Because literally every A-list actor in Hollywood either has played, is currently playing, or will soon play a superhero, it was no surprise that the 2015 Oscars had a critical mass of superheroes in attendance. There were three members of the Avengers; one Asgardian guardian; a captain of the starship Enterprise; and even a wayward Hulk.
But tonight at the Dolby Theater, the biggest heroes on the stage weren't actors; they were real, actual heroes, performing real, actual acts of heroism. And here they are, in no particular order.
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Host Neil Patrick Harris, for sending up the Oscars' lack of diversity in minute one.
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Graham Moore, who used his acceptance speech for Best Screenplay to make a heartfelt shout-out to all the weird, different kids in the world. "Stay weird" = the best advice ever dispensed from the Oscars stage.
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Idina Menzel, for courteously presenting alongside John Travolta and not shoving him off the stage. (It's what we would have done.)
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Pawel Pawlikowski, for bravely battling the "play off" music during his acceptance speech -- and winning.
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John Legend, Common, and the singers who brought the entire theater to tears, and to their feet, with that performance of "Glory."
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Patricia Arquette, for a totally unexpected shout-out to gender equality that brought the damn house down.
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And of course, Batman. Because he's Batman.
