Avengers: Endgame ― A lack of diversity taints the MCU’s epic culmination

Avengers: Endgame may be an epic culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it suffers when it comes to diversity. Spoilers lie ahead.

When watching Avengers: Endgame, the viewer runs through a gauntlet of emotions. The MCU’s epic culmination makes you laugh, cry, gasp and shout with glee, with other various other feelings sprinkled in, too. But looking past the surface, Endgame causes another reaction, one that’s not caused by the heroes’ heartbreaking despair or their joyful triumph.

Perhaps more than any other of its predecessors, the lack of diversity in this film makes it difficult to fully enjoy what’s happening on screen. In some ways, Endgame casts aside the progress the MCU had been making. It was beginning to focus on diverse characters but, here, the movie allows the same heroes who dominated the first ten years of the franchise to hog the spotlight again..

Now to be fair, it’s a brilliant send-off for these characters, especially Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. But concluding their story and giving newer characters a chance aren’t mutually exclusive. The film could have effectively accomplished both goals. Instead, Stark, Rogers and other characters get all the attention, and that’s problematic in a variety of ways.

The MCU’s architect, Kevin Feige, has publicly stated the franchise will continually become more progressive. Corey Chichizola of CinemaBlend quotes Feige, who stated:

"“When you have diverse voices, you get better stories and you get more exciting stories, you get more surprising stories. And that is something that is very clear.”"

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If it’s so clear, why is that mindset painfully absent, if not dismissed entirely in Endgame?

The movie largely focuses on the same voices many of the first 21 films centered around: Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Hawkeye, and so on. Or, in plainer terms, white men.

Brie Larson, Captain Marvel herself, recently criticized the MCU’s lack of diversity. L.D. Nolan of CBR quotes Larson’s interview with Variety‘s Big Ticket podcast:

"“I don’t understand how you could think that a certain type of person isn’t allowed to be a superhero. So, to me, it’s like, we gotta move faster.'”"

The MCU had been moving faster, at least comparatively, but Endgame significantly slows that progress. Two scenes make this reversal abundantly clear. First, when Natasha Romanoff sacrifices herself so the heroes can get the soul stone, the MCU loses one of its few established female stars. The scene kills a woman character so a member of the MCU’s plethora of white male heroes can live.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..L to R: Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019

There are valid counterarguments as to why Black Widow, not Hawkeye, is the right choice to die. Brandon Zachary of CBR outlines how Natasha’s actions complete her story; they show that she’s finally a genuine hero rather than the trained assassin she used to be. The film’s screenwriters similarly explained that Natasha’s arc had come to a natural conclusion. These are fair points. In a vacuum, it’s a fitting death for a character who’s been one of the MCU’s mainstays. But still, it’s hard to look past the MCU’s consistent prioritization of white male heroes over everyone else.

Likewise, the lack of diversity ruins another powerful scene. Near the climax of the film, just before the war with Thanos’ forces, the Avengers’ trinity (Thor, Cap and Iron Man) fights Thanos. One one hand, this battle is magnificent. In one of the movie’s most pleasing moments, Captain America wields Mjolnir and, for a minute, it seems like the three heroes will defeat the Mad Titan by themselves. But looking a little deeper, there’s something troubling about this scene, too.

Here, the spotlight is exclusively on Cap, Iron Man and Thor. As viewers have seen many times in the MCU, these three white men are about to save the day. Thankfully, they don’t; it takes the entire assembly of the Avengers and their allies to win the war. But none of the other heroes get the chance to have the stage to themselves like this. You don’t see Black Panther or any of the women characters nearly beating Thanos all by themselves in Endgame, and the movie suffers for it. To return to Feige’s quote, this story would have been better, more surprising and exciting if these heroes received some of the attention Cap, Tony and Thor did.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..L to R: Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), War Machine/James Rhodey (Don Cheadle), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019

Viewers can, and should, hope that the MCU’s future will be more inclusive. The diversification of the franchise is arguably crucial to its success. Based on his comments, it seems like Feige knows that. The announced movies on the way, like sequels to Black Panther and (probably) Captain Marvel and new projects like Shang-Chi make this shift clear.

Plus, Endgame does set the stage for more diversity. Sam Wilson gets Cap’s shield, so he’ll likely follow in Steve’s footsteps. Though Bucky Barnes would have been a good choice for the next Captain America, Sam is the best one. Plus, during the climactic battle with Thanos, the female heroes of the MCU briefly take the stage, a nod to the rumored A-Force film. At the very least, these moments shows that the MCU knows it needs to diversify, and it will likely do so.

Endgame is wonderful. It is practically the best conclusion to this version of the MCU that fans could have dreamed of. The movie should be celebrated, and fans should continue to marvel at the film’s many successes. But it’s most glaring failure, the lack of diversity, should be addressed, as well.