You’d be forgiving for wondering if Marvel has started to lack confidence in its own product. Oh, the big screen stuff still gets the big push that’s for sure, but the way they’re burying their small screen stuff on Disney+ suggests that the streaming wars could very well be over. Proof of this is the treatment offered up to their newest show set in the MCU, Wonder Man – a character who, despite his long tenture as a member of the Avengers in the comics, was never really a face many wanted to see on film. Seemingly cutting the superheroics to a minimum and instead presenting a meta comedy set within the world of showbiz in a reality where the Multiverse could end every other month, Wonder Man has received the binge treatment from Disney. No weekly episode to build up curiosity, no chance to surf a wave of good word of mouth to build enthusiasm, just “plonk!”, all eight episodes dumped on our streaming doorstep in one go.
A sign of a lack of faith? Well, that’s the thing – sometimes wondrous things can happen…
Actor Simon Williams has a problem. Actually, he has numerous issues going on in his life at life at moment, but aside from the relationship with his girlfriend going south and weird temors that seem to occur when he’s feeling extra stressed, he can’t seem to get out of his head when he’s got a role. Take his most recent job which is a single scene as a professor in an episode of American Horror Story; while he’s supposed to exchange pleasantries with the character being played by Ashley Greene before she transforms into a monster and bites his head off, Williams can’t help but overcomplicate things, bombarding the director with ideas, backstory and changes until he’s eventually fired.
However, in a curious quirk of fate, he bumps into notorious thespian Trevor Slattery during a screening of Midnight Cowboy and despite the actor’s famous past of drink, drugs and portraying notorious terrorist “The Mandarin” in a plot against the president, Williams’ encyclopedic memory of acting has him commending the now-sober Slattery for his previous works. From here, Simon hears of a reboot of “Wonder Man”, a superhero film he loved as a child and his excitement grows further when acclaimed art house director, Von Kovak, is announced to be helming.
But while Simon manages to hoodwink his way into the audition at the last minute, his old issue of overthinking the role threatens to torpedo his dream role before he even performs. Thankfully, Trevor is on hand to offer advice as he’s auditioning for the role of “Barnaby” and it seems that Williams manages to wow them with his reading.
However, while Slattery seems to be Williams guardian angel, it seems that the artist formally known as the Mandarin has a secondary deal going on as his relationship with Simon has been orchestrated by the Department Of Damage Control who seem to believe that Simon has unregistered powers…
There are many reasons to settle down to watch Wonder Man for those starting to doubt the staying power of the MCU. For a start, a major name on the creation of the seventeenth (!) Marvel Studios TV show is none other than Destin Daniel Cretten, the man who not only directed Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, but who has taken over Peter Parker duties from Jon Watts with the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Similarly, it’s offering something new amid the usual Multiverse and superheroics as its a more grounded, low stakes view at the world as we see the MCU from the vantage point of of Hollywood. Of course, there’s another, much simpler, reason to watch Wonder Man and that’s because its actually very good.
OK, so it’s early days yet and this is only the first episode, but if the first episode is anything to go by, this is the snapiest, intriguing Disney+ show in quite a while as Wonder Man deals in a lot of the traits previously scene in She-Hulk (meta approach, shorter episodes), but handles them in a far more nature way. The driving force of the episode is a love of movies and acting in general – both Williams and Slattery bond over both going all glassy-eyed over a screening of John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy which I’m assuming will cleverly mirror the burgeoning friendship between the two mismatched actors (Slattery’s a natural for Ratso). However, the episode also isn’t afraid of poking fun at the art of performance too as Williams manages to overthink his bit part role in American Horror Story into oblivion, or torturing himself with the process of getting into character. Cretton – who is more than familiar with the right-turns movie productions can take after losing The Kang Dynasty due to chaotic changes – isn’t concern with forcing big laughs, instead letting a mature knowing settle over this glimpse of a superhero show that’s (for now) comfortable to put the actually superpowers on the back burner. Of course, while things will not doubt heat up soon, especially with DODC Agent Cleary making a comeback after taking shots at both Kamala Kahn and Peter Parker in previous films.
However, the real callback here proves to be Ben Kingsley’s Trevor who, since his controversial first appearance in Iron Man 3, has somehow managed to carve his own little corner of the MCU thanks to the One Shot, All Hail The King and his previous team-up with Cretton in Shang-Chi. Much like Agents Jimmy Woo and Phil Colson, he’s grown into a side character that’s proven to be fun to run into again. However, in arguably the most meta bit of casting in a show about superhero fatigue, we have Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who knows a few things about portraying superbeings after being both Black Manta and Dr. Manhattan in Aquaman and the Watchmen TV show. Abdul-Mateen brings a quiet desperation to Williams as he constantly hamstrings his own career by caring too much about his craft.
Obviously, with seven more episodes to go, there’s a lot that can (and probably will) change, but if the rumors of a thriftier Marvel Studios are true going forward, then releasing a show so fresh and promising as this is a good start. Of course, those desperate for cameos, hints and any connection to the heavier hitters may get a bit impatient that their isn’t much more than references to Iron Man 3 (including the Chinese Theatre blown up by Extremis) and a poster for ubiquitous musical, Rogers. But patience is it’s own reward when the show is this fun.
A measured start means that Wonder Man has plenty of room to breathe as it begins to explore movie making in a world riddled with sentient synthezoids, Norse gods and whatever the hell Man-Thing is supposed to be. Grounded and witty with a strong love of the silver screen powering it’s engine, the fact that Wonder Man seems to have been unceremoniously dumped on Disney+ is a little disappointing. But maybe understandable considering that Simon Williams isn’t quite a big star yet…
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