There was no better feeling than sitting down in the theater in 2008 to see the inception of what would become the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, but even as a diehard Marvel fan, things have been a bit more rocky as of late. So entering Wonder Man my expectations were not rock bottom, but lower than in previous years. Damn, this show hit different and have real hope for the future of the MCU.
Hollywood actor Simon Williams is thrust into the world of superheroes as he gets powers of his own, and becomes the new superhero Wonder Man.
While at my local comic shop, Galactic Comics and Collectibles, this week I overheard someone mention “who asked for a Wonder Man anything?” and while that might be true, Marvel has a fairly good track record of taking the rarely asked for and making it into something worth seeing. No one really was asking for Iron Man in 2008, nor was anyone really asking for a Guardians of the Galaxy film…let alone three of them. But what Marvel seems to understand is that with little expectations you might get a little more out of it and have the ability to take a bit more risks. That is Wonder Man.
The chance to make a stellar television series with more a less known than known hero from the Marvel cast of characters allows for a bit of breathing and to make something unexpected. Similar to Daredevil’s debut season on Netflix, Wonder Man focuses on the person behind the powers and less on the superhero themselves. Not all super powered people want to be a superhero and it makes for such a grounded and in this case emotional story.
Wonder Man‘s eight episodes have a perfect through line and doesn’t deviate for even a moment. Even the episodes or times dealing with historical moments are part of the overall narrative and doesn’t distract from the story at hand. There is true purpose from the beginning and we get there by the end, and even more.
While we are given a glimpse at a new character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we are also reacquainted with a character long lost from a previous Iron Man film that most of us thought we would never see again. Trevor Slattery returns to befriend Simon Williams in Hollywood and is the perfect amount of comic relief this series needed. I have not a single complaint about one character in this series, they were wonderfully cast and incredibly acted.
Wonder Man is what I want more from Marvel Studios and the MCU. Grounded stories with heart, emotion, and a touch of humor. The person behind the costume is as important, if not more important than the one with the superhero name and mask. This series is near perfect as it is, but would not be upset if we saw a second season.
Created by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Andrew Guest (Community), the series stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams / Wonder Man, alongside Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, Arian Moayed as P. Cleary, Zlatko Burić as Von Kovak, Byron Bowers as DeMarr Davis / Doorman, X Mayo, and Olivia Thirlby. Additionally Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams / Grim Reaper, Ed Harris as Neal Saroyan, as well as Josh Gad and Mario Lopez as themselves.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man hit Disney+ on January 27, 2026 and is available for streaming now!
