Does <em>Thunderbolts*</em> Have a Post-Credits Scene?

The Thunderbolts have assembled, but they're not the only superhero team active in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's a whole new team crossing the multiverse and entering Earth-616. And while Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are both a long ways away, you can already feel the ground shaking over what's to come.

Now, Thunderbolts* teases the future appearance of a certain quartet—and they technically aren't new faces in the MCU. If you know your comics history, you know they are actually the first-ever Marvel heroes (after the published adopted the name in 1961). And to be honest, their appearance is hardly a surprise if you've caught wind of Marvel's cinematic slate for 2025. Still, it's hard to resist the excitement in the air for what's to come very, very soon.

The big post-credits scene that caps off Thunderbolts* is very obvious set-up for what is bound to one of the summer's biggest movies. But if you're still scratching your ahead over what the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene means, don't worry. We obsessives at Esquire are here to help you make sense of that, ahem, fantastic cliff-hanger. Are you ready? It's clobberin' time.

Warning: Major spoilers for Thunderbolts* ahead.

Thunderbolts* is a bright spot amidst a rough stretch for the MCU.

Over a year after Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has unveiled the Thunderbolts, a.k.a. "The New Avengers" to the world, the heroes (presumably fresh from another mission) regroup at their new home: the refurbished Avengers Tower. After some bickering and bantering—and the revelation that Bob (Lewis Pullman) can't fully control his powers as The Sentry, and is rendered on the sidelines as a benchwarmer—their HQ's A.I. computer systems alert them to an anomaly in space.

When Yelena (Florence Pugh) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) order their computer to enhance the image, they find a spaceship torpedoing into Earth's atmosphere. After a few more seconds of suspense, the ship turns to reveal a stylized blue "4" on the side of the ship.

Yes, it's exactly what you think it means: The Fantastic Four are entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Granted, you knew that already, what with the cast announced, a trailer already online, and a release date set for July 25. And eagle-eyed viewers who actually read the end credits saw it coming; Michael Giacchino's theme for The Fantastic Four: The First Steps is included in the music credits of Thunderbolts* (next to Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"), which kind of spoils the surprise.

But imagine telling Marvel fans ten years ago the Fantastic Four are in the MCU. It would blow their minds to smithereens! Whatever you want to say about the Marvel franchise in its current state, it's impossible to overstate how cool it is that the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers (and Black Panther, and Shang-Chi, and Ant-Man, and Namor, and...) will collide in one movie. So it just makes sense that Marvel is seizing on the chance to turn Thunderbolts* into a marketing opportunity for The Fantastic Four: The First Steps. We're talking about a movie that's on a Wheaties box, after all.