One of the MCU's Most Memorable Villains Was the Gremlin on 'The Masked Singer'
The following story contains spoilers from the recent season of The Masked Singer.
We get it—you're obsessed with The Masked Singer, a show about a bunch of disguised celebrities singing their hearts out to extend their 15 minutes of fame (and four judges who only exist to confuse us more). If you're here, chances are you, too, have been confused by yet another guess by Jenny McCarthy—so we're here to help!
During week 2, six more costumed celebrities performed, including one that did something the show has never seen before:: The Gremlin, who didn't wait around for a vote or anything. He just took his mask right off. We had some guesses about this sort of terrifying, purple creature, but they were all way off. Here's how it played out.
What clues do we have about the Gremlin?
Well, so far, not a whole lot of clues have been dropped since we're only at week 2. During the preview episode for the season, we did learn a few things, though, from the Gremlin him or herself:
"I can thrive when the temperature is a cool 66.5 degrees." (Is this some backwards reference to boy band, 98 Degrees?)
They also describe their life as "chaotic" and their personality as "playful," which, uh, isn't super enlightening.
The Gremlin did perform "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King during the show. So there was that. You can listen to the voice and...it clearly was not a professional singer. In any way. His voice was a little wheezy, to say the least. But at least he gave it the old college try.
The clues given in the video beforehand were more illuminating.
"Despite my checkered history, I can actually be quite charming"
"A true romantic. You may have heard I can be a bit combative. But I have a fluffy side too."
"I adore all animals, long spins on the beach, and bashing worthy opponents with foreign objects for maximum impact."
"I also love to cook."
"Maybe you like what you see. I’d love to have you for dinner. I mean, over for dinner. But first, snuggle up as I serenade you."
Who did the judges guess?
Upon hearing "a true romantic," Ken Jeong guessed Christopher Walken, who starred in the movie True Romance.
When he mentioned all the animals, Jenny McCarthy guessed that he could be zookeeper Jack Hanna.
Nicole Scherzinger guessed comedian Carrot Top after talk of cooking and and image flashed on screen of carrots being cut.
Who did fans guess was the Gremlin?
Guesses are pretty all over the place, as you can imagine, but one theory seems the most believable. On Reddit, some users believe Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel is behind the mask; Mandel actually voiced Gizmo in both the actual Gremlins and Gremlins 2 films. Still, that's a little obvious. Other Redditors argue it's rapper Vanilla Ice; the 66.5 degree-mention might just be a reference to his stage name. For now, we'll have to wait and see until Wednesday's episode to find out more about our mysterious Gremlin.
The Gremlin was actually....Mickey Rourke
Before anyone even got a chance to vote, The Gremlin got a little too hot and committed The Masked Singer seppuku, taking his mask off. Weird choice, but ok. Whatever floats your boat, dude.
And underneath the mask was...Mickey Rourke, who was the show's billed Academy Award-nominated actor (He was nominated for his lead role in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler). When Nick Cannon asked what led him to the depths of modern society known as The Masked Singer, he showed off that classic Mickey Rourke sense of humor: "I was in the neighborhood."
He went on to say that he had seen about four episodes of the show before, and was asked if he wanted to participate. At that point, he made it seem like he went back and...binged...all of The Masked Singer? Only to get cast on the show and eliminate himself basically immediately. Mickey Rourke, what a guy.
A cue on screen revealed the answer to one of the clues: the Iron that was in Gremlin's package in the intro package was a reference to his role as the villainous Ivan Vanko/Whiplash in Iron Man 2. It also said that the "loves to cook," which was a reference to his pen name, "Eddie Cook." (He wrote the 1996 film Bullet, which he co-starred in with Tupac Shakur, under that name). The combative/fighting clues check out, given Rourke's history as an amateur boxer, and his checkered history refer to his various arrests and trips to rehabilitation centers. We don't quite know what the whole Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal cannibalism clue/reference is all about. Maybe something Mickey wants us to know?
Either way. The Masked Singer stays undefeated. We'll see you next week.
You Might Also Like
