The Marvel Cinematic Universe received a fantastic new hero in 2016 when Captain America: Civil War introduced Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, and he got to finally take center stage earlier this year when Ryan Coogler's Black Panther premiered on the big screen. Boseman has handily turned into an icon for his take on the Wakandan king, but now he wants to spread some of the love around. With that in mind, the actor was awarded the Best Hero honor during the MTV Movie & TV Awards, but he quickly gave it away to the man who thwarted the Tennessee Waffle House shooting earlier this year.
The whole thing happened last night when Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman took the stage to collect his Best Hero award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. Boseman was initially appreciative of the honor when he went to receive the statue, but then he quickly turned the audience's attention to a real hero in the audience by addressing James Shaw Jr. The actor thanked Shaw for stopping a shooter who walked into a Tennessee Waffle House with a gun and opened fire back in April (saving multiple lives in the process), and then invited the real-life badass to join him on the stage. From there, Boseman bestowed the Best Hero award upon Shaw, which led to a genuinely emotional standing ovation from the crowd.
You can check out MTV's video of the amazing moment, below!
James Shaw Jr. has become widely regarded as a hero by many different people and news outlets since the tragedy that unfolded in April. The shooting at the Nashville, Tennessee Waffle House left four people dead (and several others injured), but it's reasonable to assume that the death toll could've been higher if Shaw had not stepped in to do something. The real-life hero incurred a gunshot wound of his own when he attacked the shooter, and he suffered a burn on his hand when he grabbed the barrel of the gun used in the attack.
The Best Hero award wasn't the only honor that Black Panther walked away with during the MTV Movie & TV Awards. In addition to that awesome moment, the most recent MCU solo movie also walked away with the Best Movie award, while Chadwick Boseman also picked up the Best Actor in a Movie award as well. Additionally, Michael B. Jordan also picked up the Best Villain award for his portrayal of Erik Killmonger, so there was no shortage of praise and accolades to go around in the Black Panther world.
If you want to catch Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa on the big screen, then make sure to head over to your local theater to see Avengers: Infinity War while you still can, and you can see the MCU's next adventure when Ant-Man and The Wasp debuts on July 6! Beyond that, you can also take a glance at CinemaBlend's 2018 movie premiere guide to see what other films are coming this year! As always, we will bring you more updates related to all of your favorite Marvel characters as they become available to us!
