Breaking Down the Justice League End Credit Scenes

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Justice League.

If you’re a fan of either of the two major superhero movie franchises, you should know by now that you’re pretty much required to sit through the credits in order to catch the critical post-credit scenes. So, is there anything at the end of Justice League? In the case of this latest superhero offering, there are two end credit scenes in Justice League that work to spin the DC Extended Universe forward for future films.

Justice League ends with our band of heroes — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg and the newly resurrected Superman — successfully thwarting horn-headed supervillain Steppenwolf’s plan to unite the three Mother Boxes and turn Earth into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. However, it’s clear the peace won’t last long.

Here’s everything we learned from the double whammy of post-credit spots.

Scene 1: Superman races the Flash

OK, so this first scene is actually a mid-credits addition and functions mostly as a gag. But it’s still worth sticking around for. Playing off earlier jokes from the movie, Superman and the Flash egg each other on as they prepare to race from the Kent family farm to the Pacific coast. Putting aside all the one-liners, it’s basically another reminder that anything the other heroes can do, Superman can do better.

Scene 2: Lex Luthor launches the Injustice League with Deathstroke

In this true post-credits scene, we learn that the now bald Lex Luthor has broken out of the prison where he was locked away at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Naturally, he’s now plotting evil from the comfort of a private yacht. Cue the entrance of a formidable masked figure that DC Comics fans will recognize as Deathstroke, a.k.a. master mercenary Slade Wilson.

Deathstroke — played by Joe Manganiello — asks Luthor what he wants, prompting a loaded answer from the ever-cryptic billionaire. “To put it plainly,” he replies. “Shouldn’t we have a league of our own?”

This, of course, sets up the Luthor-led Injustice League, a foil to the Justice League that includes villains such as the Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and, you guessed it, Deathstroke.

Deathstroke is reportedly set to appear in The Batman — Ben Affleck’s solo Dark Knight installment — but there are also rumors of the fan-favorite anti-hero getting a standalone film. Neither of these projects have been given release dates yet.

In the meantime, DC enthusiasts can look forward to the Aquaman movie that is set to hit theaters on Dec. 21, 2018, as well as Shazam!, which will open on April 5, 2019 and stars Zachary Levi as the hero Captain Marvel.

Aquaman will reportedly introduce three enemies of Jason Momoa’s ocean-dwelling Arthur Curry to the DC Extended Universe — Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master and Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus — creating another potential segue into all-out war between Justice and Injustice.