'Wonder Man' Series Review: An Understated Wonder
marvel’s latest disney+ series is by far their most consistent and self-contained.
FilmSpeak’s last few reviews of Marvel Cinematic Universe entries have covered the prevailing sense of uncertainty around the cultural juggernaut, and not to beat a dead horse (which I’d argue is far from dead), but the same kind of uncertainty permeated the release of their latest television series, the long-anticipated (and long-delayed) Wonder Man. Created by writer Andrew Guest (Community, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Marvel alumni Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, Short Term 12), the series follows the character of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a struggling actor who is vying for his dream role, the eponymous Wonder Man, in a remake of the in-universe superhero film he grew up adoring. From the get go, this is a new kind of take on the comics’ Wonder Man, who was indeed an actor, but Guest and Cretton’s series situates the comic hero in a much more grounded buddy comedy that also operates as an effective character study.
Some might have a knee-jerk reaction to such a large studio having another crack at a Hollywood meta-commentary, especially with the success of Seth Rogen’s hit series The Studio on Apple TV in 2025, but I feel it is important to note that Wonder Man was in development far before The Studio, and started shooting about a year prior to The Studio. Besides, it’s not as if Hollywood satire is an original concept in any way. Yet, with every sort of entry into this canon, the fine line between generally accessible humour and ‘inside baseball,’ is one that must be carefully tread, and Wonder Man’s line to walk is even thinner. The series could have easily been written off as an even more out-of-touch satire given the gargantuan stature of the Marvel brand, or redundant given the heavy handed fourth-wall breaking meta-commentary incorporated in other Marvel entries like She Hulk: Attorney at Law and the Deadpool films. Thankfully, this is not the case, with Wonder Man’s chief creatives being more interested in the headspace of actors and creative processes than trying to regurgitate overdone internet humour. Subsequently, the show buys into the character studies of its own two leads in Simon and his friend/mentor Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley, reprising his role from Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi), a fellow struggling actor who seeks a kind of redemption after his stint masquerading as a terrorist known as The Mandarin.
Simon and Trevor’s relationship, and the chemistry brought to it by Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley is just golden, and it’s something the show recognizes, and builds around. Both men bond over their innate love for thespianism and the creative process, and seek to prove themselves in spite of their past shortcomings, in varying degrees. The relationship is electric, and acts as host for many different kinds of dynamic pairings, from mentor-mentee, to budding colleagues, to ultimately a deep, kindred friendship that endures past the kind of rocky foundation it was based on, with the friendship starting off as Trevor reluctantly working for the Department of Damage Control (A Marvel-ized agency dealing with superhumans) to investigate Simon, who is suspected of harbouring superhuman abilities. Because the relationship is so full of natural chemistry, it’s hard not to root for both characters, and hope that Trevor doesn’t have to ever address the proverbial silent elephant in the room.
Further, the show benefits from its comparatively small stakes. The likes of federal investigations, big-budget Hollywood productions and speculative superpowers would make for a high-stakes series in most other contexts, but when compared to the universe-colliding stakes of its franchise’s film counterparts, Wonder Man, as it stands, is arguably the smallest-stakes Marvel series, and is better off for it. This isn’t to say the series is ever afraid or ashamed of its MCU roots, and will prove a rewarding watch for devoted fans and new viewers alike, but rather, zeroing in on the personal stakes, such as taking an episode to spend with Simon’s family drama in the Californian suburbs, or a superb standalone episode following DeMarr ‘Doorman’ Davis to provide legal context on Simon’s precarious situation as a superpowered actor, just help to slow the story down and strengthen the characters in ways we don’t often get the time to when worldly stakes are at play. The strained relationship between Simon and his brother Eric proves as dramatically fruitful as some of the Avengers-level stakes, in its own right. The series of flashbacks between young Simon and his father Sanford being scattered across the series’ eight episodes is a great touch, and helps to further bolster the series’ emotional throughline in a genuine manner.
It’s been something of a shame to see the way that Wonder Man was unceremoniously released, by Marvel standards at least. Though the light tone and short, mostly serialized episodic format make for a great binge, it’d be hard not to imagine the series growing a bigger audience week-to-week. In any case, as it stands, Wonder Man is a big recommend. I imagine that the central duo of Simon and Trevor can win over Marvel fans and non-fans alike, and with ease. The phrase ‘love-letter’ gets thrown around a lot nowadays, but it’s hard not to recognize Wonder Man as a true love letter to the acting process, which never feels performative in its execution. Ultimately, Wonder Man brings a comparatively unique flavour to the MCU, and will likely be fondly remembered as the funniest and most consistent outing of Marvel’s Disney+ era.