Hailing from the director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Destin Daniel Cretton, and 30 Rock/Community writer Andrew Guest, Wonder Man is the new 8-episode Disney+ comedy series that deconstructs Hollywood through the fictional lens of its MCU equivalent. Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a struggling actor with a penchant for frustrating method acting and a dangerous secret: he has superpowers in an industry that has banned them.
When his dream role in the remake of his childhood favorite superhero film, Wonder Man, becomes a possibility, Simon will go to any lengths to land the role. Unbeknownst to Williams, disgraced actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), notorious for fooling the world into believing he was the terrorist The Mandarin (as seen in Iron Man 3), has been instrumental in getting the auditions for both he and Simon, thanks to a deal he cut with the Department of Damage Control to keep himself out of prison in exchange for evidence of Simon’s powers. The two develop a hilarious and heartwarming “bromance” as they navigate the eccentric world of big-budget filmmaking, and their dreams and secrets grow closer to the forefront.
Wonder Man is a breath of fresh air and exactly the unique content that Marvel Television should continue to produce on the TV side. Keep the standard superhero action like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier or origin stories like Ms. Marvel for the big screen and focus on unexpected, unique takes in this universe. This series is a sly, hilarious, character-driven story with no super-villain battles or trope world-threatening lights in the sky. Wonder Man doesn’t even bother to mess around with explaining how Simon got his powers or their full extent – and it doesn’t need to. Cretton and Guest wisely know that the audience has become savvy enough to fill in the blanks, and it would be wasted exposition in an already limited episode length and run total.
Labelled a “Marvel Spotlight” series, it thrives on the merits of fantastic performances from Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley. There are supporting characters like Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s Damage Control agent P. Cleary (Arian Moayed) or Werner Herzog proxy, director Von Kovak (Superman‘s Zlatko Burić), but the show is firmly on Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley’s able shoulders.
As much as I love Abdul-Mateen II’s introduction as Simon Williams/Wonder Man to the MCU and can’t wait to see how this massively powerful individual affects the overall universe when the time comes, the best part of Wonder Man is Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery. Expanding on his return in Shang-Chi, but this time finding Slattery more in his element here in the world of film rather than magical arts. As Trevor charms everyone in Hollywood with his tales of old glory, so does he charm the audience. His buddy chemistry with Abdul-Mateen II is the crux of the series and is infinitely watchable, with Slattery becoming more fleshed out than ever. His full backstory leading up to the tragic Mandarin fiasco is finally revealed, establishing him as one of the most memorable supporting characters in all the MCU – how far we’ve come since the divisive reveal in Iron Man 3.
There are many great choices made in the presentation of Wonder Man, and the soundtrack is definitely up there, evoking a James Gunn quality to certain scenes in addition to each episode’s end credits. The series is also wickedly self-aware while also having something to say. A flashback episode explaining “The Doorman Clause”, which is the incident that triggered the ban on superheroes in Film and TV, has huge laughs, great cameos, and tragedy. And speaking of cameos, Joe Pantoliano has a few absolutely hilarious, scene-stealing appearances in this run of episodes.
Wonder no more: Wonder Man drops the normal superhero tropes and brings big heart, clever humor, and terrific buddy chemistry from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley without the need for much super-powered spectacle. If you enjoyed Apple TV’s The Studio, this expertly paced “Marvel Spotlight” will scratch that itch with a superhero twist.
Score: 4 out of 5
All episodes of Marvel Television’s Wonder Man debut on Disney+ on January 27.