The Minority Report! Diversity In The MU.

[mace11]

Marvel's Ironheart Set to Debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Dominique Thorne will debut as Riri Williams, AKA Ironheart, in next year's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ahead of her solo Disney+ series.

https://www.cbr.com/marvel-ironheart...kanda-forever/


Black Panther 2 Could Make Riri & Shuri the MCU's Science Sisters
With Riri Williams/Ironheart making her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it could be the perfect place to establish a new science duo.

https://www.cbr.com/black-panther-2-...art-shuri-mcu/

[CosmiComic]

So, will she incorporate Wakandan resources and technology into her first suit?

[dkrook]

All the news coming from Marvel, and yet we still have yet to hear anything about the next young black male heroes who are debuting.

[skyvolt2000]

All the news coming from Marvel, and yet we still have yet to hear anything about the next young black male heroes who are debuting.

And you're NOT because nobody cares about young black males since we got Miles. Who is suppose to be every black male's role model. They get ONE and everyone else gets as many as they want.

[CosmiComic]

Are you talking about the comics or the movies?

[davetvs]

And you're NOT because nobody cares about young black males since we got Miles. Who is suppose to be every black male's role model. They get ONE and everyone else gets as many as they want.

They're literally setting up Young Avengers including Patriot. What are you on about? It's odd to see these kinds of comments in response to black female characters as if it's an us vs. them thing.

[CosmiComic]

Yeah, every time there's a Black female character, this kind of comment always comes up. Last time i checked, it was White characters keeping Black characters out.

[Agent Z]

We also have a James Rhodes show coming out. We recently had a Black Lightning t.v. series and most black-led superhero movies and shows star men.

Yes, black male characters often get the short end of the stick but not because of black women.

[dkrook]

We also have a James Rhodes show coming out. We recently had a Black Lightning t.v. series and most black-led superhero movies and shows star men.

Yes, black male characters often get the short end of the stick but not because of black women.

I don't think there's any kind of issue with black women getting shine at all, and I believe a previous post misconstrued things somewhat. Black Panther a long standing preeminent black male hero that isn't a sidekick is quite possibly being replaced by a female. Patriot is nothing but dreams and speculation at this point. Black is coming back pushing a majority female cast, not to mention Spectrum, and Riri Williams now confirmed. Ms. Marvel is being done. So the true tally is aging sidekick (Rhodes) and Captain America! So yeah there is a serious problem with fresh black male heroes who are going to lead in Marvel's upcoming efforts. Folks can drop all the attempts to gaslight when there's a question of black male heroes. There's plenty for us all...no such thing as either, or solutions.

[CosmiComic]

I don't think there's any kind of issue with black women getting shine at all, and I believe a previous post misconstrued things somewhat. Black Panther a long standing preeminent black male hero that isn't a sidekick is quite possibly being replaced by a female. Patriot is nothing but dreams and speculation at this point. Black is coming back pushing a majority female cast, not to mention Spectrum, and Riri Williams now confirmed. Ms. Marvel is being done. So the true tally is aging sidekick (Rhodes) and Captain America! So yeah there is a serious problem with fresh black male heroes who are going to lead in Marvel's upcoming efforts. Folks can drop all the attempts to gaslight when there's a question of black male heroes. There's plenty for us all...no such thing as either, or solutions.

Yeah, but Black female characters have barely had anything in the MCU. That's still just 3 Black female heroes so far (Black Panther, Spectrum/Photon and Ironheart). Black male heroes outnumber them still. Plus, T'Challa was briefly succeeded by a female hero, so blame the source material for that. Preemptively complaining about this now as an attack on men just seems counterproductive. I can't imagine any Black female Marvel fan feeling great about hearing "But what about the men?" You say there's plenty for all, yet these complaints seem to say the opposite.

I think the complaints should just be levelled at Marvel as a whole. For instance, Black Widow brought in a bunch of very minor White heroes like Yelena Belova and Red Guardian for future appearances, but FaWS killed off Battlestar, who, while minor, is still more prominent than those other heroes. Or how about the issues with sony and Disney that could be limiting Miles Morales from showing up, and Peter Parker taking some of his story concepts? Those are definitely worth criticizing. But not Ironheart appearing in BP:WF, IMO.

And we don't know if Patriot is never coming back. I doubt they'd introduce him for just a cameo. It would be nice to be more sure, though

[davetvs]

Yeah, but Black female characters have barely had anything in the MCU. That's still just 3 Black female heroes so far (Black Panther, Spectrum/Photon and Ironheart). Black male heroes outnumber them still. Plus, T'Challa was briefly succeeded by a female hero, so blame the source material for that. Preemptively complaining about this now as an attack on men just seems counterproductive. I can't imagine any Black female Marvel fan feeling great about hearing "But what about the men?" You say there's plenty for all, yet these complaints seem to say the opposite.

I think the complaints should just be levelled at Marvel as a whole. For instance, Black Widow brought in a bunch of very minor White heroes like Yelena Belova and Red Guardian for future appearances, but FaWS killed off Battlestar, who, while minor, is still more prominent than those other heroes. Or how about the issues with sony and Disney that could be limiting Miles Morales from showing up, and Peter Parker taking some of his story concepts? Those are definitely worth criticizing. But not Ironheart appearing in BP:WF, IMO.

And we don't know if Patriot is never coming back. I doubt they'd introduce him for just a cameo. It would be nice to be more sure, though

Totally agree. Not to mention, Captain America and Iron Man have been the MCU's flagship heroes (+ Thor), and going forward we're getting black versions of them both. It's not enough, and the MCU could do better with representation full stop (look how long it took to get Captain Marvel or Shang-Chi...still can't name any major Latin@ heroes either) but us vs. themming black male vs. black female representation gets us nowhere. If it's true that Shuri's taking over for T'Challa, that's literally because Chadwick unfortunately passed away, not because there was an agenda to replace black men with black women. Like Issa Rae said, "I'm rooting for everybody black." Not just the black people who mirror my own identity the most closely.

[CosmiComic]

Totally agree. Not to mention, Captain America and Iron Man have been the MCU's flagship heroes (+ Thor), and going forward we're getting black versions of them both. It's not enough, and the MCU could do better with representation full stop (look how long it took to get Captain Marvel or Shang-Chi...still can't name any major Latin@ heroes either) but us vs. themming black male vs. black female representation gets us nowhere. If it's true that Shuri's taking over for T'Challa, that's literally because Chadwick unfortunately passed away, not because there was an agenda to replace black men with black women. Like Issa Rae said, "I'm rooting for everybody black." Not just the black people who mirror my own identity the most closely.

Exactly. Anyone who isn't a White male hero has been marginalized. We're only now getting a lot of female led efforts, as well as Asian (Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel) superheroes. Black superheroes as a whole have the most so far and they still lag behind and need more support. Native American superheroes are non-existent so far until Echo arrives. The other shows, like from Netflix and Hulu, did have considerable diversity, but how canon they are is questionable. As for Latinos, they can be White, Black and/or other ethnicities, but the MCU could use more non-White Latino superheroes. Ms. America is in MoM, so that's one.

And because they're not recasting (which I would've liked, but Marvel made this choice instead), who else was going to replace T'Challa? Should that only be restricted to male characters?

Ultimately, I don't see Black female superheroes as the enemy of Black male ones. We need more of both. But this shouldn't devolve into minority vs minority, when the majority already has too big of a share

[mace11]

This came 2 years ago and before phase 3 ended.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is 61% White, But Does That Matter

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is densely populated. The blockbuster Hollywood franchise now spans 20 movies that tie together into one overarching narrative, all leading up to next May’s Avengers 4. But each of these films also has its own self-contained story with an intricate web of allies and enemies, and it can get hard to keep track of them all.

However, as the industry grows increasingly abuzz with greater demand for diversity and inclusion, it’s maybe wise to ask just how diverse this franchise is. Moviegoers across the nation and the world flood Marvel screenings yearly. But do the actors on screen match the sheer diversity of those watching? Let's find out.

Firstly, a few words on methodology. To do this, we'll be adding up all the MCU actors (movies only) who have played roles of narrative significance in the MCU. The total set of those actors comes to 193 people. On top of this we'll also separate from within that group all the actors playing major brand tentpole characters, such as Iron Man, Red Skull, and Christine Palmer. The ethnic/racial categories here are partly informed by the U.S. Census' categories, and partly by industry categorizations when discussing diversity. Lastly, we'll be considering the racial/ethnic background of the actors and not the characters they play.

Actors of white or Caucasian descent are the majority at 61% of the entire group. This means that more than three out of every five significant actors are white. When we consider just the Major Characters that number spikes to 69%, as a whopping 56 of the 81 major actors fit in this category. Many of the franchise’s most important characters are white, including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man (Iron Man), Chris Evans’ Captain America (Captain America: The First Avenger), Chris Hemsworth’s Thor (Thor), and many others.

The complete demographic distribution of actors playing Significant Characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. ANHAR KARIM

Our next statistic shows that just 20% of the MCU's actors belong to the African American/Black category. While there were 117 actors in the former category, there are only 39 in this one, meaning that there are exactly three times as many white actors than black actors. When we turn to look at only the franchise’s Major Characters, the statistic actually drops to 19%, representing only 15 people. Incidentally, a large portion of the actors in this group, 41% of them, belong to the world of Black Panther. If we were to remove all those individuals, this would drop the overall MCU representation of African American/Black actors down to 11%.

The next biggest category, at 8% overall, is the “Multiracial” subgroup. That is, actors who could not meaningfully be placed in any one category. Eight actors in this group play Major Characters in the franchise, giving us an 11% cut of the total pool of major players in the series. This overall category includes Vin Diesel’s Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy), Zendaya’s Michelle/MJ (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Taika Waititi’s Korg (Thor: Ragnarok).

Moving on, East Asians represent only 5% of the universe. There is only one major character in this subgroup, that being Benedict Wong’s Wong (Doctor Strange). Others include Randall Park's Jimmy Woo (Ant-Man & The Wasp), Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Claudia Kim’s Dr. Helen Cho (Avengers: Age of Ultron). The next category to consider is the Spanish/Hispanic/Latino subgroup. Actors belonging in this category come in at just 4% of the entire group. This means that for every 25 actors one may meet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only one would belong to this category. In this group are Benicio Del Toro’s The Collector (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Maximiliano Hernández’s Jasper Sitwell (Thor). A surprising finding here is that there is not a single Major Character represented within this subgroup. In fact, the Major Character share remains at 0% for the next four categories.
Next we come to South Asian representation. The sole actors here are Faran Tahir as Raza (Iron Man), Bernard White as Councilman Nagendra Singh (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Divian Ladwa’s Uzman (Ant-Man & The Wasp). In each of these cases the actor played a very small role.


The distribution of actors playing Major Characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. ANHAR KARIM

The Middle East/Arab category goes even lower. Just two actors of Arab descent appear in this franchise. These are Shaun Toub as Ho Yinsen and Sayed Badreya as Abu Bakaar, both from the film Iron Man. However, it is important to note that Ho Yinsen, while not a Major Character, is nonetheless very important as he inspired Tony's turn toward heroism. This is an example of a nuanced depiction of an Arab in a climate bereft of it. That being said, a lot of this positive work is undone by the otherwise stereotypical depiction of Arab violence. Additionally, Yinsen’s only significant Arab counterpart is Sayed Badreya’s generic Arab terrorist (a role that was hard on Badreya).

Upon arriving at the last two categories, we find ourselves empty-handed. Not a single Significant or Major actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be identified with the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or Native American/Alaskan Native categories. Small universe, isn’t it?
So is the Marvel Cinematic Universe diverse enough to represent its viewers? The answer is nuanced. Again, the overall representation of significant actors who are white was at 61%. While this is very much the majority, the U.S. Census estimates the representation of whites in the United States to be 60.7%.

In this regard, the MCU’s depiction of white representation is more or less spot on. Continuing on with this Census report, the Black/African American category is put at 13.4% which, compared to the MCU’s 20%, would mean that Marvel is actually over representing this subgroup.

The MCU also over-represents those of a multiracial background at 11% while the true number is only 2.7%. The Census does not separate between East and South Asian, however, if we combine both categories in this study we get a total Asian representation of 6%, very close to the Census’ 5.8%. Then, while the MCU gives us nothing for both the Native American/Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander categories, the Census estimates them to be at 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

However, one statistic is shamefully off. the MCU’s representation of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino actors stands at only 4%. Meanwhile, the Census tells us that this subgroup actually accounts for 18.1% of the population. It is astounding that when Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and when Spanish speakers play a crucially important role in the nation’s culture and history, that the MCU has so drastically ignored this subgroup. The popular YouTube series Honest Trailers even parodied the absurdity of this by naming Michael Peña’s Luis (Ant-Man) the “only Latino in the MCU.”

But should the goal of the MCU really be just to reflect the diversity of American audiences? These films are global cash machines with devout fans in every corner of the globe. Additionally, the Marvel heroes themselves have, over twenty movies, caused trouble in Germany, Russia, India, Afghanistan, China, Mexico, and many more places. Now, there is really no reliable source of global racial/ethnic distribution data, however, it’s a safe bet that the world’s share of Caucasian/White individuals is far lower than 61% and that its share of African/Black and Asian individuals is much higher. In this regard, then, perhaps the MCU does have some work to do.

These statistics cannot change the fact that these stories are loved by fans the world over. And they shouldn't. The call for diversity doesn't stem from a hatred of the genre. It stems from a love of these stories, and a desire to connect closer with them. Superhero movies, done right, inspire a zeal to be heroes ourselves, to stand up against odds we know should defeat us, and to fight against them anyway. We are supposed to see our better selves in these vigilantes, people we could become. And seeing that dream, and being inspired to act on it, is so much easier when the character on screen looks back at us like a reflection in the mirror.

Marvel Studios knows this, and they’ve made positive steps forward by greenlighting Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow’s upcoming solo film, and even hinting that Kamala Khan may get in on the fun too. The executives in charge have acknowledged the need for more diversity, and all signs show that they are tackling it. But when millions of people are watching these movies and learning from them what heroes are supposed to look like, I’d give them a push to move just a little bit faster.

For more thoughts on superheroes and the entertainment industry, check out the rest of my articles, follow me on Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anharka...h=3b10d3ab4482

The above left out the inhumans show that had great diversity as well and it had native hawaiians in the cast as well but not in the main cast.

[mace11]

List of black female superheroes/heroes etc...in mcu so far(canon and non canon) that had/have major roles.

Shuri
Ironheart
Makkari
Valkyrie
Monica Rambeau
Maria "Photon" Rambeau
Hunter B-15
Misty Knight
Claire Temple
Nightshade
June Carryl as Louise Hastings/helstrom
Okoye
Nakia
Note-the wakanda mcu show is coming out as well.
In fact two more are suppose to come out.
M.J.



June Carryl as Louise Hastings/helstrom.
The Helstrom show i still have not seen most of the episodes so i am not too sure if she was hero,anti-hero etc.. but she had major role in that show.


Latino heroes/superheros in the canon mcu.
Ms. america is coming in doctor strange 2.
Luis is a hero in the ant man films.
Nova(sam)is coming to the mcu.
Ajak is in eternals.
Moon knight.

There are asian heroes/superheroes in the canon mcu past,now and upcoming movies like shang-chi,eternals,some of the shows like ms.marvel,hawkeye,wandavison etc..


There are other latino and asian heroes/superheroes in the non canon mcu shows.

[CosmiComic]

Hunter B-15, Okoye, MJ and Nakia aren't superheroes and the ones from those shows have uncertain canonicity.

Luis isn't a superhero either. He's just a guy.