The Age of Super (White) Men
Exploring diversity in DC and Marvel superhero films.
In 1978, Superman set the mold for modern superhero films. The number
of films released every year has exploded in the last two decades, but one
thing has notchanged: Our heroes are still white men.
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With the success of the Superman
trilogy, DC released Supergirl in 1984.
The film was not a success; the next
film starring a woman premiered
20 years later.
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Women have played the lead role
in just four films.
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Women have directed only two films.
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Wonder Woman, the first film directed by
and starring a woman, was the highest
grossing superhero film of 2017.
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Wonder Woman is the third-highest
grossing DC film.
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In 1998, Blade introduced the first non-
white hero. The Blade trilogy accounts
for three of the seven films featuring a
non-white lead.
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Actors of color have played the lead role
in seven films.
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Five men of color have directed six films.
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Black Panther, the first film directed by
and starring a person of color, was the
highest grossing film of 2018.
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Black Panther is the highest grossing
Marvel film and superhero film ever.
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The movies set for release in 2019 and 2020 promise to
be the most diverse in DC's and Marvel's histories.
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Five films are headlined by a woman, surpassing the
number of films in the prior four decades.
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Women are set to direct three films, more than in the
previous four decades.
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Two films have cast an actor of color
as the lead.
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Only one film is set to be directed
by a person of color. She will be
the first woman of color to
direct a superhero film.
Halle Berry
is the only woman of
color to headline a
superhero film.
No woman of color
has directed a
superhero film. That
will change in 2020.
Gray bars show the
average domestic gross
earnings of all other
superhero films in
that year.
With the commercial successes of Wonder
Woman and Black Panther, will DC and
Marvel continue to invest in diverse
stories and storytellers?
To be continued...
Created by Morgan Reeder
Source: IMDB.com