It feels almost offensive to immediately look past Superman now that the film is in theaters, but you kind of have to. After waiting several years to see what James Gunn had in store for this official kickoff to this brand-new, rebooted DC Universe, now we know. But, in surprising fashion, Gunn’s revelations aren’t shoved into end credits scenes like so many other comic book movies before. His biggest teases are in the movie itself, with the two end credits scenes serving a different purpose. Let’s break it all down.
The biggest clue of what the future of the DC Universe holds is in one of the film’s final scenes. Back at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman hears a commotion, and his cousin, Supergirl (played by Milly Alcock), stumbles in. And we do mean stumbles. She’s pretty drunk thanks to, we hear, lots of partying on planets with red suns. Suns that don’t make Kryptonians immune to the effects of alcohol like yellow ones do. We also learn Krypto is her dog, she’s why he’s so rough, and then the two leave.
As you probably know, the next DC movie coming to theaters is Supergirl, so this acts almost as a trailer for what we can expect. Beyond that, it establishes that both Supergirl and Superman have knowledge of this universe well beyond the boundaries of Earth. It also may or may not tie directly into the plot of the new movie, depending on how close to the Tom King-written source material the film ends up being. Either way, that our first major DC tease is of this drunk, Kryptonian relative of Superman is pretty awesome.
After that, Superman has two end credit scenes. The first is basically just a single shot of Superman and Krypto sitting on the moon, looking lovingly back at Earth. The scene leaves us with a nice sense of closure because we know Earth is in good hands. Superman is here to protect it. It does bring up a few questions, though. Questions like, did Superman get Krypto back already? We just saw Supergirl take him back. Was this before the events of the movie? Our guess is James Gunn didn’t think about any of that. He just wanted this nice little moment with these characters. But it’s curious either way.
Then there’s the second scene, which takes place back in Metropolis soon after the events of the film. In the movie, Lex Luthor opens up a dimensional rift, destroying the city, and Superman and Mr. Terrific work together to fix it. But, once Lex is taken away, Superman notices that the seam reconnecting the torn city is “a little off.” Now, does this set up some big, elaborate plot about interdimensional rifts slowly breaking apart Earth, with this being the first seed? Maybe, but we don’t think so. We think this scene is there simply to establish the rapport and relationship between Terrific and Superman. Heroes who respect each other and can playfully banter. Also, Terrific is a little sensitive, and Superman realizes he has to be mindful of that.
If anything, the scene lets us know that in the future, Superman won’t be by himself. He’ll always have superhero backup.
What did you think about the ending and end credits of Superman? Let us know below.
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