The Most Useless MCU Post-Credits Scene That Never Amounted to Anything
It didn't invent the concept of a "post-credit scene," but the Marvel Cinematic Universe popularized it to the point where no one dares leave the theater until the screen goes black.
While a few huge moments have been revealed in these post-credit scenes, there are just as many that amounted to nothing – one of which goes all the way back to 2013.
At the end of Thor: The Dark World, Lady Sif and Volstagg present the Aether – the Reality Stone – to a mysterious individual. It was the first mention of any Infinity Stones by name, though we'd seen a few of them in action.
That man was Taneleer Tivan – The Collector. After the Asgardians left, he ominously muttered, "One down – five to go."
For fans of the Infinity Gauntlet comic series, this was a huge reveal. Theories emerged, with many wondering if the Avengers would be could in a cosmic battle between The Collector and Thanos (who was revealed in Avengers' post-credit scene).
In Guardians of the Galaxy a year later, his quest for more Stones came to a swift end.
He hired the Ravagers to bring him the Power Stone, inadvertently leading to the formation of the Guardians of the Galaxy. After hearing The Collector's monologue about the power of the Stones, Quill was able to steal the Power Stone and bring it to the Nova Corps. Just like that, The Collector was back to a single Stone.
In Avengers: Infinity War four years later, Thanos laid waste to The Collector's domain, now having collected the third of six Infinity Stones.
While The Collector's search for the six Stones was fruitless and the post-credit scene ultimately a diversion, it wasn't completely without a purpose.
The Collector as a character acted as a MacGuffin, simply a plot device to further the Infinity Saga. He was the first character to utter the words "Infinity Stones" – a relatively unknown entity that eventually became one of the most memorable plot points in cinematic history. He also provided a detailed background to the Stones, just as much for the audience's sake as for that of the characters.
All of that began with the Dark World post-credit scene, but the scene itself became pretty pointless.
That wasn't the only post-credit scene that amounted to nothing, and it wasn't the most egregious. Doctor Strange ended with Baron Mordo on an apparent crusade to kill all sorcerers, only to be mentioned in passing as a slight nuisance in its sequel. Spider-Man Homecoming ended with the Vulture meeting with Mac Gargan, but we have yet to see Gargan as his Scorpion alias.
The Collector (played by Benicio Del Toro) hasn't since appeared in the MCU, other than an altered reality created by Thanos' use of Reality Stone in Infinity War.
It seems his arc is officially over, resulting in another small story thread never reaching its potential.