Opinion: Top 5 Best Post-Credits Sequences

As The Wolverine brings us the most exciting post-credits stinger yet, we look back at five of the greatest scenes of recent times.
While it's a relatively new invention, the post-credits sequence has become something of an established hit within the film industry, particularly in the context of superhero movies. Indeed, every entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise features a teaser or easter egg after their ten minutes of credits have rolled, generally stuck around for by the most avid fans in the audience.

Here, then, to celebrate the effectiveness of the latest post-credits sequence included in The Wolverine, in this YouTube themed, bite-sized 'Opinion' piece, we've rounded up five of the best stingers of the past few years:
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006)- What with the emphasis on superhero films' post-credits sequences as this list continues, it may come as something of a shock to see this fantasy sequel included on the list. Nevertheless, the second entry in the Pirates franchise featured a hilarious epilogue, which took us back to Isle de Pelegostos to discover just what became of that dog left on the run from an army of savage cannibals...

IRON MAN (2008)- It was with Robert Downey Jr's first outing as the Golden Avenger that things began to heat up in the superhero post-credits department. Just as the credits rolled on Iron Man and the audience's remnants prepared to depart their seats, who else but Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury should appear on the screen, teasing Tony Stark with the elusive 'Avengers Initiative'? That is how you kick off a new franchise in style!

THOR (2011)- Whereas some post-credits sequences have tended to be bold and dramatic, Thor's epilogue scene happens to be just a little more subtle and effectively understated in its approach. The Asgardian Avenger's human pal Dr Selvig is glimpsed descending to the lower echelons of SHIELD, where he encounters Nick Fury contemplating the power of the mysterious Tesseract. Sure enough, though, things aren't quite what they seem, and as Selvig considers Fury's offer to study the potential harnessing of the artefact, we discover via reflection that Loki has possessed Selvig, watching the cube with eager interest.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (2012)- Schwarma antics in the DVD version aside, in this case Avengers Assemble's post-credits sequence is in fact, like The Wolverine, more of a mid-credits scene. Once the iconic symbols of each Avenger have appeared on screen with the various cast members' names adorning them, we glimpse the two dangerous alien benefactors of Loki's army discussing their future plans. The weaker member of the pair states that to fight the World's Mightiest Heroes is to court death, to which the classic Marvel villain Thanos, master of Death, turns around and grin. What a way to tease Phase Two, eh?

THE WOLVERINE (2013)- Spoilers for The Wolverine itself here are fairly light, but a (SPOILER ALERT) goes out all the same. Two years after the events in Japan, the viewer follows Wolverine into an airport, where in the midst of a 'pat-down', the X-Man is approached by none other than Eric Lenshrr, aka Magneto. Magneto has seemingly regained his magnetic powers since the events of The Last Stand, and attempts to enlist Logan's aid in confronting a grave new threat led by Trask Industries. Knowing that his old foe won't rightly trust him alone, Ian McKellen's character wisely has brought a friend along for proof of his good intentions- at which point, Professor X himself appears, back from the dead and sporting his iconic X-wheelchair. Quite how such transformative events have occurred is yet to be revealed, and we won't know for certain how this is all transpiring until 2014's Days of Future Past, but as far as prologue teasers go, they don't get much more ambitious than this!