Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/November 11 to 17, 2018

The Top 25 Report

This page contains material that is kept because it is considered humorous.
Such material is not meant to be taken seriously.

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (November 11 to 17, 2018)

Prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds

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Excelsior!

A very upsetting week for comic fans, as one of the pioneering champions of the medium died. Stan Lee was a legend, a perennial figure of respect and renown for nerds and dorks worldwide. Lee will be greatly missed. Aside from the passing of a hero, the week was evidently the domain of cinephiles, with films, film subjects, and actors galore reaching the top 25. This week's iteration of the report is strange yet intriguing, and was a joy to compile. Hopefully it is as fantastic to read as it was incredible to pen.

Without further ado, for the week of November 11 to 17, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Views	About
1	Stan Lee	5,841,113	With the ceaseless flood of celebrity deaths, it is easy to become desensitised to the demise of those we know and love, but the marvellous comic writer was an clear exception to the rule, and immensely impactful for many fans of the media, new and old. The heroic author was responsible for the creation of many seminal characters, from Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, to Doctor Strange and the X-Men, and helped lead the Silver Age. Lee has seen himself seep further into the modern zeitgeist in recent times through his frequent cameos, and it is difficult to think of one which more perfectly encapsulates what he meant to his audience than this. He was beloved by many, and will be sorely missed by all purveyors of his fantastical escapism. While creating relatable heroes for us to admire, Lee himself became one.
2	Freddie Mercury	2,359,538	Freddie Mercury, even by the time of his untimely demise, was widely recognised as one of the most influential and innovative forces in the history of music, responsible, along with his royal band (#8), for a vast number of unforgettable hits, including a very potent contender for the greatest song of all time. He has been a staple of recent iterations of the report as a consequence of the biopic about his life, which ranks at #10 this week. The film has been chastised for taking very strong liberties with Mercury's mercurial life story, to the detriment of his reputation, but thankfully it has driven droves to his article where they can find more trustworthy information about the lyrical legend.
3	Robert the Bruce	1,284,385	Our third entry is another British monarch propelled to high view counts courtesy of the binge royals, albeit one who is slightly older. Robert the Bruce is a legendary king amongst the Scottish, as he delivered a famous victory over the old enemy at the Battle of Bannockburn, helping maintain the independence of the northern kingdom. Netflix made a film about the leader (#19), perhaps hoping to emulate the success of the flick about Bobby's lieutenant.
4	Arecibo message	1,105,905	An indecipherable entry rockets into the top 5 courtesy of our supreme search leaders, who devoted a doodle to the Arecibo message, the interstellar note penned by Frank Drake and Carl Sagan back in the 1970's. The message was specifically designed to convey basic information regarding humanity and our existence on Earth, and hoping that aliens who intercept the message will be capable of decoding and comprehending it. As such, the message is a scientific and linguistic marvel, and the decisions taken are intriguing and great insight into how we as humans communicate and share a common comprehension. It is also significantly more helpful than our other try, as the barrier to comprehension is lower.
5	Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald	1,007,718	The latest installment in Rowling's ever-expanding Wizarding World hit multiplexes worldwide, to a somewhat subdued response. Naturally, being the Potterhead that I am, I duly booked a seat in the local cinema to witness whatever heinous crimes Willy Wonka had planned. I was, quite frankly, underwhelmed. The special effects are impressive, the intricate plotting less so. The film goes for a dramatic Shyamalan-esque twist, that doesn't land at all, and leaves even the most devoted disciples of Hogwarts confounded. It makes it truly a hard film to recommend - nonsensical for the uninitiated, irritating for the interested.
6	Thugs of Hindostan	860,204	On a list which is dominated by Hollywood, our sixth entry originates from the other major movie market, the latest in a long line of Bollywood smash hits to reach the report. Hardly a surprise, given India's status as the second largest English-speaking nation. Raking in the crore at present is this film, revolving around the efforts made in Hindustan for independence, which stars the enigmatic Aamir Khan. Despite the star power, the film is reportedly going down as somewhat of a bomb.
7	Queen (band)	854,540	Another week, another entry for the phenomenal rock band, my personal favourite artists. For decades, they rocked audiences across the globe, truly being lethal and captivating, breaking from the shackles of all who came before them, and paving a new path for those to follow. Any self-proclaimed fan of rock and roll to not know the lyrics to a copious quantity of Queen songs is unworthy of the title, and the best consequence of the underwhelming film about the band (#10) is that it has introduced an entirely new generation to the crazy music of the magical quartet, guaranteeing that their legacy of being the greatest will persevere.
8	World War I	811,974	If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace behind the wagon that we flung him in, and watch the white eyes writhing in his face, his hanging face, like a devil's, sick of sin. If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud, of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues - my friend, you would not tell with such high zest, to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie - Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori.
9	Deaths in 2018	730,213	As this week's report is topped by a prominent death, it is hardly surprising that the perusers of Wikipedia journeyed to the list of the fallen in their droves to see who else was felled by the Grim Reaper.
10	Bohemian Rhapsody (film)	625,118	Once again, the biopic centred on #2 and #7 remains a firm fixture of the report, in spite of the tepid response of critics to the film. Having seen it, I can report that the critics have the right end of the stick - the soundtrack is simply the greatest, and the central performance is phenomenal, but the screenplay will leave viewers left wanting, and is more devoted to drama than historical accuracy, to the detriment of the central characters of the tale, and infuriating Queen fans worldwide. The Live Aid scene is engrossing though.
11	Deepika Padukone	618,800	Seemingly every country has a captivating couple, the kind who have a raw magnetism that makes it impossible to look away. The UK has Ed Sheeran and Ms Markle, Ireland has BOD and Huberman, and India recently acquired a new one, as actors Deepika Padukone, member of the Time 100 for this year, and Ranveer Singh (#14) tied the knot in an elaborate and exquisite ceremony, professing their undying love before the entire nation.
12	Joan Boocock Lee	597,472	Joan Boocock Lee was the MJ to our #1, his loyal wife for seven decades until her sad death last year. Joan was an innovator in her own right, and Stan the man frequently cited his wife as a driving creative force behind his fantastic foursome, one of Lee's most enduringly popular creations. She also made a cameo appearance of her own in X-Men: Apocalypse. They enjoyed a long and thriving marriage, and Stan's death reinvigorated Wikipedian interest in the life of his spouse.
13	Pokémon: Detective Pikachu	569,974	They make a movie about the most popular Pokémon, and cast one of the most popular comedic actors in the role, and make all of the Pokémon incredibly cute. I mean incredibly cute. Like, to a sickening degree. Consequently, the trailer looks good, and bodes well for the flick to come. huh
14	Ranveer Singh	566,553	A staple of the Indian version of the Forbes Celebrity 100 for the past half-decade, Singh has graced screens from Chennai to Kolkata in hit films like Befikre. A talented actor, Singh further cemented his massive quantity of fame by marrying our #11, a fellow Bollywood starlet, the enigmatic Deepika Padukone, in an enthralling ceremony which has been the toast of India. The high listing of the duo is further testament to the sway India holds over en.wiki.
15	Kyrsten Sinema	546,938	Sinema enters the report as a Senator-elect for the state of Arizona, as a victor of the lingering recounts of the mid-term elections. Despite initially appearing to have been defeated, Sinema ultimately emerged victorious against her flaky Republican opponent, gaining another seat for the Democrats and restoring the senate balance to its pre-election tally, further benefiting her party. She also will go down as the first bisexual Senator this January when she assumes the role on Capitol Hill.
16	Rami Malek	542,588	Another entry inspired by the ongoing success of #10 in cinemas, Rami Malek captures the enigmatic Mercury (#2) in exceptional fashion, giving a nuanced performance which far exceeds mere impersonation. Malek went some way to allay fears that he could not emulate the original choice, but his golden opportunity for another statuette may be dashed by the tepid reaction to the film as a whole, in spite of his status as the lone bright spot.
17	Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)	506,479	With the release of the sequel (#5), the denizens of Wikipedia chose to journey back to 1920's New York to catch up before journeying to the cinemas. The first film, taking its title from a fictional textbook within the Potterverse, charts the heroic efforts of Stephen Hawking to use a magic suitcase to catch 'em all, and was an enjoyable, if forgettable, romp through the wizarding world, and a welcome return to Rowling's magical creation. Unfortunately, it appears that it will be but the first of five installments.
18	Survivor Series (2018)	485,666	Wrestling. People like it, I don't. As ever, the latest WWE event, seeing the stars of WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown battle it out for supremacy, has drawn strong interest amongst those who peruse Wikipedia. This particular event had a shroud of controversy, as Becky Lynch (pictured), scheduled to skirmish with Ronda Rousey, had to drop out in advance of the "fight".
19	Outlaw King	477,326	Netflix has recently leveraged its vast subscription numbers into more big budget fare, supplying budgets which rival those of the Big Six and crafted grandiose, large-scale epics to rival those of HBO and the cinema screen. Their latest swing at a blockbuster concerns Robert the Bruce (#3), portrayed by Chris Pine, whose struggle for Scottish independence is captured in all its cinematic glory.
20	Paradise, California	437,259	The latest serious casualty of the hoax perpetrated by the Chinese is the ironically named city in California which was left in desolation and dilapidation by the raging wildfires (#22). The city, not named Pleasure, was home to many stars of the silver screen, but they were forced to evacuate their homes amidst the inferno.
21	Pete Davidson	422,528	Davidson has become an omnipresent BLP in the report throughout the year, primarily due to the rapid development (and rapider demise) of his relationship with pop starlet Ariana Grande. In the wake of the collapse of their engagement, the SNL staple did little to take the focus off of himself as he instigated a controversy by insulting Republican Representative-elect Dan Crenshaw over his eyepatch. In fairness to the comedian, he shared the olive branch with the veteran in a funny, poignant interview, where his father's status as a hero was brought up.
22	2018 California wildfires	415,464	Global warming is not a real concern, until the most populous state of the Union spontaneously combusts, killing 77 in the most destructive wildfire in the history of California, and the deadliest in a century. The fire is not entirely contained, and remains a serious threat to the inhabitants of the state, which now resembles 1666 London.
23	Statue of Unity	414,779	The world's tallest statue, and a highly impressive architectural marvel, the Statue of Unity, depicting Vallabhbhai Patel, was opened at the end of October by Narendra Modi, and has engrossed Wikipedians ever since, ensuring that the article views have remained consistently high, earning the monolithic figure a place in the report once again.
24	Donald Trump	405,041	No jokes here, given that my personal views would infringe policy, and the relentless barrage of presidential news has eroded my interest. Nonetheless, it has not been a particularly good month for the controversial Commander-in-Chief, who saw his party lose control of Capitol Hill, even if the anticipated tsunami never arrived. More recently, he fumbled the effort to make a powerful statement regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, saw one of his most vocal supporters attempt to frame the man who is investigating him, and saw his favourite daughter implicated in a familiar sounding controversy.
25	Roy Clark	400,366	This week's iteration of the report began with the death of a comics icon, and ended with the death of a country star. Clark recorded many hits throughout his length career, captivating audiences with hits like Yesterday, When I was Young, and strumming his banjo in states all over the world for nearly seven decades.

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.

Exo continues its march towards a permanent position on the exclusions list, and malevolent and malicious efforts to manipulate page views will also likely see the K-Pop superstars excluded from the Annual Report.