I have now seen Iron Man 2 twice. Neither showing included the secret ending post-credits tag, and that was on purpose – Marvel wants to save the surprise of that secret ending for the real paying audience, not critics and contest winners.
And yet some sites are spoiling that ending, and frankly that sucks. The movie is out in a couple of days in the US – people can see that ending for themselves. And they should see it and be surprised and think it’s cool and be excited. I mean, isn’t that why you’re going to a movie like Iron Man 2 in the first place? Isn’t that the whole point of being a film nerd? There’s a certain point when spoilers quit being cool and fun and become obsessive compulsive and shitty, and that point is when the secret post-credits tag of a film like Iron Man 2 is ruined. It’s enough to know that there is a secret worth sitting through the credits to see, so why have it ruined in advance?
So be wary out there – there are some folks who can’t wait to ruin your enjoyment of that little moment. It’s just a couple of seconds of fun, and it should be kept secret so that people can experience it correctly. Shame on the sites that ruin it for their readers and for the internet in general.
(For all the ding dongs who will post below: yes, we did report on the Nick Fury ending of Iron Man. I won’t defend that, although I do think it’s different from the second-by-second (and pirate picture) spoiling going on for Iron Man 2, so I will just say I think that was a mistake we made.)