Created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, Wonder Man follows aspiring Hollywood actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who is struggling to get his career off the ground, especially when he has superpowers that would prevent him from being in any Hollywood production. During a chance meeting with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), an actor whose biggest roles may be well behind him, Simon learns legendary director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić) is remaking his childhood favorite superhero film “Wonder Man”. These two actors at opposite ends of their careers doggedly pursue life-changing roles in this film as audiences get a peek behind the curtain of the entertainment industry and into Simon’s own life.
Destin Daniel Cretton did such a fantastic job bringing one of Marvel’s lesser known heroes to life on the big screen with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and now he is back again to bring another lesser known hero to life from the pages of comics named Simon Williams, an actor turned super hero empowered by ionic energy that grants him immense strength as the magnificent Wonder Man. He is a fun character in comics but not one of my all-time favorites and not one you’d expect to see headline his own series, but it seems Destin Daniel Cretton alongside co-creator Andrew Guest had something special planned for the adaptation of this character that they promised would be unlike anything we have seen in the MCU before. Turns out their promise was right because Wonder Man ended up not only being unlike anything that’s been done before in the MCU but it also ended up being one of the best projects of the MCU ever made.
Wonder Man is a beautifully crafted character-driven story about a tortured man who finds friendship in the most unlikely of places and is struggling with his identity as he embarks on an ambitious journey to conquer Hollywood as an actor, instead of trying to become a superhero in a world that already has plenty of superheroes existing in it. It’s a thoroughly entertaining series that provides plenty of fun meta humor along with some sincere drama but it mostly ends up being a charming and heartfelt character study that is able to hook you in without the need of world ending stakes, spectacular action or major connections to main story of the MCU to keep you engaged in it. It’s truly one of a kind and given how extremely relatable it turned out to be for me, I feel it has cemented itself as one of my personal top favorite comic book shows ever.
The entire cast of this series was absolutely awesome as a whole with every cast member playing their parts in the series to perfection but the true beating heart of this series is the leading duo of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley as Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery. These two form the best friendship duo the MCU has ever had, having charm-filled chemistry together and a dynamic that you can’t help but feel so emotionally invested in throughout the entire series as they are connected by their love for cinema and acting. These two characters are written so beautifully as a pair but are also written beautifully as individuals that are dealing with their own personal struggles that they help each other out with.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II delivers masterful comedic energy and emotional vulnerability as Simon Williams, giving us one of the most relatable comic book characters ever adapted on screen and making him an instant MCU favorite that you can’t help but fall for and root for as he endures a very grounded journey. He is a human (or possibly a mutant) who views his acting abilities as his true gift and his superpowers as a curse that prevents him from being fully himself. He is deeply committed to the artistry of acting in a ruthless industry that provides numerous obstacles for him to go through, and he could squander his career at any point if his secret is revealed or he makes poor choices. He is a flawed individual who tends to lose sight of things that are more important and ends up overthinking about things in his job, to the point that he needs proper guidance and friendship to help achieve his goals.
His flaws stem from layers of trauma he’s endured that Yahya delivers in magnificent and intimate fashion, making for a truly compelling character you desire to see succeed. Simon isn’t a reluctant powered individual that eventually becomes a superhero, he’s just a guy trying his best to become a normal person and pursue his own dreams in a low-stakes story rather than embracing some calling as a superhero to save the world from an imminent threat. That being his said, his journey does lead him to an incredible payoff that results in him becoming a hero by the end of the season in a unique way that felt genuinely heartfelt and very rewarding.
Ben Kingsley reprises the role of Trevor Slattery after his surprise return in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings but rather than being a comedic sidekick to Simon Williams he ends up being one of the best supporting characters of the series that is just as intimately explored as Simon and masterfully performed by Kingsley as he finally gets utilized properly in the MCU. Ever since the frustrating twist in Iron Man 3 where Kingsley played a false version of the Mandarin, I always considered the role of Trevor to be a massive waste of Ben Kingsley’s talents as an actor, but Destin Daniel Cretton was able to redeem him within two projects in the Multiverse Saga of the MCU with his role in this series being the best depiction of the character by far.
Yes, he’s still very humorous and dimwitted at times in this series, but he is way more developed and humanized, going from comic relief character to a fleshed-out character who seeks ownership for his past behavior. He is struggling between maintaining a genuine friendship with Simon in their passionate pursuit of acting and being forced to be a spy on him for the Department of Damage Control, which is investigating Simon as a potential threat of interest, resulting in a truly compelling arc that I couldn’t help but be fully engaged in. But most importantly, Ben Kingsley was able to put his full acting range on display, delivering genuine heartfelt moments and emotions that really stay with you. This was the best redemption arc that an actor and a character has had in the MCU in a very long time.
The rest of the cast is superb in their respective roles, with some standouts being X Mayo as Simon’s agent, Janelle Jackson, who doesn’t take shit from anyone; Zlatko Burić as the humorous director Von Kovak who’s a fun parody amalgamation of various Hollywood directors; and Shola Adewusi as Simon’s lovable mother Martha Williams.
Another significant supporting performance came in the form of a character named DeMarr Davis ,aka Doorman, a former club doorman whose body can phase through objects and is connected to a door-filled dimension and is played by Byron Bowers. He later becomes an actor, but his powers caused an on-set incident that led to the permanent ban of super powered beings, mutants included, from being involved in Hollywood productions. I wasn’t expecting this character to be adapted to live action but the way he was portrayed here was brilliant, with a fantastic performance by Bowers and a really excellent bottle episode storyline focusing on the rise, fall, and exploitation of one-trick ponies in Hollywood with a superpowered twist.
While this series doesn’t have a supervillain as the main threat it does have the return of Agent P. Cleary, reprised by Arian Moayed, who serves as the primary antagonist against Simon Williams alongside the Depart of Damage Control (DODC). We’ve seen this group have a significant role in several MCU installments within this saga, like Spider-Man No Way Home, Ms Marvel and She-Hulk Attorney at Law, but in this series we see the group further evolve in a rather hostile fashion as they are desperate to maintain government funding after being unable to arrest enough superpowered individuals they deem as threats. Sounds hauntingly familiar to current events, doesn’t it? It really feels like this group is gradually becoming a legitimate threat to several of our heroes in the MCU and it is also clearly setting up the future status quo for Mutants in the MCU, with the DODC being the first real antagonist for them. DODC provides solid stakes for the story in this series while simultaneously hinting at what may come in the future for the MCU after the two Avengers films.
The story of the series is a character-driven narrative that contains a lot of great drama, heart, charm, humor, and fun meta elements that make this series truly engaging from start to end, with even the smallest moments hitting the hardest on an emotional level. Even with the severe lack of action and world-ending threats this series provides so much for people to connect to in terms of themes, which are sometimes connected to the Hollywood premise. There is a great focus on identity, ambition, loneliness, and friendship that makes this series one of the most engaging character stories in the MCU, but there is certainly a lot more this series provides outside of those themes that people may find on their own. Personally, I found that this series has a great message of how one can embrace their weaknesses and evolve it into their greatest strength that is executed phenomenally through the leading characters who support each other in the process.
Meta humor that pokes fun at the film industry as a whole, including Marvel Studios themselves, is very much present throughout and done extremely well, but for the most part this series felt more like a love letter to Hollywood and filmmaking than a full-on parody of it, especially when it really dives deep into the industry perspective of working actors and actresses. You see the many obstacles that thousands of actors and actresses have to go through, from multiple audition sessions to delivering self-tapes that I found to be highly accurate and relatable as someone who has been through similar processes as a voice actor. I’ve seen a lot of people compare this series to The Studio, and while there are certainly some similarities between them I feel this doesn’t share all the exact same themes and perspectives, since this is from the perspective of actors with artistic passion and not studio executives who lack such a thing. It should also be noted that Wonder Man was filmed way before The Studio existed so it’s not trying to copy that series whatsoever.
The inclusion of the “Doorman Clause” that bans superpowered individuals from working in Hollywood really adds an interesting perspective to the MCU’s world-building, as well as Simon’s story that may be more relevant than people realize. Simon hiding a part of himself that he believes would end his career honestly felt like a brutally honest and relevant metaphor for some actors and actresses in the industry who are forced to hide their true identities or humanitarian beliefs due to the fear of losing their livelihoods and be persecuted by society.
From a technical standpoint, this series wonderfully embraces an old school 70s aesthetic on every level, from the visuals to the cinematography to the effects to the editing and even the music. This series looks and feels like a love letter to classic Hollywood films and shows of that era with its visuals, including the retro-looking font used for the title cards of each episode. There is a large focus on practical effects and sets for the entirety of the series with very little amounts of visual effects used throughout. The only time you see visual effects is mostly when Simon’s ionic powers go off and all of it looks absolutely amazing when it is shown, proving that Simon is capable of being a very powerful and dangerous being if not careful.
The song selection and score, composed by Joel P. West, in the series are reflective of the show’s satirical take on Hollywood while also staying true to the 70s aesthetic theme, making this already unique series stand out even more from the others.
I didn’t expect to love this series as much as other MCU shows that I have loved in the past but it truly surprised me in many ways with its creative and bold direction. Wonder Man is a character I didn’t think I would find myself incredibly attached to but now that I am attached to him, I would love nothing more than to see more of this character going forward in the MCU, whether it be in a second season for his series or perhaps in future films where he gets to meet other heroes. This series absolutely deserves all the love and attention it’s been getting from everyone but it certainly deserves even more, so definitely go watch it now. I’m going to give Wonder Man Season 1 an A+ = 100.
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