Stars of the “Avengers” franchise — Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle and Robert Downey, Jr. — joined together for a virtual fundraiser on Tuesday for the Joe Biden campaign.
Kamala Harris also appeared for the “grassroots” event, which donors could watch by contributing any amount to the campaign. The vice presidential nominee flashed some knowledge of “The Avengers” and paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the “Black Panther” star who died in August, whom she called a dear friend.
Harris also drew an analogy between the themes of the “Avengers” movies and the campaign to defeat President Trump.
“We all know honor and decency matters,” Harris said. “And it matters whether you are saving the universe from Thanos or fighting for the soul of our nation… If the Avengers can assemble from across the galaxy then the American people can get together from wherever we are, whoever we voted for in the last election, and whatever language our grandmother spoke, and come together to get our country on the right track.”
Harris’ husband, entertainment attorney Doug Emhoff, also made a cameo and delivered the most pointed attack of the evening, calling Trump “a villain fit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, except he tweets more.”
The “Avengers” event is likely the most high-wattage Zoom-reunion fundraiser so far. But there have been a lot of them, as Democrats have leaned on Hollywood’s star power to attract donors and get out the vote.
The event was as much about encouraging viewers to vote as it was a fundraising event. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo started off by quizzing each actor about their voting plans, and the event ended with a call to action.
“Just remember how important this moment is and really show up,” Cheadle said.
“Vote Democrat,” Ruffalo chimed in. “Straight down the ticket.”
