The Diversity Test: Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (2013)

The Avengers ended Marvel's Phase 1 with a bang, ending an era in the franchise and in movies in general.  A year later, it was time for the next step, beginning with the character who started it all.  After the rousing success of the Avengers team up, could going back to movies focusing on single characters work?  Would the follow ups feel like let downs?  Iron Man 3 was the first to let us know.

Main Characters

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr)

He's back and suffering PTSD from New York.  A new terrorist threat doesn't help things, but apparently SHIELD is busy with something else, so it's up to Tony to face his demons and take down the Mandarin.

Virginia "Pepper" Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)

Things are rocky between Pepper and Tony post-New York.  Comes with the territory, I'd imagine.  Anyway, Pepper gets to wear the suit in this one!  And then becomes a superhero in her own right.  You'd think she'd help out against Ultron, but she gives it up.  You'd think having a... I don't know substance?  In any case, it heals most injury and if it's stable, you're not really at risk to blow up.  But superpowers aren't really Pepper's thing.  Also, her name's Virginia?  Has that ever been mentioned on screen?  Did O'Reilly bring up her given name?  Looks like I'll have to rewatch.

Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes a.k.a. War Machine a.k.a. Iron Patriot (Don Cheadle)

Rhodey's armor is quite patriotic this time around, but like Iron Man 2, he doesn't get to do anything all that cool with it.  He gets to bust up a few small time crises throughout the world, but then loses the suit and only gets it back to rescue the President of the United States, which sounds cool but just means he misses the big climax.  Hopefully his role in Age of Ultron is bigger than the trailers have thus far suggested.

Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce)

A fellow genius and entrepreneur whom Tony shunned years ago is back and all suave and successful.  Kind of like Tony.  Except evil.  Kind of like Tony before the shrapnel.

Supporting Characters

The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kinsley)

You'll neverrrr see himmmm coming.  The twist that everyone seemed to love or hate.  Probably based on whether you were a fan of Iron Man comics or not.  And I'm not, so file me under "love".  One of the few things I really did about this movie.

Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall)

An old colleague and liason of Tony's, key to the development of Extremis.  Not as much of a factor in the plot as you might have thought she would be.

Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins)

A lonely, outcast kid who befriends Tony at just the right time in his life while still suffering some of the billionaire's trademark snark.  Big into potato guns.

Harold "Happy" Hogan (Jon Favreau)

Tony's old stand by driver gets a little too interested in exploding soldierrs this time around.

Savin (James Badge Dale)

An EXTREMIS soldier and Killian's top enforcer.

President Ellis (William Sadler)

The President of the United States who is apparently completely cool with the Iron Patriot giving him the silent treatment.  

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

Tony's A.I., now with the capability of controlling dozens of Iron Man suits at once.

Minor Characters

Brandt (Stephanie Szostak)

Another Extremis soldier who tracks Tony down to his small town hideout.

Vice President Rodriguez (Miguel Ferrer)

The Vice President of the United States who has his own personal interest in the Extremis program.

Miscellaneous

• Xueqi Wang plays Dr. Wu, introduced at the beginning of the film and later seen removing the shrapnel from Tony's chest.  In the version of the film released China, he has an expanded role as do a number of other Chinese cast members.  In the middle of the film, Wu calls JARVIS, offering China's help with his current crisis against the Mandarin.
• Shaun Toub reprises his role of Yinsen in the flashback at the beginning of the film, a meeting he referenced in the first Iron Man.
• Dale Dickey has a minor role as Mrs. Davis, the mother of an Extremis soldier who died when his instability caused him to explode.  

Scores

The four main characters I chose to give us a score of 50.

Overall

White men (cast): 7 (2 main, 5 supporting)

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

POC

Men: 3 (1 main, 1 supporting, 1 minor)

Women: 0

Women DS: 23

Diversity Score: 46 (54)

The Iron Man films have consistently led the way with diversity in the Marvel films, and its third entry is no different.  Its most glaring flaw, the flaw of every Marvel film to this point, has been its lack of women of color in memorable roles of any kind.  In the Marvel universe, seven films in and they've almost exclusively been relegated to the background.

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)

Iron Man 3: Main, 50; Women, 23; Total, 45 (54)

Next: The universe gets bigger in Thor: The Dark World