During the early years of the MCU, it was a common sentiment among Avengers fans that they would be happy to watch a project where the characters did nothing at all, ala the scene in Age of Ultron, where the characters unwind by trying to lift Thor’s hammer. Wonder Man, Marvel’s new eight-part comedy-drama, created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, feels like that dream come true, pushing aside the superheroics almost entirely with the character-centric tale of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mahteen II), a struggling actor concealing his powers from Hollywood, who’s trying to land the lead role in the titular remake of his favorite childhood movie.
Key to the show is him striking up a friendship with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), the British thespian who previously appeared in Iron Man 3, and Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Slattery was a hilarious surprise in both movies, but here we get to see him as a fully three-dimensional character, with as much pathos and complexity as humor, and it’s a startling turn, that might make you realize how much we take Kingsley for granted as an actor. The surprising sincerity from Slattery is a reflection of the whole project, which could’ve been an empty satire, but instead proves to be an earnest story about the unlikely bond between two lonely outsiders.
Make no mistake, Wonder Man is arguably the first MCU project that doesn’t fall into the action genre, although Simon and Trevor still get into plenty of chaos over the course of the series. It’s the story of a 30-something from an immigrant family (Abdul-Mahteen’s West Indian heritage is acknowledged by making Simon Haitian), burned out by a lack of recognition of how hard he works, despite sacrificing his personal relationships in pursuit of his dream. It’s never said out loud, but it’s very much about a young man finding a surrogate father who’s proud of his job, and an old pariah slowly but surely realizing there’s someone who would accept him, warts and all.
It’s not a show about a hero battling a villain, but about being a closeted actor in an industry that’s banned them; about finding your way back after years of drug and alcohol addiction; and how different generations can find common ground through art and culture. In one scene, Simon and Trevor bond by only reciting monologues to each other, and it’s simply delightful.
It’s also a tale of media scrutiny (one particular turn takes on an unexpected relevancy following Jonathan Majors‘s firing from the role of Kang the Conqueror), and of being surveilled, not because of something you’ve done, but what you might do. (While this is a very self-contained show, X-Men fans will find the Department of Damage Control’s interest in Simon an especially strong piece of foreshadowing for future MCU projects.)
If there’s a flaw, it’s that the show is so focused on Simon and Trevor that other characters’ roles come across as slightly perfunctory. X Mayo has a lot of screentime as Simon’s agent Janelle, but they don’t have any one-on-one time, and Zlatko Burić is fairly subdued as Wonder Man director Von Kovak (especially compared to his turn as the Boravian president in Superman), far from the third lead implied by the trailers. Shola Adewusi and Demetrius Grosse are great as Simon’s mother and brother, Martha and Eric, as is Olivia Thirlby in her few scenes as his ex, Vivian, but they’re there to remind us of how isolated our two heroes are.
Thankfully, the pair encounter a whole line of fun and unexpected characters, including surprise appearances from some A-listers (no spoilers) sending themselves up as unhelpful Hollywood narcissists. There’s also a fantastic guest appearance from Byron Bowers as DeMarr Davis/Doorman, the living portal responsible for the industry’s ban on superpowers. He takes center stage in the fourth episode, a stylish, black-and-white film-within-a-film (if we’re to consider the whole show a four-hour film), revealing his rise-and-fall, that leaves you in a state of mounting dread over what exactly he did to make Hollywood take such drastic measures.
Still, it is largely a two-hander, and Abdul-Mahteen and Kingsley’s chemistry is so beautiful, and unexpectedly emotional, that you won’t mind. Speaking of two-handers, it does feel like you’re watching a play at times, thanks to the decision to frequently film scenes with long takes, almost as if you are actually with Simon and Trevor in Los Angeles, or at least an indie movie from the MCU.
It really brings to mind Marvel’s old adage that their universe is “the world outside your window,” and helps make their relationship possibly the most engaging in the whole MCU. As always, it’s a shame we don’t know for sure when these characters will turn up again, besides a possible cameo in Avengers: Secret Wars, but especially in their case, because you’ll want to hang out with them for a lot longer.
Hopefully, when awards season comes, Wonder Man‘s cast and crew won’t be forgotten. (Kingsley especially deserves some Emmy glory.) It might seem like a long-shot, but then so was Simon getting cast as Wonder Man, and this emerging as one of Marvel’s best TV shows after being released on one night, before Daredevil: Born Again got in the way. Sometimes, dreams do come true.
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