Don’t worry folks, we’re not dealing with spoilers here. Anything that borders on even resembling a spoiler, I’ll be sure to warn you thoroughly.
With that out of the way, let’s move something you may have heard, suspected, or are first hearing from the title of this piece: DC/WB avoided using the Marvel playbook and have refrained from stinging Man Of Steel with any kind of additional scene during or after the credits*.
This isn’t just a press screening thing- producer Deborah Snyder has confirmed in an interview with Crave (and maybe others- a lot are dropping this week) that there is no such material, and that it was a pretty specific decision- the idea being that this is the standalone story that needs to work in a vacuum before any thoughts are given to the universe expanding.
We’re not doing [anything in the credits]… It kind of feels like it’s a commercial for another movie. This is our story and for us it needed to be its own thing. And I think that’s how everybody obviously is always asking, “What’s going on in a few…?” And what we’ve said is Superman is the pinnacle, right? And you have to get him right first. And that’s what are focus was. And we see how this all does. Obviously people talk and all that but you just have to focus on what you’re doing right now and get that right first. And this was a complete story and we’re not teasing something. It just wasn’t what we wanted to do. I feel like the film, there’s a class to it, you know.
So there you have it. Were it not for Hans Zimmer’s incredible score over the credits (and the dutiful recognition of the hundreds of people who labored to make the film happen, of course), I’d say you 
can dart early to get that parking validated, because you’re not catching a glimpse of a Wayne Enterprises jet landing at a private airstrip with the Metropolis skyline in the background or whatever.
Does that mean the film is devoid of surprises though?
With there still being an embargo in place, I’m not in a position to confirm one way or another what is or isn’t in the film. What I will say is that Man Of Steel is entirely concerned with its own internal thematic issues, and you’re not going to gain much by squinting at every frame for some hint of something.
That’s especially true because if there were any terrifically minor references to, say, a familiar corporation, it’s safe to say you won’t have to look for it very hard.
That’s not to say there’s not another possible, subtle easter egg in the film- and that’s info coming from Deborah Snyder herself. Though this is clearly more of a production design red herring than an actual tease, those looking for the master plan might find this interesting (here goes the most inconsequential of semi-spoilers):
You know what’s interesting, and I don’t know and I’m not going to say what it means or anything, but the one thing if you look closely when Henry’s going through the Fortress of Solitude there’s an empty… you know all the bodies… the pods? There’s an empty pod. I’m not going to say what, or if, it means anything but there is an empty pod there.
Again, I wouldn’t read much into that. Crave and others leap to the Supergirl idea there, but that wouldn’t match her origin anyway. This is the very definition of a bone being thrown to an interviewer, even if you might want to keep an eye for that specific image to judge for yourself.
We’ve known for months that despite whatever plans they may have, DC is employing strict “wait and see” protocol when it comes to an expanded DC universe. That said, hopefully that means when Man Of Steel is a monster hit it won’t take long for the news to come…
*If you consider that a spoiler, die.