Superman Post-Credits Scenes Explained

This post contains spoilers for Superman

As the first movie in a rebooted DC universe, it’s no surprise that Superman begins with title cards that establish the world. As a superhero movie post-Iron Man, it’s also no surprise that Superman has a mid-credit and post-credit scene. What is surprising, then, is the approach that James Gunn applies to the scenes. Instead of teases for future entries in this first phase of the DCU, dubbed “Gods and Monsters,” Superman ends with two low stakes character moments full of humor and vibes.

However, “low stakes” isn’t the same as “unimportant,” so let’s break down these key scenes!

Superman and Krypto Take a Breather

Midway through the credits, the list of names stops and the screen fills with an image familiar to anyone who has been following the marketing for Superman. We simply see Superman (David Corenswet) and Krypto from behind, sitting on the moon and staring at the Earth. The shot holds for a few second before fading away for the rest of the credits.

Some viewers might feel a bit cheated by the mid-credit scene. Not only does it show something we’ve already seen, but nothing happens in the scene. There’s not even any of the playfulness that Krypto showed throughout the movie. The two just sit here.

But that’s the point. Superman can be an exhausting movie in the best possible way. Every second is filled with some sort of incredible tension or problem, from Clark and Lois facing the possible end of their relationship to black holes threatening to swallow Metropolis. Even Superman’s interactions with Krypto were tense, as the excitable dog could not help nipping at Clark’s heels or teasing the cows on the Kent farm.

In the mid-credits scene though, Superman finally gets to rest. And what he does with his downtime? He stares at the Earth and smiles.

That shot shows the viewer exactly what Superman himself has been trying to say throughout the movie. Kal-El might be an alien from another planet, and he might have the ability to fly to the moon and hang out with his dog, but he’s just a good dude in the end. He loves the planet Earth and he loves the people living on it. Nothing brings him more joy than getting to watch these people and see how they live their lives.

The mid-credits scene doesn’t deliver on more mind-bending action, but it does deliver on a character, giving the Man of Tomorrow his well-earned reward.

Mister Terrific Cracks Up

At first glance, the end credit sequence feels like a joke, not unlike Captain America talking to kids in detention in Spider-Man: Homecoming or the drumming ant in Ant-Man and the Wasp. The scene finds Superman and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) looking at one of the buildings that was destroyed in Lex’s attack on Metropolis.

Superman can’t help but notice what we notice. And Terrific can’t help but notice that Superman notices… and get angry at it. The two heroes see that the building has been put back together but that the seam isn’t perfect. The two parts of the building aren’t flush. They’re asymmetrical and far from terrific.

When Superman sheepishly admits that he sees the imperfection, Terrific loses his cool, grouching about how nobody appreciates what he did as he storms off. In the final shot, Superman stands alone and reprimands himself for angering his friend. “I can be such a jerk sometimes,” he mutters.

More than just a simple joke, the scene illustrates two different approaches to heroism. By this point in Superman, it should be abundantly clear that Clark really is an unfailingly earnest and kind guy, someone who genuinely regrets that he upset Mister Terrific. However, Terrific’s tantrum does not make him any less heroic. In fact, quite the opposite. He gets frustrated because it’s clear that he cares about putting the city back together, just like he cared that the city was threatened by Luthor’s attack.

Moreover, Terrific’s tantrum reveals his perfectionism, an extension of his vast intellect. Mister Terrific can do things at a higher level of excellence than anyone else and thus wants nothing more than to work at that level. This is consistent with the character in the comics. But whereas the Mister Terrific of JSA or The Terrifics is more stoic and reserved, Gathegi plays the character a bit like Shaft. There’s a swagger to Gathegi’s Terrific that’s on display throughout the movie. He knows that he’s the smartest person in the room and he knows that he can do real good with that intelligence, so he doesn’t have time for Guy Gardner’s petty complaints about team names, nor does he have time for one of Luthor’s men to have a sudden change of heart. He’s Mister Terrific and he knows it.

Yet in the post-credits scene, Terrific loses his cool in the best possible way. When he breaks down in frustration, he’s not truly mad at Superman for noticing the crack. Terrific’s annoyed at himself for failing to make it perfect, for failing to be as terrific as he wants to be.

The Woman of Tomorrow, Today

Although neither the mid-credits or the post-credits scenes set up the next DCU movie, that doesn’t mean that Superman isn’t interested in the future. In the final scene of the movie proper, as Superman prepares to be healed in sunlight by Gary and the other robots, Supergirl (Milly Alcock) comes bounding into the Fortress of Solitude more than a little hungover to retrieve her dog Krypto.

For those who have read the series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, Supegirl’s chaotic arrival is a joy, because it signals the start of her own adventure. For those who only know the sweet Supergirl played by Helen Slater or Melissa Benoist, or the bitter Supergirl that Sasha Calle played in The Flash, then they’ll have to wait for next year’s Supergirl to see what’s going on with Alcock’s unique take on the character. Until then we can follow the Man of Steel’s lead and just relax and enjoy the good work that James Gunn and company have done with the character.

Superman is now playing in theaters around the world.