Disney/Marvel
If you're heading out to see the "Captain America" sequel this weekend, make sure you stay after the film for two extra scenes.
The first is a mid-credits sequence after the first set of credits roll. The second, shorter clip follows ALL of the credits.
If you're a fanboy, you should have this routine down by now. Marvel loves giving audiences a sneak peek at what's to come in future films.
If you walked out early or are confused by what you saw, here's what you should know.
The First Scene
What happens:
After Captain America helps take down a HYDRA-infested S.H.I.E.L.D., we find out that the terrorist group is still going strong. (You didn't think that was the end of Captain America's most-well known comic threat, did you?)
We open up in what appears to be an underground lair with Marvel character General Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) speaking with a colleague about HYDRA having a few big weapons in store for the future.
The first we see is a staff you'll remember as Loki's from "The Avengers." The Chitauri sceptre was given to Loki by Thanos (the "Guardians of the Galaxy" main villain who we first saw in a post-credits sequence for "The Avengers").
The big crowd-stunner was the reveal of HYDRA's other weapon, a set of twins - Quicksilver and the Scarlett Witch - in cells who look bewitched.
This is the first time we got to see a look at Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the twins since both were casted in "The Avengers" sequel.
What you need to know about Baron Von Strucker:
He's a former Nazi officer and leader of HYDRA (more on that in a moment).
He doesn't have any real superpowers, but in the comics he's good with a sword and has gone under multiple aliases.
He was injected with a serum to slow down his aging process. He doesn't really have any super powers, but can deliver a mean electric shock in the comics.
What Is HYDRA?
If you missed this in either of the two "Captain America" films, HYDRA is basically the complete opposite of the secret agency S.H.I.E.L.D. The group, formed as a weapon for Hitler during World War II, is a giant terrorist organization that wants to rule the world.
What you should know about Quicksilver / the Scarlett Witch:
We've been waiting to see the twins on screen for a while since it was announced they'll appear in "The Avengers" sequel.
Quicksilver has the ability of super speed while Scarlett Witch has but that are usually telekinetic. She's mostly known for being able to alter reality. In the mid-credits scene it looks like we see her creating some sort of spheres.
However, the most important takeaway is that the two are the children of an X-Men, Magneto.
Comic fans may be scratching their heads since Magneto has been played on screen for years by Ian McKellen in the Fox movies.
This is where the rights to Marvel characters begins getting a little fuzzy as both Disney and Fox can technically use them on screen. The twins were first introduced in the comics as "evil mutants" which is how Fox refers to its X-Men. However, the duo later became a part of the "Avengers" team.
Don't get excited for a crossover any time soon. Quicksilver will also appear in the "X-Men" sequel this summer played by a different actor.
What this all means:
Now that we know Marvel's secret spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised with members of HYDRA, Von Strucker will be a pretty big villain in "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" in addition to James Spader's Ultron.
All of Marvel's end-credit sequences are basically giant teases for the "Infinity Guantlet" storyline.
This isn't only a setup for "The Avengers," but for the wider Marvel universe as a whole moving forward.
The return of Loki's sceptre isn't only a nod to the character. If you've been following all of the post-credit sequences in Marvel movies, a common theme has been the discussion of powerful gemstones. The sceptre's Tesseract is one of several powerful Infinity Stones that play into a popular Marvel storyline - "The Infinity Gauntlet." (We hit on that a lot in our end-credit discussion for "Thor: The Dark World.")
As well, the introduction of Von Strucker, Scarlett Witch, and Quicksilver could spill over into any of Disney's future Marvel TV shows that will be on Netflix, especially the Daredevil one since Von Strucker has appeared with the character before.
Because Fox has been using the term mutants on screen with the "X-Men" for years, we may see Disney develop a different origin story for Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch.
The Second Scene
What happens:
Disney/Marvel
Much like the second end-credits scene in "Thor: The Dark World" we see a brief scene of Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) heading to the Captain America Smithsonian exhibit shown early in the movie. Confused about his real identity, he runs into a portion of the exhibit dedicated to himself.
What this means:
Here's our basic outline for "Captain America 3." We already know that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and new sidekick Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) are heading out in search of Barnes. However, they have no idea what to anticipate from him.
The sequel will most likely follow their search for Barnes. We get the feeling he won't be as much of a villain as a future colleague and correspondent to Captain and the "Avengers" team.
Since Stan has a 9-picture(!) deal with Marvel, we can expect to see a lot more of him in the future.