The Diversity Test: The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)

We come to it at last!  The movie event begun in that little extra scene at the end of Iron Man in 2008, that slowly scaled up with a second (not all that memorable) shot at the Hulk later that year, the mysterious Black Widow in 2010, and movies bringing us Thor and Captain America (along with a Hawkeye cameo) in 2011, reached its climax in 2012.  And perhaps most surprisingly, it blew us all away.  There had never been anything quite like it.  Certainly we'd had major film franchises with giant payoffs by the end (see: Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter), but this was something unique.  Various tentpoles from disparate stories converging into the biggest of them all, representative of the Avengers themselves.  As a result, plenty of familiar faces, but new as well.

Main Characters

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.)

He is Iron Man and he is snarky as ever.  And now his suit can fly around him him and assemble as he's falling through the air.  Upgrades.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth)

Loki has come to Earth, the planet he loves!  Somehow he returns even though the Rainbow Bridge was destroyed in Thor, he's able to travel across the cosmos.  Yay for plot convenience!

Tallies

WHM? No

WG? Yes

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans)

Cap's still adjusting to the modern world, but a military setting and a mission to save the world are familiar territory for him.

Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo)

A new face for Bruce Banner and the best yet, if you ask me.  Ruffalo can play the Hulk until he dies.  Always angry.

Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)

SHIELD's top assassin is back, ready to get into your head just as easily as she kicks your ass.

Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner)

Welcome to the club, Hawkeye.  Sorry you're mind controlled for half of the movie.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

The man who gets the lost souls together.  Because he is very desperate.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

The most memorable villain of the first five movies (sorry, Hugo) returns with plans of conquest and rule.  Thor still believes in him, though.

Tallies

WHM? No

WG? Yes

Supporting Characters

Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)

Top SHIELD agent and Fury's right hand on the Helicarrier.  Good with a gun AND half ton vehicle.

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)

Fury's other top agent finally gets a first name!  Which means he's doomed.  By the way, apparently SHIELD agents are really in to crossing their arms.

Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård)

Erik's back and working for SHIELD!  And then Loki.  Mind control can be so annoying.

Minor Characters

Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)

Pepper is relegated to minor character this time around.  In, like, 12% of the movie.

The Other (Alexis Denisof)

Okay, maybe counting The Other as a white male means my system is flawed.  Anyway, even knowing this is Alexis Denisof, I still don't see it or hear it.  Possibly in part because I don't really know what his real voice even sounds like.  

Tallies

WHM? No

WG? Yes

J.A.R.V.I.S. (Paul Bettany)

Tony's trusty A.I. can now send Tony's suit flying through the air after him.

Tallies

WHM? No

WG? Yes

The World Security Council (Powers Boothe, Jenny Agutter, Arthur Darbinyan, Donald Li)

Everybody has a boss and it looks like these four are Fury's.  I don't even think they all get lines, but I think they should still get a credit for representing people from around the world.  Only one white guy amongst the four (I think. Though he gets the most lines), giving us a healthy 75 DS.  I don't think I'll count them in the overall score, but I thought it should be noted.

Miscellaneous

• Again, SHIELD shows to be pretty diverse both when it comes to race and gender.  I'd still say there's a white male majority, but people of all appearances can be seen on the Helicarrier.
• Jane Foster doesn't appear in the movie, but does get a picture cameo when Thor and Coulson discuss her.
• A borderline minor character goes to the waitress played by Ashley Johnson, the focus of a group of New Yorkers saved by Captain America, later interviewed after the Battle of New York.

Scores

A healthy eight main cast this time around, two of which aren't white men, four characters of which aren't white human men. Diversity Score: 25 for cast, 50 for characters

White men (cast): 10 (6 main, 2 supporting, 2 minor)

White women: 3 (1 main, 1 supporting, 1 minor)
White men (characters): 6 (4 main, 2 supporting)
Non-WHMs portrayed by white guys: 4 (Thor, Loki, The Other, J.A.R.V.I.S.)

POC

Men: 1 (1 main)

Women: 0

Women DS: 21

Diversity Score (cast): Main, 25; Total, 29
Diversity Score (characters): Main, 50; Total, 57

Huh.  Not great.  Just for comparison's sake, adding the four minor characters from the security council should improve things dramatically.  The counts increase to 11 white men, 4 white women, and 3 non-white men, giving a DS of 39.  That's a ten point increase, though still the lowest outside of WWII era Captain America.  Even adding our unnamed waitress only puts things at 42.  It shouldn't be a shock, though, seeing as the four leads of the five movies leading into this one were all white men.  Phase 3 will shake things up, but it's still heavily stacked.

Tabulation

Iron Man: Main, 50; Women, 19; Total, 55 (64)

The Incredible Hulk: Main, 25; Women, 33; Total, 56

Iron Man 2: Main, 60; Women, 21; Total, 36 (43)

Thor: Main, 33 (100); Women, 27; Total, 47 (87)

Captain America: The First Avenger: Main, 25; Women, 7; Total, 21
The Avengers: Main, 25 (50); Women, 21; Total, 29 (57)