What Just Happened? Breaking Down the “Captain America: Brave New World” Post-Credits Scene

It feels as though it’s been quite a while since Marvel has given us a substantial post-credits scene. And while Captain America: Brave New World may receive an overall lukewarm response, we did get to see one of Marvel’s signature bonuses at the very end. The scene itself might not be the most exciting, but it’s still worth taking a closer look.

This is the part where I warn you that if you have not yet seen Captain America: Brave New World, you should stop reading now, because…

Captain America: Brave New World ahead!

First, some context. While the trailer would for this film would have you believe the primary antagonist would be either Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk or Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder, the true villain is none other than Samuel Sterns. I’m aware that is not exactly a household name, even for Marvel fans, so I’ll remind you that he was the scientist assisting Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk. In that film, he operated under the codename Mr. Blue in his communications with Banner.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get into the post-credits.

There is no mid-credits scene in Captain America: Brave New World.

Oddly enough, Marvel chose to skip the traditional mid-credits scene and opt to only include a true post-credits one instead. While the studio typically includes one extra scene that is integral to the overall plot of the larger story being told and one that is mostly just for laughs, with this film they chose to only go with the former. So, let’s get into that post-credits scene.

The Leader of the Raft

The film ends with Sterns in custody after he unleashed the Red Hulk. Of course, Captain America deals with the monster and all is happy in the end. Meanwhile, Sterns is brought to the familiar high-security prison known as the Raft.

In the post-credits scene, Cap meets with Sterns in his cell. While Cap tries to tell him he was wrong, Sterns argues that the heroes of this world are not ready for what’s coming. He asks if Cap thinks this is the only world out there and warns him that they’re coming, without specifically mentioning who. The scene comes to an end after the ominous warning from Sterns, who, by the way, takes on the villainous monicker of The Leader in the Marvel Comics.

While this scene may have been a bit disappointing because it didn’t include any big cameos or surprises, it does move the Multiverse Sage forward. We’ve seen several Marvel heroes deal with the Multiverse in recent years - Loki, Spider-Man and Deadpool, just to name a few - but Captain America has not exactly been exposed to this concept yet. So Sterns’ warning of heroes (or villains) of other worlds coming to pose a threat is a new concept to him.

But what exactly was Sterns talking about? We know Avengers: Secret Wars is coming and in that comic story arc, there are events known as inclusions, during which the Earths of various universes would collide. Perhaps Sterns is foreseeing these incursions and knows of the impending war between universes.

The timing of this scene is also interesting because obviously it is the very last thing we see. However, earlier in the film, Cap also meets with now-former President Thaddeus Ross, who is also being kept in the Raft after his outbreak as the Red Hulk. We then see Cap meet with Joaquin Torres in the hospital, where he informs him that he intends to reassemble the Avengers.

Presumably, Cap’s meeting with Sterns in the Raft would have come at the same time as his meeting with Ross. That would mean that his meeting with Torres would have come after his talk with Sterns. Piecing things together, it would appear as though Cap is taking Sterns’ warning very seriously and wants to be sure Earth (his Earth, that is) is ready for this potential threat by getting the Avengers back together.

Either way, we know Captain America is going to be assembling the team once again and we’ll be seeing the Avengers first in Avengers: Doomsday next year and then in Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.  

Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World is in theaters now!