“The show must go on, right?” Mark Ruffalo rhetorically asked in a snappily edited, vaguely sci fi-looking virtual appearance during Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards 2020: Celebrate Together event.
Avengers: Endgame won the favorite movie prize from the young person’s network, but the top grossing motion picture of all time had to bask in its glory remotely. This did, however, afford Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Jeremy Renner a chance to appear in little rectangles and zing one another for 89 seconds.
Applause is due to whomever set up the audio; normally these group chats are an unbearable mess of drop-outs, but Earth’s Mightiest Super-Heroes had sound worthy to hold Mjolnir. (Perhaps the mics were designed by Stark Industries, and forged with a blend of adamantium and vibranium.)
As Marvel fans like nothing more than to read every utterance from a multiverse of angles, think on this: what are we to make of Renner making an “I thought you were [dead]?” gag when Downey Jr. joined the call? Not that we expect Iron Man (or, at least, Tony Stark-as-Iron Man) will be back in the MCU, but why is it no one seemed surprised that Johansson aka Natasha Romanoff aka Natalie Rushman aka Black Widow had Skyped in? Yes, yes, Marvel and Disney will be releasing the Cate Shortland-directed Black Widow film eventually, but this is known to be a prequel. Does Renner’s (and everyone else’s) relative lack of surprise at seeing Johannson suggest that Nat will somehow be back in the contemporary storyline?!? Quickly! To the chatrooms! As all the comic book shops are closed, we must argue about this entirely preposterous theory at once!
Saturday’s virtual special raised $1 million for the group No Kid Hungry. It also awarded BTS the favorite musical group prize, Ellen DeGeneres the favorite TV host prize, and SssniperWolf the favorite gamer prize.
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