It’s a bat. It’s a bird. It’s the start of something sinister. The latest entry in Sony’s Spider-Man universe, Morbius, sets up the future of the franchise and doubles down on its connections to the adjacent Marvel Cinematic Universe with two mid-credits scenes. Both feature Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, in a reprisal of his role from 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. And he apparently has big plans for Spider-Man.
In the first scene, the sky fills with purple, crackling energy, presumably a result of Doctor Strange’s multiverse-muddling spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Adrian Toomes materializes in an empty jail cell and glances at himself in a mirror, making sure he’s all there, before quipping, “Hope the food’s better in this joint.†The scene cuts to a news report detailing the strangeness of Toomes’s appearance in the holding facility despite having no prior record. The anchor reports that a hearing has been set, which “could likely lead to his immediate release.†Toomes is then escorted into a police car by several officers.
The question of how Toomes was transported from the MCU to the SSU has puzzled some viewers, since Strange’s spell at the end of No Way Home supposedly only reverted the villains who had breached the multiverse back to their original dimensions. But there’s no evidence that the sorcerer’s spell didn’t also have unforeseen consequences, as we’ve seen with every major spell Strange has cast in the MCU. (He really should work on that.) Remember, the multiverse is rapidly branching into new realities as a result of the events in Loki. So Vulture’s dimensional hop from the MCU to the world Morbius and Venom inhabit could be a result of not only a flaw in Strange’s spell, but impending multiversal madness.
No Way Home’s post-credits scene may have already hinted at a flaw in the spell, given that when Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is transported back to his world, a piece of the Venom symbiote gets left behind in the MCU. So clearly, not every living creature who was aware that Peter Parker is Spider-Man got sent back. Is the symbiote getting left behind in the same universe that Vulture just left some sort of cosmic balancing act? We just don’t know yet; as Strange tells Peter (Tom Holland) in No Way Home, “The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little.†The same goes for Marvel’s rules on magic. Little has been established onscreen in terms of what can and can’t be done with magic and the ensuing costs.
Morbius’s second mid-credits scene seems to take place sometime later, and finds Michael Morbius driving out to a remote meeting spot, where Vulture arrives right on time. Eagle-eyed viewers may recognize that his wingsuit, while similar, is not the same as the one we saw in Homecoming. In fact, it’s remarkably similar to the Vulture wings we saw in a glass case in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), suggesting that this world may be home to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man.
Vulture tells Morbius, “Thanks for meeting me, Doc. I’ve been reading about you. I don’t know how I got here … something to do with Spider-Man. I’m thinking of putting a team together. Do some good.†Morbius simply replies, “Intriguing.†It’s a clear sign that Sony is moving forward with the Sinister Six spinoff it’s been planning since 2014.
It’s also worth noting that Morbius, who’s never been a member of the Sinister Six in the comics, does not explicitly agree to Vulture’s proposal and seemingly has no beef with Spider-Man. What this means for Morbius’s anti-heroism and his search for a cure remains to be seen. All we can say for sure is that nothing in either mid-credits scene contradicts No Way Home, and there is clearly more to this story and the rules of the multiverse that we’ll hopefully see explained across future films.
But what’s Vulture’s beef with Spider-Man, if due to Strange’s spell, he no longer remembers who Peter Parker is? We’re speculating, but Toomes likely still remembers Spider-Man — only now there’s no personal connection to him, no knowledge that he’s just a kid. Spider-Man is just the guy who locked him away and caused his family to leave him. We know Spider-Man’s past deeds were not undone by the spell, at least as evidenced by the bandage MJ (Zendaya) sports at the end of No Way Home and the damaged Statue of Liberty mentioned in Hawkeye. All signs point to the battle between Vulture and Spider-Man still having happened.