Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/April 21 to 27, 2019

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (April 21 to 27, 2019)
Prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds

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Spoilers
PSA: There are a large number of Avengers: Endgame spoilers in the report below. Proceed with caution. The internet, as you are doubtless aware, is dark and full of spoilers. So many reckless authors seem to derive some sickening satisfaction in toying with those who are unable to see film during the opening weekend. How dare they.

For the week of April 21 to 27, 2019, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Views ! Image ! About
 * 1
 * Avengers: Endgame
 * style=text-align:right;|7,473,463
 * The Beatles The End final lyrics plaque.jpg
 * I, along with apparently everyone else on the planet, rushed to the cinema this weekend to see Earth's Mightiest Heroes battle the Mad Titan Thanos, and try to reverse the hefty death toll which he inflicted upon the universe in the previous installment (#7) of #12. As the highly entertaining flick rakes in over a billion dollars this weekend, we as a species must come to terms with the fact that this is Kevin Feige's world, and we're just living in it. The film itself is extremely cathartic to watch as a rabid fan of the comics, particularly the unforgettable and iconic scene where, as in the comics, Nebula wields the Gauntlet in defiance of her despotic father (#6).
 * 2
 * List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films
 * style=text-align:right;|1,978,989
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga Release Timeline by Series.png
 * Twenty-two films in, and the intricate and elaborate web of interconnecting cinematic adventures weaved by Marvel Studios over eleven years has reached in zenith in our #1. The scope and size of the franchise is truly unprecedented, and in the wake of its apparent end it shows no signs of slowing down, with Spider-Man: Far From Home yet to come this July. A large reason for the adoration of the universe, in my opinion, and a source of so many preparatory views this week, is that characters from previous films can reappear in surprising, impactful ways, like Red Skull leading Thanos to the Soul Stone in #7, or Justin Hammer purchasing the flailing Stark Industries and profiting (from villainous ventures) amidst the chaos of Endgame.
 * 3
 * Sri Lanka
 * style=text-align:right;|1,769,943
 * Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg
 * The oft-forgotten nation of the Indian subcontinent, the island formerly known as Ceylon returned to the minds of Wikipedians under tragic circumstances following the death of 253 people in a co-ordinated terror attack on Easter Sunday, for which Daesh has claimed responsibility. The terror attacks are another tragedy for a country which was blighted by civil war for decades, and have evoked an outpouring of sympathy worldwide, reminiscent of that (I can feel how horrendously inelegant a segue this is) witnessed in Endgame following Thanos' vicious, Power Stone-powered assault on New York.
 * 4
 * Game of Thrones (season 8)
 * style=text-align:right;|1,611,277
 * The final season of George R.R. Martin's fantasy behemoth is underway, captivating audiences worldwide as the gargantaun battle between Aegon Targaryen and The Night King draws inevitably closer. Avid ASOIAF fans have spent months speculating how the living will be able to triumph against the ceaseless masses of the dead, with many plausible theories doing the rounds, ranging from the fabled hero Azor Ahai to a time-travelling solution involving Bran "Not Bran Stark" Stark. Perhaps Bran could warg into an insect, and take inspiration from the ant-sized rectal penetration-expansion manoeuvre used by the Avengers to finally fell Thanos in Endgame.
 * 5
 * No One
 * style=text-align:right;|1,392,839
 * Maisie Williams (19647942976) (cropped).jpg
 * Related to the above, viewers were so surprised at Arya Stark having a sex scene in the latest episode that Google saw a significant uptick in searches for her portrayer's age, given The Girl's 22 but doesn't look a day above 13. The controversy which surrounded a scene in which a mass murderer loses her virginity says something deep and Freudian about our society, but luckily the soon-to-be Marvel star will be soon forgotten, given that all discussion will inevitably shift towards the steamy scene of intimacy shared by Thanos and Mistress Death in Endgame.
 * 6
 * Thanos
 * style=text-align:right;| 1,386,585 693,292.5
 * Bell 206L3 (D-HASA).jpg
 * The Mad Titan has been frequently compared to Darth Vader in the pantheon of iconic and fear-inducing villains following his devastating annihilation of half of the universe at the conclusion of Infinity War, and fans worldwide eagerly awaited the cinematic return of the Avenger's all-powerful foe, but were perhaps wary that he would be unable to produce a moment as monumentally epic as the infamous snap in Endgame. Thankfully those fears were immediately allayed, at least for me personally, by the gobsmacking debut of the Thanoscopter, with its bejeweled blades and intimidating lettering bringing joy to even the most cynical of cinema-goers.
 * 7
 * Game of Thrones
 * style=text-align:right;|1,110,460
 * Ottoman throne seized from Thessaloniki in 1912.jpg
 * Having completed the Top 25 Report for two consecutive weeks, I have an all-consuming urge to request a merge of all Game of Thrones articles on English-language Wikipedia into one, purely to minimise the sheer amount of repetition on future iterations of the report. Either you watch the show, and so further stressing its ongoing plot would be redundant, or you don't, and are sure to stress this to anyone who will listen. Irrespective, you know what this is, you know why it is here, you know that the cast is on the verge of a considerable culling, and you know that this will be more emotionally devastating for fans to witness than watching Thor get decapitated by his own axe.
 * 8
 * 2019 NFL Draft
 * style=text-align:right;|1,059,280
 * Kyler Murray Oct 31, 2015 - Cropped.jpg
 * An annual event treasured by gridiron fans, this week 32 mega-wealthy corporations got to conscript college children to contract chronic traumatic encephalopathy and die on average decades earlier than their non-sporting counterparts. This year's leading soldier is quarterback Kyler Murray, who will appear for the Arizona Cardinals next year. Given their abjectly terrible performance of 3–13 in last year's campaign, Mr. Murray may be heading for a fate comparable only to that of the conscripted solders who fought a valiant, ill-fated, and futile battle against Thanos to defend New York in Endgame.
 * 9
 * Avengers: Infinity War
 * style=text-align:right;|827,625
 * Olpe Pan maenad BM F381 (manum).jpg
 * The box office behemoth which conquered the world this time last year has returned to the zenith of the zeitgeist as its direct sequel hits cinemas this weekend, sending waves of Wikipedians to check a quick plot summary of the preceding installment before their trip to the stuffed multiplex. The film, as you are doubtless aware, followed in the footsteps of flicks like The Empire Strikes Back by culminating with a crushing defeat for the heroes and a cliffhanger teasing a follow-on film. In this case, Thanos snapped his fingers, channeling his infinite power to wipe out half of the universe in order to resolve this issues caused by overpopulation. Endgame continues this plot thread, shocking audiences as Thanos snaps his fingers again in a successful attempt to resurrect his deceased daughter Gamora, showing the full power of the Infinity Stones.
 * 10
 * Captain Marvel (film)
 * style=text-align:right;|814,918
 * Captain Marvel.jpg
 * The second highest grossing film at the US box office this weekend is the 21st installment of #12, and the second to feature an eponymous female superhero. In the vein of Wonder Woman and Black Panther, the film has had a monumental cultural impact, perhaps in excess of its cinematic achievements, and has reaped ample profits as a consequence. Starring #17, and sparking significant controversy in the man-child community, the film's greatest crime is making the titular character so uninteresting, a transgression which has been amplified by the vital and vibrant role she occupies in Endgame, where she betrays the Avengers, joining Thanos in hopes that he can aid her in her long-anticipated genocide against straight white men.
 * 11
 * Deaths in 2019
 * style=text-align:right;|722,105
 * Skullclose.jpg
 * As ever, it was a week rife with notable deaths, and Wikipedia's curiosity has driven droves to the list of the fallen. Luckily, we do not live in #12, or else the list would have been significantly heavier, weighted down by the many traumatic deaths in Endgame. I am still in absolute, abject shock, that they killed Drax the Destroyer again, but it is a fitting conclusion to his arc.
 * 12
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe
 * style=text-align:right;|711,327
 * Stan Lee 11 January 2007.jpg
 * I could wax poetic once again about the immense satisfaction of a consistently entertaining, fully realised, interconnected cinematic universe, but I have roughly $20 billion reasons why you already know this. Besides, I am wary to fall into the trap of repetition, lest it detrimentally impacts the calibre of the report. Instead, I will praise perhaps the most fist-bumping (read: egregious) moment of fan service in its 22nd installment, Endgame, where the long-serving stalwart of the series, Nick Fury, removes his artificial eye, selected after meticulous deliberation in #10, and swaps it out with the Mind Stone in the Gauntlet, rendering the shiny gold glove ineffective and granting him laser vision.
 * 13
 * Anders Holch Povlsen
 * style=text-align:right;|688,278
 * Constantinsborg 2.jpg
 * Povlsen is a Danish billionaire who made his vast fortune in fashion, through ventures including Asos.com and Jack&Jones, and resides at the idyllic Constantinsborg estate. He hit the headlines amidst the tragedy in Sri Lanka, who had the immense misfortune of being on holiday in the island paradise, and was caught up in the bombing at the five-star Shangri-La resort. Three of his four children died in the terrorist assault, all aged under 15. As such, Povlsen has been brought to the attention of Wikipedians under the worst circumstances, and deserves the utmost sympathy from all. The loss of a child is a horror that most can only imagine – if the emotion of the death of Wong is overwhelming for many, it is truly difficult to envision how the Dane is managing.
 * 14
 * Billie Eilish
 * style=text-align:right;|637,047
 * Seattle - Hills of Eternity Cemetery 08.jpg
 * I have now decided to categorise Eilish in the Netflix teenage rom-com category of the Top 25 Report – things that I don't care about, and will continue to not care about despite it being in many iterations of the report. She is a singer, notable for writing an anthem for Thanos, and an elegy fitting for the recently-deceased Arrow Boy.
 * 15
 * List of Game of Thrones episodes
 * style=text-align:right;|629,184
 * Miguel Sapochnik by Gage Skidmore.jpg
 * Much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is an overabundance of entries devoted to A Song of Ice and Fire, one of the leading pop culture phenomena of the last decade. This list revolves around the episodes of the series, the best of which, in my humble opinion, were directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who has been commissioned by HBO to direct two episodes of the current season, including the climactic Battle of Winterfell between the living and dead, which will aim to match the visual grandiosity and sheer scope of Thanos' Infinity Stones-driven assault on the assembled Avengers in the quantum realm, hopefully with a more positive outcome for the heroes.
 * 16
 * Falcon (comics)
 * style=text-align:right;|565,541
 * Falco alcopex.jpg
 * The most ornithologically-inclined member of the Avengers, Sam Wilson, portrayed by Anthony Mackie, has been a staple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a half-decade, adopting an ever more prominent role in the series as his character developed. This progression climaxed in Endgame, as the character subverted all expectations in a truly epic moment in the third act, as he wielded Storm Breaker following the brutal beheading of Thor, adopting the mantle of the Norse god and using Redwing to assist his one time foe, Ant-Man, in his struggle to reach Thanos' anus and finally best the tyrannical Titan.
 * 17
 * Brie Larson
 * style=text-align:right;|564,470
 * Brie Larson Captain Marvel Interview.jpg
 * Brie Larson has been a target for the alt-right for having the audacity to be a (admittedly overpowered) female superhero, turning in an (admittedly stiff) performance as Captain Marvel in #10, and giving some (admittedly awkward) interviews, but her perseverance and resilience in the face of a rather disgusting campaign of harassment has been commendable. She has returned to the report courtesy of her appearance in Endgame, which will be most notable for the five-minute scene where she and the rest of the female cast gather and talk directly to the camera about the importance of the Bechdel test and minority representation in Marvel movies.
 * 18
 * 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
 * style=text-align:right;|562,719
 * St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade.jpg
 * Unfortunately the only non-fictional event to significantly impact upon the report this week, Islamist extremists launched a heavily co-ordinated and ruthless attack on the former British colony on Easter Sunday, resulting in upwards of 250 fatalities. We have become all too familiar to the brutal tactics of ISIL, but the death toll is much higher than we have come to expect. The assault has evoked an understandable outpouring of sympathy from Wikipedians worldwide, and in a tragic way was reminiscent of the disastrous losses inflicted upon the sorcerers of the Sanctum Sanctorum by the Chitauri forces.
 * 19
 * Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard
 * style=text-align:right;|548,385
 * Calum Worthy in 2017.png
 * A recent fixture of numerous iterations of the report as a consequence of the captivating Hulu series The Act, which recounts the murder of Mrs. Blanchard by her daughter in intricate, intimate detail. With a cast comprised of composed of (you're pre-emptively welcome, ) Patricia Arquette and Joey King, as well as a break-out dramatic turn by Calum Worthy, the success of the series is hardly surprising. The crux of the intriguing case was that Dee Dee Blanchard had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a often misunderstood ailment dealt with brilliantly by Endgame, where an emotionally wrought Black Widow reveals that she had been doping the Avengers food supplies (aside from Hawkeye) to diminish their superpowers and maintain relevance to the team.
 * 20
 * Bonnie and Clyde
 * style=text-align:right;|527,682
 * Warren Beatty.jpg
 * America's infamously conjugal criminals have seen a resurgence in popularity at multiple junctures since their death in 1934, most prominently with the release of the 1967 film, where they are portrayed by Emma Stone – sorry, Mahershala Ali – which have led to their unfortunate romanticisation, like a murderous Romeo and Juliet. At present, it is Netflix, the eternal streaming scourge of the report, who are responsible for their return to the tips of tongues, through The Highwaymen, which depicts the efforts of two walkers who chased down the duo. The ultimate demise of the thieving twosome was echoed to a certain degree by the deaths of auric couple Ayesha and Adam Warlock at the hands of a vengeful Rocket Raccoon.
 * 21
 * Robert Downey Jr.
 * style=text-align:right;|515,162
 * Robert Downey Jr at Comic Con 2007.jpg
 * The actor whose charismatic turn as Iron Man started the entire MCU remains an anchor of the franchise eleven years later, reprising his role in #1. This time however, Downey's character is the subject of an incredibly divisive writing decision, when, after the decimation at the end of #7, Tony Stark suffers from extreme bouts of PTSD yet again, and this time fires a fully charged, fatal blaster shot at his wife, Pepper Potts, before embarking on a path of extreme violence towards an authoritarian technocracy. A controversial choice, to be sure, but an apt one, given the overt comparisons drawn between Iron Man and the Mad Titan this far in the franchise.
 * 22
 * The Avengers (2012 film)
 * style=text-align:right;|509,877
 * The Avengers Cast 2010 Comic-Con cropped.jpg
 * With the release of the fourth Avengers film, all its predecessors sans the bad one have returned to the report as cinephilic Wikipedians catch up on the story of the heroes to date. Depicting the struggle of Iron Man et al against the malevolent trickster Loki, this is another entry which you can expect to remain in the minds of our readers as a consequence of Endgame, where its plot is drastically upended and altered by the Time Stone – the most impactful change, of course, is the second death of Agent Phil Coulson, which neatly (and necessarily) retcons Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. out of existence.
 * 23
 * Easter
 * style=text-align:right;|509,709
 * Easter Eggs 5188.jpg
 * The devout worldwide celebrated the most prodigious and prominent holiday of the ecclesiastic calendar, while the non-devout spent the time consuming copious amounts of chocolate. Easter is perhaps best known for the imagery of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha, and then the heavenly white with which the Lord's purported return from the dead is depicted. Aspects of this incredible artistry were clearly in the minds of the Russo brothers when they envisioned the remarkable scene where Valkyrie lays down her life to buy precious time for her allies to escape Thanos' onslaught in the quantum realm.
 * 24
 * 2019 Indian general election
 * style=text-align:right;|463,675
 * 2019_Lok_Sabha_Election_Schedule.svg
 * An electorate of 900 million Indians are taking to the polls at present to partake in the largest election of all time to determine the future trajectory of the second-largest English speaking nation – they will decide between Modi or Gandhi in a vote of monumental significance. This election will likely remain a staple of the report for some time as the moment of decision draws closer. It is good to view such an important nation embrace democracy, rather than moving towards tyranny and despotism as the entente of Iron Man and Captain Marvel do in Endgame.
 * 25
 * Scarlett Johansson
 * style=text-align:right;|460,438
 * Scarlett Johansson SDCC 2013 by Gage Skidmore 1.jpg
 * The enigmatic Johansson has been a staunch pillar of the MCU since its third film, and a permanent fixture of the Avengers, and she continues her sublime portrayal of Natasha Romanoff in Endgame, playing an utterly integral role. Expect views of her BLP to be driven to hitherto unseen heights in future weeks, owing to her part in the hilarious end-credits scene where she, alongside Brie Larson and an acquisition-enabled Ryan Reynolds enter the real world and assassinate internet trolls who criticised Captain Marvel.
 * }
 * Unfortunately the only non-fictional event to significantly impact upon the report this week, Islamist extremists launched a heavily co-ordinated and ruthless attack on the former British colony on Easter Sunday, resulting in upwards of 250 fatalities. We have become all too familiar to the brutal tactics of ISIL, but the death toll is much higher than we have come to expect. The assault has evoked an understandable outpouring of sympathy from Wikipedians worldwide, and in a tragic way was reminiscent of the disastrous losses inflicted upon the sorcerers of the Sanctum Sanctorum by the Chitauri forces.
 * 19
 * Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard
 * style=text-align:right;|548,385
 * Calum Worthy in 2017.png
 * A recent fixture of numerous iterations of the report as a consequence of the captivating Hulu series The Act, which recounts the murder of Mrs. Blanchard by her daughter in intricate, intimate detail. With a cast comprised of composed of (you're pre-emptively welcome, ) Patricia Arquette and Joey King, as well as a break-out dramatic turn by Calum Worthy, the success of the series is hardly surprising. The crux of the intriguing case was that Dee Dee Blanchard had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a often misunderstood ailment dealt with brilliantly by Endgame, where an emotionally wrought Black Widow reveals that she had been doping the Avengers food supplies (aside from Hawkeye) to diminish their superpowers and maintain relevance to the team.
 * 20
 * Bonnie and Clyde
 * style=text-align:right;|527,682
 * Warren Beatty.jpg
 * America's infamously conjugal criminals have seen a resurgence in popularity at multiple junctures since their death in 1934, most prominently with the release of the 1967 film, where they are portrayed by Emma Stone – sorry, Mahershala Ali – which have led to their unfortunate romanticisation, like a murderous Romeo and Juliet. At present, it is Netflix, the eternal streaming scourge of the report, who are responsible for their return to the tips of tongues, through The Highwaymen, which depicts the efforts of two walkers who chased down the duo. The ultimate demise of the thieving twosome was echoed to a certain degree by the deaths of auric couple Ayesha and Adam Warlock at the hands of a vengeful Rocket Raccoon.
 * 21
 * Robert Downey Jr.
 * style=text-align:right;|515,162
 * Robert Downey Jr at Comic Con 2007.jpg
 * The actor whose charismatic turn as Iron Man started the entire MCU remains an anchor of the franchise eleven years later, reprising his role in #1. This time however, Downey's character is the subject of an incredibly divisive writing decision, when, after the decimation at the end of #7, Tony Stark suffers from extreme bouts of PTSD yet again, and this time fires a fully charged, fatal blaster shot at his wife, Pepper Potts, before embarking on a path of extreme violence towards an authoritarian technocracy. A controversial choice, to be sure, but an apt one, given the overt comparisons drawn between Iron Man and the Mad Titan this far in the franchise.
 * 22
 * The Avengers (2012 film)
 * style=text-align:right;|509,877
 * The Avengers Cast 2010 Comic-Con cropped.jpg
 * With the release of the fourth Avengers film, all its predecessors sans the bad one have returned to the report as cinephilic Wikipedians catch up on the story of the heroes to date. Depicting the struggle of Iron Man et al against the malevolent trickster Loki, this is another entry which you can expect to remain in the minds of our readers as a consequence of Endgame, where its plot is drastically upended and altered by the Time Stone – the most impactful change, of course, is the second death of Agent Phil Coulson, which neatly (and necessarily) retcons Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. out of existence.
 * 23
 * Easter
 * style=text-align:right;|509,709
 * Easter Eggs 5188.jpg
 * The devout worldwide celebrated the most prodigious and prominent holiday of the ecclesiastic calendar, while the non-devout spent the time consuming copious amounts of chocolate. Easter is perhaps best known for the imagery of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha, and then the heavenly white with which the Lord's purported return from the dead is depicted. Aspects of this incredible artistry were clearly in the minds of the Russo brothers when they envisioned the remarkable scene where Valkyrie lays down her life to buy precious time for her allies to escape Thanos' onslaught in the quantum realm.
 * 24
 * 2019 Indian general election
 * style=text-align:right;|463,675
 * 2019_Lok_Sabha_Election_Schedule.svg
 * An electorate of 900 million Indians are taking to the polls at present to partake in the largest election of all time to determine the future trajectory of the second-largest English speaking nation – they will decide between Modi or Gandhi in a vote of monumental significance. This election will likely remain a staple of the report for some time as the moment of decision draws closer. It is good to view such an important nation embrace democracy, rather than moving towards tyranny and despotism as the entente of Iron Man and Captain Marvel do in Endgame.
 * 25
 * Scarlett Johansson
 * style=text-align:right;|460,438
 * Scarlett Johansson SDCC 2013 by Gage Skidmore 1.jpg
 * The enigmatic Johansson has been a staunch pillar of the MCU since its third film, and a permanent fixture of the Avengers, and she continues her sublime portrayal of Natasha Romanoff in Endgame, playing an utterly integral role. Expect views of her BLP to be driven to hitherto unseen heights in future weeks, owing to her part in the hilarious end-credits scene where she, alongside Brie Larson and an acquisition-enabled Ryan Reynolds enter the real world and assassinate internet trolls who criticised Captain Marvel.
 * }
 * 24
 * 2019 Indian general election
 * style=text-align:right;|463,675
 * 2019_Lok_Sabha_Election_Schedule.svg
 * An electorate of 900 million Indians are taking to the polls at present to partake in the largest election of all time to determine the future trajectory of the second-largest English speaking nation – they will decide between Modi or Gandhi in a vote of monumental significance. This election will likely remain a staple of the report for some time as the moment of decision draws closer. It is good to view such an important nation embrace democracy, rather than moving towards tyranny and despotism as the entente of Iron Man and Captain Marvel do in Endgame.
 * 25
 * Scarlett Johansson
 * style=text-align:right;|460,438
 * Scarlett Johansson SDCC 2013 by Gage Skidmore 1.jpg
 * The enigmatic Johansson has been a staunch pillar of the MCU since its third film, and a permanent fixture of the Avengers, and she continues her sublime portrayal of Natasha Romanoff in Endgame, playing an utterly integral role. Expect views of her BLP to be driven to hitherto unseen heights in future weeks, owing to her part in the hilarious end-credits scene where she, alongside Brie Larson and an acquisition-enabled Ryan Reynolds enter the real world and assassinate internet trolls who criticised Captain Marvel.
 * }
 * Scarlett Johansson SDCC 2013 by Gage Skidmore 1.jpg
 * The enigmatic Johansson has been a staunch pillar of the MCU since its third film, and a permanent fixture of the Avengers, and she continues her sublime portrayal of Natasha Romanoff in Endgame, playing an utterly integral role. Expect views of her BLP to be driven to hitherto unseen heights in future weeks, owing to her part in the hilarious end-credits scene where she, alongside Brie Larson and an acquisition-enabled Ryan Reynolds enter the real world and assassinate internet trolls who criticised Captain Marvel.
 * }

Exclusions

 * This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.


 * Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.