I feel like you can tell the most about people based on how they behave when they aren't being watched, which is why I absolutely love love love that Jared Leto and Mark Ruffalo went to Comic-Con in disguise. It's a tactic we've seen from celebrities before, like when Maisie Williams donned a Spiderman mask to bop around NYCC in 2014 without getting mobbed by Game of Thrones fans, or when Bryan Cranston wore a mask of his own face as Walter White from Breaking Bad at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, and I fall more in love with the tactic every time I see it.
Aside from how exciting I can imagine it being as a famous person to lurk around undetected, going in disguise to Comic-Con for me indicates that the A-Lister is a true fan. Because think about it! Leto and Ruffalo are both huge enough stars in their own right to get heaped with preferential treatment at NYCC, without even considering the fact that they also have substantial ties to DC Comics and Marvel, respectively: Leto is playing the Joker in Suicide Squad, out in August 2016, and of course Ruffalo has been playing the Hulk since 2012 and shows no signs of stopping. So, basically, if their reasons for attending the convention had been anything other than genuine interest, all they would've had to do was pop their masks off, and they'd have been all but carried around the Javits Center by adoring fans, with free merchandise from booths being thrown at them from all angles.
But they didn't. And I love that. Instead, Jared Leto donned an elaborate baboon mask that can't have been comfortable to wear around all day, gamely posing with people who enjoyed his costume, and only posting to Instagram later about his undercover adventures.
He even posed with one guy who was in costume as the Joker and was clearly completely oblivious to the fact that he was posing with the real thing.
I love it. For his part, Mark Ruffalo was slightly more obvious (but only in hindsight), as the big-faced, cigar-smoking mask he selected showed his mouth and let some of his curls peek out the back. But again, as he pointed out on Instagram after the fact, no one had any idea it was him, and he could roam around without being bothered by anyone.
I think my first favorite thing that celebrities do is still posing as their own wax figures and then jumping out at tourists, but wearing costumes that let them go undercover at Comic-Con has to be a close second.
