The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for being a massive franchise, one that constantly puts out new content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. But it had humble beginnings, and when the original Avengers movie was shot and released it was a big risk. Chris Evans recently recalled getting matching tattoos with the rest of the Avengers cast, and trying (and failing) to peer pressure Mark Ruffalo into getting one as well.
Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have a special affinity for the original Avengers lineup, who changed the film world forever. Those actors have a close bond, and most of them got matching tattoos during Infinity War. During an appearance at Fan Expo Boston (via Twitter), Evans recalled this by saying:
Yeah, I know. And I bullied him. Trust me. I was pulling out real peer pressure. Scarlett's a tattoo person. I am. Hemsworth is. We were chatting about it one day on set. Scarlett was really into it. And I was glad because if I didn't have Scarlett I don't think I could have convinced everybody.
It sounds like most of the original Avengers actors love tattoos, so it seemed logical for them to get one in solidarity as they filmed Infinity War and Endgame. Those two movies saw the departure of actors Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. from their signature roles. Although the latter two are returning as part of the Doomsday cast list.
Later in the same convention appearance, Evans gave ScarJo credit for getting the ball rolling on the matching Avengers tattoos. Although he laments not being able to get Mark Ruffalo to join the fun. As he put it:
Well, Scarlett and I were casually talking about it. And she was like 'We should do that.' I was like 'Well, you go. No one's gonna listen to me.' And Downey was on board. Hemsworth was on board. Renner's on board for just about anything. We couldn't get Ruffalo. If any of you run into him give him a hard time.
So why didn't the 13 Going on 30 actor join the rest of his buddies on this adventure? Mark Ruffalo previously revealed why he didn't get the tattoo, saying it was a mixture of not liking needles and wanting to be "punk rock" and not go with the group mentality. I guess you can say that he's an original.
Chris Evans might not have succeeded in peer pressuring Ruffalo, but he'll settle for encouraging fans to give his co-star a hard time about his lack of a tattoo. And just like. that, the story will continue living for the foreseeable future.
Evans and RDJ will return to the MCU when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Ruffalo recently appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but it's unclear if we'll see him in any of the next two Avengers movies.
