Saving New York was apparently easier than getting Mark Ruffalo to agree to a tattoo, because even the Hulk has limits when peer pressure comes knocking. The original Avengers turned their superhero alliance into permanent ink with designs by Josh Lord, combining the Avengers “A” with the number “6” and each character’s initials. Chris Evans has since revealed that he tried everything short of calling S.H.I.E.L.D. reinforcements, repeatedly pressuring and bullying Mark Ruffalo into joining the tattoo club, but the Hulk refused to smash through his resistance.

Although Mark Ruffalo skipped the matching ink, he happily joined the decade-long joke, giving Chris Evans a chance to enhance the Marvel fan trivia. 

At Fan Expo Boston, Chris Evans offered a playful glimpse into how the Avengers cast managed to make their famous matching tattoo happen. The idea came from Scarlett Johansson, who suggested commemorating their decade together with permanent ink, and Evans shared that he was glad that he had Johansson on his side because he was not sure if the others would be up to the task if not for her. In fact, as common knowledge, they were the ones who went first in New York, setting the plan in motion for their Marvel co-stars.

“And I bullied him, trust me,” Evans said at Fan Expo Boston, describing the campaign to get Mark Ruffalo involved. With Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and Jeremy Renner already committed, Ruffalo became the lone holdout. As we know, the tattoo eventually became a six-person affair, with tattoo artist Josh Lord flying to Los Angeles to ink Downey and Renner before the actors took turns tattooing him.

Evans may have confirmed bullying Ruffalo to FAN EXPO, but the Hulk actor was hardly spared by the rest of the group, either. Johansson jokingly called him a party spoiler, while Downey mocked his refusal to join their “Hollywood inside game,” and Jeremy Renner joked that the man who played the Hulk was the biggest scaredy-cat of them all. In other words, Ruffalo faced a full Avengers-level ambush over one little tattoo. 

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The Avengers cast may have playfully bullied Mark Ruffalo into getting the matching tattoos, but the actor had his own reasons for resisting the ink.

Mark Ruffalo has openly admitted that he is afraid of needles, but he has never specifically said that his needle phobia was the reason he refused the Avengers tattoo. While Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner embraced the permanent tribute, Ruffalo chose to sit this one out. His actual explanation was considerably more playful.

Ruffalo instead framed his decision as an act of "punk rock rebellion." With his fellow Avengers already lining up for matching ink, he joked that refusing to follow the crowd was the truly rebellious move. Ruffalo suggested that staying tattoo-free was his way of resisting the group consensus. That makes Evans, whom Robert Downey Jr. is thankful for, revealing his campaign to convince Ruffalo all the more amusing.

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What would you do to convince Mark Ruffalo to get the matching Avengers tattoo? Let us know in the comments!