There’s been a lot of discussion about the gender wage gap lately (mostly as it pertains to millionaires), as Hollywood has had the curtain pulled back on its bean counters to reveal what stars are making these days. It’s been established that Robert Downey Jr. is making more money than God—a demigod, anyway—outpacing Hollywood’s highest paid actress, Jennifer Lawrence, by about $30 million. So when the salaries for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were recently shared, we were surprised to learn that Scarlett Johansson was the second-highest paid actor on set. Call it hazard pay for hitting on The Hulk, or for filming stunts while pregnant.


The good nerds at Comic Book Movies recently caught wind of the cast’s earnings and republished the info, which shows that Johansson was paid $20 million for reprising her role as Black Widow. Although that’s only half of what Downey Jr. made, it’s almost as much what the other four Avengers made combined. Chris Evans was reportedly paid $6.9 million; Jeremy Renner got $6.1 million (because Hawkeye’s got a lot of mouths to feed); Chris Hemsworth’s wading-pool visions were worth $5.4 million; and Mark Ruffalo made just $2.8 million.

These numbers don’t account for any back-end deals made after the movie’s release, though we don’t think Renner’s likely to clean up during the holidays on the sales of Hawkeye figures. But Johansson’s relatively impressive paycheck is worth noting, especially as we consider the fact that Lawrence’s Oscar-nominated role in American Hustle netted her less than Renner made. (We’ll stop mentioning Jeremy Renner now, since he wants to be left out of this particular discussion).


Of course, Johansson and Black Widow have still been left out in the cold in the merchandising and standalone film departments. But Johansson has established Black Widow as one of the most engaging characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it’s encouraging to see her getting some of her due.

[h/t The Mary Sue]