Spider-Man: Far From Home has finally swung into theaters and that means fans can finally get the next step in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame. But of course, while fans are happy to enjoy another fantastic Spider-Man movie, we really want answers on what we can expect to see in the next phase of the MCU. That’s where the mid- and post-credits scenes come in.
We all know Marvel’s formula by now. They give us an exciting superhero film focused on one hero before using a post-credits scene to further the story for a future ensemble movie. Nick Fury told Tony Stark he was part of a bigger universe, Thanos smiled at the thought of courting death and so on. So what does the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home tell us?
WARNING – SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME SPOILERS BELOW!
Let’s start with the mid-credits scene. Just to provide a little bit of context before we jump into it, Spidey has defeated the villain and we get the typical superhero movie happy ending, with him swinging through New York with MJ in his arms. Then Mysterio pops back up to ruin everything.
A news report comes up on a big screen claiming to have video from Quentin Beck just before his death. The video is spun to make Spider-Man appear to be the villain, showing him ordering the execution of innocent people. And who would present such a video to the public and pain Spidey as a, well let’s say, menace? Well none other than… J. Jonah Jameson!
That’s right. J.K. Simmons has returned to portray the outspoken owner of the Daily Bugle and he’s once again making Spidey’s life hell. That alone was exciting enough, but the scene doesn’t stop there. Jameson explains that the video goes on to share some more important information. Mysterio comes back on screen to tell everyone that Spider-Man’s secret identity is Peter Parker. Spidey watches on as his whole world crumbles in front of him before the credits continue to roll.
This isn’t the first time his identity has been revealed. In the Civil War comic story arc, Peter unmasks himself as he officially joins Iron Man’s team and signs the Superhuman Registration Act. That move leads to the near death of Aunt May, a deal with a demon that involves him sacrificing his marriage with MJ and a magical machine that erases his identity from almost everyone’s memories. I can’t imagine the movies follow that path exactly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some sort of move to undo this reveal in the near future
As for the post-credits scene. We see Nick Fury and Maria Hill in an SUV discussing what we just saw. Only it’s not them. It’s actually Talos and Soren, the Skrulls seen in Captain Marvel, disguised as the former S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives.
Soren tells Talos to call “him” and explain what went wrong with their plan involving Mysterio. Talos gives in and he makes the call to the real Nick Fury and explains everything. He urges Fury to come back, saying people keep asking him when the Avengers are coming back and he doesn’t know what to tell them. We see Nick sitting on what appears to be a beach before he hangs up on Talos and the simulation disappears, revealing his actual location. Fury is on some sort of Skrull ship, surrounded by the shapeshifting aliens and he says it’s time to get back to work.
What does it mean? It starts off as a clear tease to the popular Secret Invasion story arc before doing a complete 180. However, I’m hopeful that it’s still leading to an adaptation of that arc and there are a lot of ways it could happen. Perhaps there’s another faction of Skrulls that aren’t so willing to work for and/or with Fury. Or maybe there will be some sort of incident that will break the Skrulls’ trust in humanity. If that’s the case, they will already have Fury on one of their ships as a potential prisoner. Who better to impersonate to gain the trust of our heroes than Nick Fury?
For now though, it appears Fury and the Skrulls are still on the same side. Still, we’re left with a handful of questions. What work is Fury getting back to? Is he going to reassemble the Avengers? If so, who will be in this lineup of heroes? Where is the Skrull ship he is on? Is Captain Marvel still working with them? Where is the real Maria Hill?
We’re going to have to wait to get the answers to these questions. Perhaps Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios will give us some more information at San Diego Comic-Con in a couple of weeks. If not, It’s going to be a long year as we wait for the next addition to the MCU.