'Some people call me a washed-up actor. I consider myself a teacher. Yet you continue to resist my attempts to educate you... ready for another lesson?' Photos: Handout
Had this not been delayed by the writers' and actors' strikes, Wonder Man could well have been a trailblazer in the post-"superhero fatigue" discussion. (I put that within quotes because, to a dyed-in-the-wool comic book geek, there can be no such thing.)
Even now, a couple of years after the genre was (IMHO) unfairly lambasted by certain cinematic titans for being anti-cinematic, this show still ventures onto new ground where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned.
And as for comparisons with the rest of filmed entertainment, well, Wonder Man can hold its head high among the best in the buddy dramedy sphere.
The second release under the Marvel Spotlight label after Echo, it is so light on superpowered proceedings that its strongest connection to the MCU is a certain Department of Damage Control (ref. Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ms. Marvel, specifically).
It is also a decided departure from its source material, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's profoundly rendered Simon Williams linked to his print counterpart only because he's an actor and has, um, ionic superpowers. (Given his profession, maybe "ironic" might be more appropriate... insert raspberry-blowing emoji here.)
'Some people call me a washed-up actor. I consider myself a teacher. Yet you continue to resist my attempts to educate you... ready for another lesson?'
In this eight-episode debut season, Simon is introduced as a struggling actor who dreams of that big breakthrough role even as his own overthinking and overzealous attention to detail is nobbling his chance at even securing minor jobs.
That "break" comes when it is announced that brilliant, eccentric, reclusive director Von Kovak (Zlatko Buric, aka Superman's President of Boravia) is remaking the beloved 1980s superhero flick Wonder Man.
It's a dream role for Simon, who fondly recalls watching the original as a child with his supportive dad.
Simon's path then crosses with washed-up actor Trevor Slattery (the stupendous Ben Kingsley) – yep, none other than Iron Man 3's bogus Mandarin, last seen in Shang-Chi – and they strike up an easy friendship that's equal parts mentor-mentee and lean-on-me-through-thick-and-thin.
This buddy/bromance is the beating heart of Wonder Man, which is brought to us by co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: Brand New Day) and Andrew Grant (Hawkeye), who is also the showrunner.
The audience is clued in early on as to what's really happening here, but the magic is in seeing Trevor and Simon's friendship blossom as something that's both contrived and genuine.
At 20-something to a little over 30 minutes per episode, Wonder Man is a fairly effortless watch that rewards the viewer in unexpected and pleasing ways.
Real-life celebrities – or at least their MCU "variants", much like Kevin Bacon in the Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special – show up for initially seem like extended cameos, but have a significant bearing on the story's trajectory.
Mention of a "Doorman Clause" as a reason why Simon is keeping his superpowers secret is then fleshed out with an entire flashback episode showing us in dizzying, what-the-heck-is-going-on fashion just how this legal provision came to exist.
'My agent said it was a choice between this role and the Flash Gordon remake. It was these funky shades that sold me.'
And always, looming in the shadows as a government agency desperate to keep its arrest numbers up to remain funded (who says the MCU is detached from reality?), there's Damage Control, whose prinicipal representative in this tale is returning manipulative gaslighter Agent P. Cleary (Arian Moayed).
From its two top stars on down, the whole cast of Wonder Man inhabits their roles convincingly in service of a tale that is at its core an ode to show business, friendship, devotion to one's craft, and the sacrifices demanded by all three.
Contrast this with the misfiring 2024 satire The Franchise, which took aim at the superhero genre but ended up too sardonic and mocking to be really much good.
What does the MCU do in "response" to all that negative sentiment, including the derision of ... well, people who, honestly, should have bigger hearts than they've shown?
It gives us a love letter. Well played, people.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man are available to stream on Disney+.
Summary:
Trading 'awesome' for 'awww'
