SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “Wonder Man.”
Since “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel Studios has released over 15 television series on Disney+ over just seven years. This oversaturation of content has caused me to skip over many projects, as I felt they lost the originality that made Marvel stand out originally. From the first trailer for “Wonder Man,” I could tell this show was going to be nothing like what Marvel has done in the past.
“Wonder Man” follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an aspiring actor with energy manipulation abilities, who is struggling to find work while maintaining his social life. When he hears about the role of a lifetime, Simon seeks guidance from Trevor Flattery (Ben Kingsley), a washed-up actor associated with his villainous past as the Mandarin.
Unlike most Marvel projects, “Wonder Man” rarely shows Simon’s powers, instead focusing on his character and his relationships. This was extremely refreshing to watch, as it made me able to sympathize with Simon much more than a typical comic book superhero mainly defined by their abilities.
The series is also hilariously meta, often poking fun at actors or shows that are in some way owned by Disney. This humor felt very similar to “The Studio,” a comedy series about Hollywood, although they were certainly pulling their punches when it came to mocking the superhero entertainment business.
Over the first three episodes, Simon and Trevor form a close bond over their love of acting, while preparing their auditions for “Wonder Man,” the new superhero reboot that everyone in Hollywood is losing their minds over.
“Wonder Man” wastes no time grounding the audience, with the first episode showing Simon getting fired from an acting gig and his girlfriend dumping him immediately afterwards. With no intense score or mind control powers to save the day, it’s clear this is going to be a series about emotional growth, not defeating your enemies in battle.
The chemistry between Abdul-Matteen II and Kingsley feels incredibly authentic, allowing the dialogue to flow naturally. Although the ‘young rookie and old pro’ trope has been used countless times in media, these two actors made me feel as though this relationship was unique.
While these episodes were certainly entertaining, the fourth episode of the series sticks out to me the most. Stepping away from Simon and Trevor, this episode follows Demarr Davis (Byron Bowers), who mysteriously obtains the power to open doors from his body after encountering a foreign substance while throwing out garbage.
Over the span of just thirty minutes, we see Demarr go from rags to riches and back to rags, with his new abilities granting him fame that can only be dragged on for so long.
I found it hilarious that Demarr’s entire superpower is just acting as a human door, and instead of trying to use this power for good, he stars in action films and infomercials. It felt strange seeing a Marvel superhero do nothing beneficial with their abilities, which is why this episode resonated with me the strongest.
The fourth episode ends with an incident on a film set with Demarr, leading to a permanent ban on superheroes from acting in films, which shows the audience why Simon is so stressed about auditioning for this superhero role. This segues into the rest of the series, which follows Simon and Trevor earning callbacks for the film and working together to seal the deal.
While I appreciated the lack of superpower use to create a grounded feeling for the show, this choice left Simon’s character feeling incomplete, as his abilities were sidelined to the point where I would often forget he had them at all. In fact, it’s not until one of the last scenes of the entire series that Wonder Man’s suit is finally revealed.
This miniseries may have been created solely to establish the character of Wonder Man for future projects, but through hilarious dialogue and unique writing choices, it sticks out as a refreshing take on the superhero genre.
