Just after the title card, the scene flashes to Kraglin, who's practicing his whistle in Yondu's ship (which seems to be where the Guardians are holding up for now, so it will be interesting to see if that's still the case when we pick up with them in Infinity War). Untrained and unsure, Kraglin whistles timidly, sending the arrow in weak little loops until he finally catches some wind and …. sends it soaring right into Drax, who screams in anguish in the background. Not a whole lot to unpack here, but it was a good laugh that sets the stage for Kraglin to become a bigger part of the group.
The Original Guardians
If you're not familiar with the comic book origins of the Guardians of the Galaxy, you might have looked at this post-credits sequence and thought "Oh shit, Michelle Yeoh!" followed by "Wait, what?" My screening, which filled with a goodly sum of die-hard nerds, had people prowling the credits for character names. Well, here's the breakdown. As James Gunn confirmed in a press conference, there's, Sylvester Stalone as Stakar Ogard, aka Starhawk; Ving Rhames as Charlie 27; Michelle Yeoh as Aleta Ogard, the female Starhawk; Krugarr, a CGI worm-like alien character who succeeds Dr. Strange as Sorcerer Supreme in the comics; and Mainframe, a robotic head who is voiced by Miley Cyrus. There's also a crystalline man that appears multiple times throughout the film, who is rumored to be played by Michael Rosenbaum and is almost certainly Martinex T'Naga, a mirrored being from Pluto who ran with the original Guardians and is definitely not the Night's King. And there you have it, folks! You're OG Guardians of the Galaxy, give or take a couple.
Basically, it's a fun nod for fans of the comic books and a further tip of the hat to Yondu, who was also one of the original Guardians. Now, they're back together again and they're ready to steal some shit! It's very fun, but don't expect the team to get their owns spin-off anytime soon. Both Gunn and Feige have tempered fan expectations during the press rounds. When we spoke with Feige, he said, "we do it because it's fun in the moment and it's fun as a potential sneak of what's to come," going on to say that everyone at Marvel would love to see them again, whether in a larger role or as another cameo. " But really the most important immediate thing for us," he continued," is really just to establish and showcase that yes, those original Guardians, though they may never call themselves that in our movie mythology, but they exist."
Groot Growing Pains
If Groot was a hit, Baby Groot is going to be a sensation. The daft lil' rampaging tree dances and darts through Vol. 2 like a sprite, raising Havoc the way unattended children are wont to do, especially when they're powerful intergalactic creatures. In the funniest of Vol. 2's post-credits sequences, we see that Groot has sprouted into an angsty, bored teenager with a room so dirty it would make a roadside rest stop blush. There's not much to analyze, and the scene is played for a laugh with Quill in the role of an exasperated parent. However, it does raise a few questions. Baby Groot was a stroke of genius that fundamentally shifted the dynamic between the Guardians, will Gunn look to repeat that clever trick by adding a teenager to the mix for Vol. 3? Or will he need to be at full Groot strength for Infinity War? There's also the fact that in the comics, Groot can regenerate to his full form much more quickly than we've seen in the films. Could we be in for a mid-battle upgrade, a la Giant-Man in Civil War?
Welcome to the Fold, Adam Warlock
Now here's the big one. Adam Warlock, at last. Comic book readers have been wondering when Marvel's cosmic heavy hitter would surface in the MCU since the moment we found out Thanos was the guy pulling the strings. As is their way, Marvel delivered a post-credits sequence that has major implications for the future of the MCU, picking up with a battle-defeated but spirit-hardened Ayesha. Anticipating the repercussions from her fellow Sovereign leaders for destroying their fleet in a lost battle with the Guardians, Ayesha devises the next step in the evolution of her DNA-obsessed race, creating a new type of birthing pod to gestate Adam, a warrior "more capable of destroying the Guardians of the Galaxy."
So who the hell is this Adam, anyway? The character first appeared in in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 1967 Fantastic Four #66-67 under the name "Him," a man-god created by scientists as to be the perfect being. But the appearance was short-lived, and it was Roy Thomas and Jim Starlin who really defined the character as we know him now in 1972's Marvel Premiere #1, where Warlock was introduced as a messianic superhero inspired by Jesus Christ Superstar. Though I imagine the religion stuff is not so much going to be a part of the films.
Warlock is an incredibly powerful cosmic being, commonly associated with Gamora, the Mad Titan Thanos, and a troll named Pip. Designed to be the perfect creature, he wields the power of the cosmic universe to do pretty much anything (flying, super-strength, projectile beams) and he can even spin a regenerative cocoon at will to shelter him from harm. He also gets a bit villainous at times and has a psychotic future alter-ego named Magus who heads a nefarious time-travelling interstellar cult. Warlock is heavily linked with the soul gem, which he has possessed and protected frequently throughout his comic book run. He's so powerful, he briefly wielded all six infinity gems after defeating Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet. Indeed the Infinity Gauntlet arc, in which he saved the day and went on to establish the Infinity Watch, is his most famous contribution to the Marvel universe, which opens the question of when the character will make his proper debut in the MCU.
When we caught up with MCU chief Kevin Feige, he was very clear that Adam was introduced "Not to tease anything in regards to Infinity War", but as a lead-up to future Guardians films. James Gunn has confirmed that Vol. 3 will take place after Infinity War and Avengers 4, so will Marvel opt to leave the character out of his biggest comic book narrative? Maybe, but I have doubts. Feige says they're not teasing anything for Infinity War, but he didn't say anything about Avengers 4, and as Gunn has revealed in interviews, he was *thisclose* to including Warlock in Vol. 2. My guess is that he'll be properly introduced at some point in Avengers 4, just in time to bring down Thanos, and set up Guardians 3 at the same time.
Stan Lee's Stuck in Space
Keep an eye out for the people who absolutely flip their shit when they see Stan Lee's cameo in Vol. 2 and you'll be able to easily spot the Marvel nerds among you. Lee first makes his appearance while Rocket and Yondu are rapid-firing through portals across the galaxy. Sitting on a rock in space, Lee regales The Watchers with the tales of his MCU cameos in a delightful meta bit, and indulges a long-running theory that Lee's recurring character is a Watcher himself in the process. That theory seems to kick the dust, however, in Lee's post-credits sequence when The Watchers silently saunter away from him, leaving the Marvel mastermind stranded and crying out, "Wait, you guys were my ride home!" For what it's worth, Lee's role is credited as "The Watchers’ Informant".
Aside from being Lee's best cameo to date, the appearance of The Watchers is a "holy shit" moment for comic book fans. The Watchers are an all-seeing race of extraterrestrials who passively monitor the events of the universe for posterity. If shit is going down in the Marvel-verse, a Watcher is going to be there. However, the characters have yet to appear in an MCU film to date, and many had assumed that Fox held the rights to the characters since they were first introduced via Fantastic Four in 1963. Marvel Studios' unprecedented deal with Sony proved what the studio can achieve in the name of filling out their cinematic universe, so the question on everybody's minds is thus: do the folks at Marvel have big plans for The Watchers in the future of the MCU, or are they simply meant to be a fun cameo for comic book fans a la Howard the Duck?