What's Going On In The Captain America: The Winter Soldier End Credits?

Ever since Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury stepped out of the shadows to tell Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark about The Avengers Initiative, fans of Marvel Studios films have come to expect great post-credits sequences. In the last six years we’ve seen some pretty fantastic ones, from the reveal of Thanos to the discovery of Mjolnir in New Mexico, but the tags in Captain America: The Winter Soldier are really two of the best we’ve seen yet.

Unfortunately, it’s common that these little teasers can leave non-comic book fans in the audience scratching their heads not knowing what’s going on, but we’re here to help. Below you will find not only full descriptions of the post-credits sequences from the Captain America sequel, but also what they mean and how they fit into the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read on!

WARNING: The following article contains massive spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If you haven’t seen the film yet and are still avoiding spoilers, I would recommend heading over HERE

Similar to both The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World, the first post-credits sequence in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is actually more accurately described as a "mid-credits sequence." Set in an underground bunker, the scene reveals that HYDRA is very much still an active force, with Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) playing a key role in the organization. It is clear that the group has continued their work with futuristic technologies, as we can see that they have somehow gotten a hold of Loki’s scepter from The Avengers, but even more impressive are the two prisoners that they have in lock-up. Described by Strucker as beings of the "Age of Miracles," the two captives kept in separate cages are Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Quicksilver is shown using his super-speed abilities to try and break out of his cell, but his sister looks a bit more out of it, telepathically getting blocks to float in mid-air.

The scene serves as a set-up to what we will get to see in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron next year, as it introduces three characters who will likely be playing very important roles in the plot, but there is also another key bit of information stuck in the scene that fans should pay attention to. Because Fox owns the rights to the word "Mutant" in the context of Marvel Comics, the upcoming Marvel Studios film won’t be able to use that particular word to describe Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as super-powered individuals. Judging from Struker’s comments, it would appear that they will be known as "Miracles."

The second scene is much more directly tied to the plot of the Captain America sequel. Following The Winter Soldier’s (Sebastian Stan) epic battle against the titular hero, he takes a trip to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. where he visits the Captain America exhibit. While he still has he doubts about his real identity and what Cap told him, upon seeing the image of Bucky Barnes and reading about the man he used to be he begins to understand the truth.

While it’s possible that we may hear a bit more about the adventures of The Winter Soldier off-hand in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, more than anything this is probably just a set up for the upcoming Captain America 3. We expect the Phase Three sequel will feature the patriotic superhero teaming up with Falcon to continue hunting down the Winter Soldier, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley are already attached to pen the script, while Joe and Anthony Russo will be back at the helm.

What did you think of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier post-credits sequences? How do you think they will affect the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Tell us what you think in the comments below.