In the world of comic books, some characters are defined by their relationships – in fact, some of them edge into full blown bromance with legendary circumstances. Batman has his Robin, of course and Tony Stark has his Rhodey; but even beyond the Civil War triggering thing that Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes has, surely one of the most intriguing pairings of recent Marvel history seem to be the truly adorable union of possibly neurodivergent, superpowered actor wannabe Simon Williams and thespian/ reformed terrorist Trevor Slattery.
However, all relationships are ultimately defined by by the tough times just as they are by their good ones and while watching the elder actor guide his new friend through the world of Hollywood is something I feel I could do indefinitely, it’s time for the inevitable cracks to show in one of the most endearing double-acts on television. But what could cause such a rift? Kathy goddamn Friedman, that’s who.
Production has begun on Von Kovak’s ambitious remaking of 80s classic, Wonder Man and as the gears turn smoothly, Simon Williams is enjoying the creative process of costume fittings, set building and obsessively picking apart the script so everything feels natural. With Trevor by his side thanks to him being cast in the mentorly role of Barnaby, Simon has come to rely on him so much, he’s even relying on Slattery to make decisions for him concerning the future of his career much to the frustration of his agent. However, despite scoring the coveted role of his childhood hero Wonder Man, Williams is still worried that his awkward, prickly demeanor is hurting his image on set as he uses Trevor’s more laid back charisma to smooth the road.
However, his infamous anxiety changes up a gear when he discovers that New York Times journalist Kathy Friedman wants to do a double profile on both him and Trevor as he’s heard that the writer has done pieces on other actors in the past that might veer into the realms of character assassination. Desperately trying to improve his demeanor on set to prove that he’s not the difficult figure he most definitely is, he bends over backwards to put on a good show for the writer.
However, after he discovers that Kathy has also interviewed both his doting mother, his ex-girlfriend and disapproving brother, Simon starts to panic when he thinks that his hidden powers may have been leaked. However, in a twist, it turns out that Kathy recieved nothing but glowing stories and Williams realises that maybe he should have been trying to let people in for all those years. However, it’s Trevor who finds that there’s dirt on him, as Friedman reveals that she knows the Department Of Damage Control arrested him upon arrival back into the States. And with that, Slattery’s secrets are out and Simon realises that his trusted friend has been selling him out to the DODC – but with rage comes that inability to control his ionic powers. But in the resulting destruction, does that mean Wonder Man is all but finished?
The rules of drama demand that in order to maintain tension, the central friendship has to be sacrificed in order to get to the real meat of the piece. Dick Grayson often fell out with Bruce, Tony and Rhodes came to blows in Iron Man 2 and the make up break up shit between Steve and Bucky is legendary – but watching Simon and Trevor hit the rocks proves to be genuinely heartbreaking. Maybe it’s the fact that Simon has come to rely so completely on his friend to help him maneuver his way through the tricky social situations that constantly trip him up, but if we look at things the other way, Trevor has also come to depend on his intense protegé as a source of companionship and the two have defended each other thus far from the likes of dismissive relative and the passive aggression of Joe Pantoliano. Obviously, the threat of the DODC was going to break sooner or later, especially as Trevor has been playing both sides to A) help Simon achieve his dreams and B) keep his bumbling ass out of jail, but the fact that the weak spot was the elder of the two proves to be a surprise.
Before the show drops the hammer, we get some genuinely sweet validation for Simon from his loved ones. While he’s legitimately petrified of knowledge of his secret powers being leaked, the positive affirmations from people he thought would condemn him prove to be overwhelmingly touching. Not only does has his brother, Eric, done right by him, but he even gets closure from his ex, Vivian who reveals that she knew he had powers all along and that maybe if he’d trusted her, things could’ve been different.
This means that Trevor’s betrayal cuts even deeper and his resulting rage fit manages to utterly destroy the Wonder Man set completely meaning that Simon’s Hollywood journey is about to come crashing to earth in the cruelest way possible.
While it was obvious that Trevor was going to be found out sooner or later, that doesn’t mean the collapse of the Wonder Man duo still doesn’t prove to be immensely tragic, especially as both had seen the other as some for of refuge from an uncaring world at large and its worth noting that Slattery’s monumental fuck up can’t be blamed on his outrageous drug intake, on on his stone cold sober instincts of self preservation. Yes, he’s tried to slow down Agent Cleary’s investigation as best he can, but we all knew the damage had been done.
Once again, at the risk if sounding like a broken record, it’s still an absolute thrill to watch something set within the MCU that doesn’t need to meet the usual requirements and while it hasn’t used its meta nature to poke overt fun at things like superhero fatigue, the very fact that Wonder Man isn’t actually a traditional superhero show is enough to show Marvel is fully aware of all the criticisms that’s arisen in the years after Avengers: Endgame. OK, so the episode ends in a massive explosion that’s surely going to be bringing the DODC running, but there’s something freeing about the fact that we’ve got an imminent season finale that hasn’t got us endlessly theorising about if any cameos are going to appear (remember the endless Reed Richard and Mephisto rumours circling around WandaVision?) and all there is to focus on is what’s right in front of us.
With a single episode to go, there’s something rather wondrous about a show with relatively low stakes that has us firmly in the palm in its hand simply concerning the fate of two acting misfits on the verge of finding some sort of redemption. Even better, I have absolutely no clue how this show us going to turn out, and in a genre full of carbon copy third acts, this is something that must be cherished.
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