With the announcement of Wonder Man, it is safe to assume that a significant amount of the audience was expecting a meta commentary about the superhero genre being presented from the point of view of an actor in the MCU.
The MCU series is not that at all. One of the biggest reasons for the success of the comics in the 1960s was their relatable characters. Marvel smartly leaves the meta commentary to a character like Deadpool and instead focuses on Simon Williams’ own journey through Hollywood.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is fantastic in Wonder Man. The series understands that if Simon is not relatable in his struggles, the show would fall apart. We have seen many characters in the MCU overcome Earth-ending threats, but what about someone who is trying to keep their abilities secret so they can pursue their love of the arts?
Throughout the series, Simon is in pursuit of the lead role in the Wonder Man reboot. It was suspected that the idea of another superhero being rebooted would be one of the main themes of the show. Instead, the show looks further into an eccentric creator and his process in developing his own unique version of Wonder Man.
While the drama comes from a super-abled actor hiding his powers and the pursuit of his dream role, the comedy comes from one of Marvel’s most controversial characters of all time. Ben Kingsley returns as Trevor Slattery, who first debuted as a struggling actor pretending to be the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. This twist was universally hated for diminishing the seriousness of one of Iron Man’s most popular villains from the comics.
His introduction to MCU fans may not have gone over swimmingly, but Trevor Slattery is a standout character in Wonder Man. Yahya and Ben have fantastic chemistry, which is the main driving force for most of the season.
Wonder Man as a whole is a much smaller story than fans may suspect, but that doesn’t mean it is not worth watching. Simon’s journey trying to become the MCU’s Wonder Man is captivating from start to finish and functions successfully as a palate cleanser before Avengers: Doomsday arrives.
Marvel Studios’ Wonder Man premieres on January 27 on Disney+.