“X-Men: Apocalypse” Post-Credits Scene
Much like every other comic book movie, X-Men Apocalypse comes equipped with the standard post-credits scene. We are nearly a decade into the height of comic book movies so movie-goers should know by now not to get up out of their seats until the house lights come up.
For the first time that I can recall, not a single person got up from their seat as X-Men: Apocalypse‘s credits rolled. Even with no mid-credits scene, everyone stayed.
If you don’t want to be spoiled, turn back now. SPOILER WARNING GOING FORWARD.
You have been warned.
It starts in the dark with nothing but footsteps. What is revealed is the wake of Wolverine’s destruction at Alkali Lake. Men in suits with suspicious-looking briefcases walk through the wreckage, not blinking an eye at the man sucking up bullets, the dead bodies in body bags, or the blood stains everywhere.
The men in suits open a hidden door where we see x-rays of Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. They take them down and turn their attention to a refrigerator full of blood samples.
They take “Weapon X” and add it to the arsenal in their briefcase. It closes and we see the name on the briefcase:
Essex Corp.
Unlike the post-credits scene for Days of Future Past, this one definitely isn’t as blatant in its meaning.
It’s obviously a set up for Wolverine 3, but honestly, Essex Corp had me stumped for a few minutes until it hit me: Nathaniel Essex.
Mister Sinister.
Now, if you happened to glance back at my explanation for the DOFP scene, I was hoping Mister Sinister would be one of the Four Horsemen in X-Men: Apocalypse. Even watching the credits scroll, I said to the husband, “All I wanted was Mister Sinister!”
Some background information: Nathaniel Essex was a geneticist in the comics, obsessed with the idea of perfecting evolution. He actually wakes up Apocalypse because he believes he is the missing key in his research. It’s also discovered in one comic line that he created Cyclops’ son Nathan (who later becomes Cable, but let’s save that for another time).
So it looks like this post-credits scene has revealed the big bad for the next Wolverine movie. Even though the latest rumor is that Wolverine will be battling Reavers (think sentinels on steroids mashed with DC’s Suicide Squad), someone has to be controlling them!
The possibilities being teased don’t stop there. Since it’s been teased that X-23 might make an appearance in Wolverine 3, those vials in the sketchy briefcase could point to Mister Sinister being responsible for her creation.
In the comics, while Mister Sinister starts out as an agent of Apocalypse, he still does plenty of things on his own to warrant angering the X-Men. His powers are ridiculous: he doesn’t age (thanks to Apocalypse), telepathy, shape-shifting, energy projections, and did I mention he’s a genius? He has decades of biological research in his mind.
He’s made strained alliances with the likes of the Nasty Boys, caused the Morlock Massacre, worked alongside the Nazis in World War II, and also has a generally weird obsession with the Summers and their bloodline.
And since he doesn’t age and has his hand in every pot, Mister Sinister could show up in any and every future X-Men movie. He has ties to Gambit in the comics, so if that Gambit movie ever moves forward, it would be fun to see him pop up in a scene or two and really tie the universe together (rather than resetting the continuity like the last three have).
Next: X-Men: Apocalypse Review
When you’re dealing with a comic as the source material, there are so many different ways you can go. Do you think this post-credits spells out Mister Sinister as the big bad? Will he still be Nathaniel Essex or will he be in his creepy, vampire-like form?
All I know is that I’m ready to see what Wolverine 3 has to offer.