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This story contains spoilers for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

Marvel’s First Family has finally made its formal MCU debut, which means it’s time to engage in everyone’s favorite tradition: breaking down the movie’s post-credits teases to suss out what’s next.

Directed by “WandaVision” helmer Matt Shakman, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces audiences to Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn). The movie, which officially opens Friday, pits the quartet of superpowered astronauts against Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a cosmic entity with an insatiable hunger for planets.

As the title teases, “First Steps” marks the beginning of Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will culminate with a pair of massive “Avengers” crossover films.

Like most MCU installments, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” features multiple post-credits stingers. The first, which is shown midway through the end credits, sets up the superhero team’s next big adventure.

The mid-credits scene takes place four years after the Fantastic Four’s showdown with Galactus. It shows Sue sitting on a couch, reading a story to her and Reed’s son, Franklin Richards. After finishing the book, she steps away to grab another, turning down robo-assistant H.E.R.B.I.E.’s suggested title. Sensing something is wrong, Sue starts charging her powers. She rounds the corner to check on Franklin and finds a mysterious cloaked figure interacting with her child.

While his face is not shown, his green cloak and the mask he is holding make it clear to fans familiar with their Marvel lore that this is Doctor Doom.

This marks the first appearance of the iconic villain in the MCU. The character, also known as Victor von Doom, made his comic book debut in “Fantastic Four” No. 5 (1962) and has been a foe of Marvel’s First Family ever since. In the comics, the character is both a scientific genius and a sorcerer hailing from the fictional country of Latveria. (The name of the country is briefly shown in “Fantastic Four: First Steps.”)

Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) and her son, Franklin (Ada Scott), in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

(Marvel Studios)

Doom’s introduction into the MCU has been highly anticipated since Marvel Studios’ presentation last year at San Diego Comic-Con. Among the major announcements was that the fifth “Avengers” film had been retitled “Avengers: Doomsday” and that “Iron Man” actor Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the franchise as Doctor Doom.

While Doom’s exact interest in Franklin is not revealed, it’s easy to assume that the child’s powers would be appealing to a supervillain. This encounter also hints at the reason why the Fantastic Four eventually make their way to the universe where the rest of the MCU heroes reside.

“First Steps” is set on Earth-828 — a tribute to “Fantastic Four” co-creator Jack Kirby, who was born Aug. 28, 1917 — a retrofuturistic world in a separate corner of the Marvel multiverse. But the “Thunderbolts*” post-credits scene shows the Fantastic Four’s spacecraft Excelsior appearing in their world on Earth-616. Could Doom have kidnapped young Franklin and taken him to an alternate universe? Whatever the reason, Samuel Sterns’ warning from the “Captain America: Brave New World” post-credits scene was apt: The multiverse is coming.

Fans might wonder how the “Fantastic Four” post-credits scene might have played out had the studio not altered its original plans to feature Kang the Conqueror as the franchise’s next big bad. In the comics Kang and Franklin are part of the same family tree so it’s easy to imagine him as the surprise interloper Sue sees. Either way, a magical nanny might have been helpful. (Marvel Studios pivoted from its original plan after Kang actor Jonathan Majors was convicted on assault and harassment charges in 2023.)

The second “Fantastic Four: First Steps” credits scene is shown after the full credits roll and serves more as a fun bonus and tribute to the eponymous superhero team’s animated past.

“Avengers: Doomsday,” hitting theaters Dec. 18, 2026, will be a massive MCU crossover featuring members of the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts/New Avengers and more. Confirmed “Doomsday” cast members include veteran “Avengers” stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki), as well as Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Lewis Pullman (Bob Reynolds), Wyatt Russell (John Walker) and Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost).

Up next for the MCU is “Wonder Man,” a series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II that will debut on Disney+ in December. The next Phase 6 film is Marvel and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” slated for a July 2026 release.

Mexican Finance Ministry says it has not received evidence to support claims against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector banks.

The United States has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they had been used to launder money for drug cartels.

On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl.

It accused them of playing “a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl”.

The sanctions are part of a wider pressure campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump against Latin American gangs, criminal networks and drug traffickers.

That campaign has included designating several groups as “foreign terrorist organisations” and using tariffs to pressure Mexico’s government to increase enforcement of irregular traffic across the border.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the banks were the first to be targeted under new pieces of legislation – the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – passed to expand its ability to target money laundering related to opioid trafficking.

The sanctions would block transfers between the targeted Mexican banks and US banks, although it was not immediately clear how far-reaching the limits would be.

In a statement, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the banks of “enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain”.

But Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit responded to the sanctions by saying it had yet to receive conclusive evidence justifying them.

“We want to be clear: If we have conclusive information proving illicit activities by these three financial institutions, we will act to the fullest extent of the law,” the Finance Ministry said.

“However, to date, we have no information in this regard.”

CIBanco did not immediately respond to the allegations. The US Treasury Department accused it of being connected to money laundering by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel.

Intercam, which is also accused of having connections to the CJNG cartel, also did not respond.

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm Vector, which was linked to money laundering by the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the US claims tying its operations to drug traffickers were false.

“Vector categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would cooperate to clarify the situation.