“Ms Marvel”
The Marvel Universe is becoming diverse
Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel and Lauren Ridloff as Makkari in Eternals.
© Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel Studios / Marvel Studios 2022
The Marvel films and series have increasingly taken up the cause of diversity in recent years. An overview.
Something is shifting in the Marvel Universe when it comes to diversity and diversity. The most successful film series of all time in terms of box office results is now also being continued with superhero series on the Disney+ streaming service, which was launched in 2019. Among other things, the production “Ironheart” has been announced for the coming year. It will be about a young developer who builds her own Iron Man suit.
As reported by the US industry magazine Deadlinethe series became just the first non-binary person to be cast in a major role in a Marvel series, Zoe Terakes (22).
The Marvel Universe was a white male club just a few years ago
It wasn’t that long ago that Marvel Studios comic book movies were populated by white male characters clearly coded straight. At the beginning of the film franchise, well-known superheroes like Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr., 57), Thor (Chris Hemsworth, 39) or Captain America (Chris Evans, 41) got their own solo films.
Black characters such as the “Iron Man” sidekick War Machine embodied by Don Cheadle (57) or Captain America’s best friend Falcon (Anthony Mackie, 43) “were allowed” to give the Robin to a much more important Batman character, for a comparison from another comic universe. A film with a heroine at the center of the plot was also a long time coming.
“Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel” caused change
A noticeable change of course took place in the film universe for which super producer Kevin Feige (49) is responsible in 2018. With “Black Panther” a black comic character received a solo film for the first time. The work, set in the fictional African country of Wakanda, grossed over $1.3 billion at the box office – and also secured the Marvel Universe’s only three Oscar wins to date.
Almost exactly one year later, “Captain Marvel” was finally released, the first big movie with a heroine in the center. The superhero adventure starring Brie Larson (32) played like “Black Panther” at the global box office over a billion US dollars.
In its third decade, Marvel embraces diversity
This trend towards more diversity has been gaining momentum in recent years. In 2021, for example, Marvel Studios, part of the Disney Group, released the martial arts action “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, a work with a primarily Asian cast. In addition to the main actor Simu Liu (33), the comedian and musician Awkwafina (34) and acting veteran Michelle Yeoh (60) also work in front of the camera. The plot of the 25th Marvel feature film is also inspired by Chinese folk tales.
In the superhero team film “Eternals” by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (40), which was released a short time later, an ensemble of heroes and heroines of different ethnic origins is the focus of the millennial storyline. Lauren Ridloff (44) was also the first deaf actress to be part of a Marvel film. The character Makkari, played by Ridloff, is also deaf within the world of the film.
“Eternals” also introduces LGBTQ hero Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry, 40), who is married to a man and also visibly kisses his partner in the film. Another innovation in the film series that has been running since 2008.
“Ms. Marvel”, “Echo” and “Ironheart”: Marvel shines in all colors of the rainbow
This inclusive trend continues in the Marvel series on the Disney+ streaming service. In the miniseries “Hawkeye” from 2021, the indigenous actress Alaqua Cox (25) appeared, a second deaf actress after “Eternals” star Lauren Ridloff. The character Echo, played by Cox, will be getting her own spin-off series of the same name on Disney+ next year.
With “Ms. Marvel”, a show started just a few months ago in which the first Muslim superhero made the leap from the pages of Marvel Comics to the Disney + screens. The New Jersey-based character Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani, 19) visits the homeland of her immigrant parents in the series with Pakistan – and even undertakes a journey back in time to 1947, during which the traumatic division of India is discussed.
It almost seems like a side note that the longtime Marvel antihero Loki (Tom Hiddleston, 41) has also described himself as bisexual in his own series on Disney +, and the Falcon mentioned at the beginning in 2024 with “Captain America: New World Order” gets his own solo film. The black actor Anthony Mackie becomes the new Captain America – and thus probably the most American and most patriotic of all superheroes from the Marvel comics.