Mark Ruffalo’s handstand cements Avengers’ status as Chinese Theatre icons

Mark Ruffalo didn’t need a borrowed Hulk-sized exo-suit to pull off a pair of handstands that left a permanent mark Tuesday, as the longtime MCU actor joined his fellow Avengers in immortalizing their handprints in the cement outside Hollywood’s iconic TCL Chinese Theatre.

With the countdown timer dwindling down to this week’s release of Avengers: Endgame, the core Avengers cast that’s anchored the Marvel Cinematic Universe through its first decade assembled outside the famous movie house to leave their mark on a lore-rich piece of cinematic history.

Flanked by Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Ruffalo and the rest of the MCU all-stars got down on bended knee to cast their heroic hand impressions.

Captured via Variety's livestream, here's the whole ceremony, emceed by film critic (and evident MCU fan) Leonard Maltin:

Of course, Ruffalo had to go the extra mile, literally putting his full weight into the hand-printing effort. A pair of quick handstands helped assure that Bruce Banner’s larger-than-life paw prints won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

While none of the Marvel team spoke at the event, Maltin said Endgame caps a decade-long movie run that, in remarkably effective fashion, has helped elevate superhero stories at the theater beyond their humble Saturday movie matinee origins.

“Marvel Studios has taken 10 years of our lives and filled them with these incredible, incredible movies,” said Maltin, adding that Feige’s vision for the MCU, coupled with the Russo brothers’ visionary treatment of its biggest heroes in Infinity War and Endgame, has brought artistic legitimacy to a movie genre that most critics used to dismiss as little more than mindless, harmless fluff.

Thanks to Endgame’s record-shattering box-office projections, early rave reactions, and now a permanent spot on one of Hollywood’s most storied slices of sidewalk, it’s shaping up to be a history-making week all around for the Avengers. All that’s left is to snag your place in line and get ready: Avengers: Endgame snaps into theaters everywhere starting April 26.