25 Best Easter Eggs & References In The MCU So Far

17. Thanos (The Avengers)

One of the biggest "little" moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in terms of future implications, was the mid-credits scene in the Avengers movie. In deep space, the Other - who had been instructing Loki with regards to his invasion of Earth - approached his master. After explaining the failure of the invasion to the unseen master, citing the reason that Earth's forces were not the weaklings they had expected to go up against and that to challenge them would be "to court death", the master reveals himself to be Thanos - the intergalactic warlord known as the Dark Lord and the Mad Titan by different people around the galaxy. In response to the "court death" comments, Thanos simply smiled as, in the comic books, he literally wants to court the character known as "Lady Death" - and it sent comic book fans absolutely wild, as it meant that he would be a villain in future movies, meaning the Avengers would be in big, big trouble and an epic fight was on the cards.