Raymond Huffman/YouTubeAs Marvel fans across the globe wonder what they’re going to do now the Avengers (as we know them) are no more, others are taking action and showing their dedication in huge, flamboyant style.
Some Avengers fans were hospitalised after seeing the film, while others just flocked to the cinema to help the film smash past $1 billion in just five days. And, as a mark of appreciation, the guys at Marvel tweeted (though I’m sure they could have afforded something bigger) to tell fans ‘We love you 3000’.
Students in Massachusetts obviously can afford something bigger though, as they went all out to show Marvel, and one Avenger in particular, just how much they mean to them.
A group of dedicated pranksters from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have transformed the university’s Great Dome into one massive homage to the Avengers – by draping it in Captain America’s shield.
The Marvel fans, calling themselves ‘hackers’, told the Boston Globe that dozens of people had worked on the project for months, and had started planning it a year ago when they found out about the film’s release.
A spokesperson for the group, who wished to remain anonymous due to ‘the secretive nature of the pranks’, told the paper how the current generation of MIT students had grown up with the Avengers franchise, and draping the giant shield over the dome was a ‘symbol of their gratitude’ towards the series.
Check it out:
The spokesperson for the group said:
Putting things on the dome is a big challenge. We hope people look at it and it gets their imagination going.
It certainly caught the attention of one person in particular, as Cap himself, Chris Evans, said it was ‘Very cool!’:
Very cool! https://t.co/jMQEPtnQdu
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) April 29, 2019
The video was uploaded by Raymond Huffman, a sophomore at MIT, who shot the footage with a drone, but added that he was not involved with organising or executing the prank.
Raymond said:
It was super exciting to see it in the morning all set up. Everyone thinks it’s awesome.
Of course, Cap himself has connections to the town, or at least Chris Evans does, as he’s a native of Sudbury, Massachusetts.
It’s not the first time the MIT Great Dome has been ‘hacked’, as in previous years it’s been transformed into a giant R2D2, a replica of an MBTA Red Line train, an homage to Pac Man and many others.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.