Post-credit scenes have always been featured in movies, but it wasn’t until Iron Man‘s release in 2008 that studios started using the device more frequently. While end tags used to be little jokes, they’ve evolved into must-see scenes that tease the future of their respective franchise. The trend blew up with comic book movies, but it’s become a staple with all types of franchise films. In fact, this year’s nominees for the Golden Issue Award for Best Post-Credits Scene are from a diverse group of action and adventure flicks.
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The nominees for Best Post-Credit Scene include Blue Beetle, which teased the return of the original Blue Beetle, Ted Kord. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves also made the list, and it’s the only nominee that’s the first entry in its respective franchise. The filmmakers decided to keep it old school with a fun joke about a certain skeleton who was accidentally left reanimated. The next nominee is Fast X, which shocked fans by bringing back Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, who infamously said he would never return to the franchise. Our list of nominees also includes John Wick: Chapter 4, which ends with Akira (Rina Sawayama) stalking Caine (Donnie Yen) after she swore vengeance on him for killing her father. The final nominee is The Marvels, which featured a huge surprise in its mid-credit scene. Not only did Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) enter an alternate universe where her mother Maria (Lyshanna Lynch) is Binary, but the return of Kelsey Grammer as Beast teased that she is now in the universe fans know and love from the X-Men franchise.
And the winner of the 2023 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Post-Credit Scene is…
The Marvels!
2023 was a strange year for comic book films, as DC and Marvel both suffered at the box office more than ever before. The Marvels had the disadvantage of being the only movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be released during the SAG strike, which was likely a huge factor in it becoming the franchise’s lowest earner. However, the movie’s reviews lean positive, and we’re pretty confident that when more people discover the film on Disney+, they’re going to be disappointed that they missed seeing the best post-credits scene of the year on the big screen. If you’re a hardcore X-Men fan who caught the movie in theaters, you probably got overly excited and smacked the person sitting next to you (guilty as charged).
The Marvels post-credit scene was the clear winner of this award for multiple reasons. First of all, it confirmed the longstanding theory that actors from the X-Men films will be showing up in the MCU. While we already knew Hugh Jackman would be playing Wolverine in Deadpool 3, it was always uncertain if he’d be the same version of the character from his previous movies, especially considering his death in Logan. With the “Multiverse Saga” in full swing, there’s officially another universe out there that fans have a longstanding emotional connection to. If things come to a head in Avengers: Secret Wars, fans might be reentering their Captain America: Civil War era.
The fact that they brought back Grammer as Beast also deserves credit for being hilarious. There are a multitude of mega stars from that franchise whose appearance would have thrilled fans ranging from James Marsden as Cyclops to Halle Berry as Storm, but there’s something uniquely funny about the choice to bring in the 68-year-old who is currently focused on reviving his sitcom. If the return of Beast didn’t excite you, we have to at least hope it made you chuckle. It’s also worth noting that aside from a brief cameo in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Grammer only got to show off his Beast chops in one of the most hated X-Men films, X-Men: The Last Stand. No matter how you feel about Grammer, his casting as Hank McCoy is one of the most spot-on in comic book movie history, and it’s cool to see him get another shot at the role.
In addition to all of the X-Men buzz, The Marvels post-credit scene also has the bonus of featuring Lynch as Binary. It’s clear Marvel wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the actor after they killed Maria offscreen in WandaVision. She has since been back as an alternate version of Captain Marvel in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that character died almost instantly. Now, it seems like they’ve finally settled on the best way to use her in the Multiverse Saga. In addition to being excited to see Lynch take on the new role, we also can’t wait to see how her relationship with Monica progresses. She may not be her actual mother, but that doesn’t mean they can’t form a familial bond. While the other movies on our list had some fun and exciting post-credit scenes, The Marvels earned its place as the winner.
The nominees for the 2023 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Post-Credits Scene are:
- Blue Beetle
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- Fast X
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- The Marvels – WINNER
