Wonder Man comes with a lot working against it. It’s a product of the no-longer valid mission of Marvel Studios to produce what are essentially movies in TV show form. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has certainly seen better days, both critically and financially. And Wonder Man has also shifted release date multiple times, ultimately getting dumped as a binge release in January under the rarely-used Marvel Spotlight banner. So here’s a shocking twist: the eight-episode Wonder Man is one of the best seasons of TV Marvel has ever produced, and arguably one of the best things Marvel Studios has produced, period.
In case everything I mentioned above wasn’t enough, there’s an extra added level of difficulty to Wonder Man… It’s a meta-Hollywood comedy about filming a superhero movie, an idea that could go horribly wrong in less able hands. But the series, created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, nails it by lightly peppering the winky or self-referential moments, using the central conceit as a framing device for the action rather than the main event; and instead pushing a sweetly acted buddy comedy to the forefront.
While there are plenty of twists and turns throughout the season – all eight episodes were provided to critics for review – the main plot follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a down-on-his-luck actor who overthinks everything and keeps losing jobs because of it as he discovers a reclusive director named Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić) is rebooting his favorite cheesy ‘80s movie, Wonder Man. There’s a poignant emotional thread about why this movie means so much to him that’s slowly teased out throughout the season. And here too Wonder Man excels, doling powerful emotional beats out far more often than superhero fisticuffs. Abdul-Mateen II, as usual, is turning in incredible work. For those more familiar with his superhero roles, the nervous wreck that is Simon is a complete 180 from the villainous Black Manta in the Aquaman movies, or the ethereal Doctor Manhattan in HBO’s Watchman. Abdul-Mateen is a phenomenal talent, and in Wonder Man he finally gets to show off his whole range, from stumbling, hilarious doofus, to jaw-dropping scenes where you watch as he snaps into character, and yes, some superhero fisticuffs.
The other half of the equation is Ben Kingsley, reprising his role as Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Where Simon is all locked up and in his head, Trevor is so burnt out from his experiences pretending to be an international terrorist that he’s just rolling with the punches, improvising as he goes. As an actor, Simon is always looking for the connection, his way into the character. Trevor just rolls with it. And thanks to a series of seemingly chance meetings in the first episode, including a first encounter at a very telling showing of Midnight Cowboy – seriously, go watch the 1969 classic and you’ll be better prepared for watching Wonder Man than revisiting any MCU movie or show – he becomes the lonely Simon’s mentor and friend.
While the reveal that the villain The Mandarin was really sad-sack Shakespearean actor Trevor was divisive for Marvel fans – I personally fall on the side of absolutely loving it– it’s mostly been played for a joke. Shang-Chi lightly explored what this might mean to Trevor as he dealt with some of the fallout, but even there Kingsley was playing for the comedy. He’s still extremely funny in Wonder Man, ranging from physical comedy to general cluelessness. But the real thrill here is that Kingsley, who spent his own time in bargain basement actor jail, turns in an incredibly human performance as he warms to Simon and finds something to care about again. Basically, it’s exciting to see Kingsley act against material that’s worth his time. If you loved the Trevor reveal in Iron Man 3, you’ll love Kingsley even more here. If you hated it? You’ll love Trevor by the end of the series anyway.
You may notice this review has spent a lot of time talking about acting, and that’s because the series is a treatise on the power of acting, particularly for the strivers who pop in for a one-scene role on American Horror Story, or had their time in the sun and never recaptured that glow. There are special effects, as Simon does have powers – something that itself is slowly teased out throughout the season – but the real special effect is watching Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley act. There’s a scene about halfway through the season where, while getting stuck preparing for an audition, the two take a break and toss monologues back and forth to each other like a ball, and it stands heads and tails over any other scene in any Marvel Studios movie or TV show. Two men, meeting in the middle and revealing their characters wants and needs through words and emotions, versus blasting each other with different colored rays. Who would have thought?
Basically, Wonder Man is much more in line with an FX or HBO half-hour, the sort that mixes dramatic elements with comedic ones. Think Barry with superpowers, and you have the gist. The frame here is the reboot of the Wonder Man movie, but don’t expect too much time on set… This is more about acting, auditioning, and the process of getting the role – and what happens next – versus Marvel poking fun at the idea that people are mostly acting opposite tennis balls. The Hollywood satire is saved for the often byzantine process of getting the job, not the job, which has already been covered in multiple movies and TV shows. It’s a tribute to the working actor, a job that often seems like glitz and glamour to the outside world when it is, in fact, a job that takes a lot of work.
For those of you who don’t worship Stella Adler and are craving some superheroics, there is a plot motivator which is that the Department of Damage Control, the all-purpose government agency that monitors superheroes and supervillains and cleans up after their messes, is investigating Simon to see if he’s a threat. Rather than an excuse for car chases, the spotlight is on the working man. Through the lens of middle manager P. Cleary (Arian Moayed), who has appeared in multiple Marvel projects about the organization, his motivation is much more about the industrialization of the prison system and the need to hit quotas than some overarching MCU plot.
That’s all well and good, but one particular element that makes Wonder Man stand heads and tails over the rest of Marvel’s Disney+ output is the level of focus present. Each episode, shocker of shocker, works as a tight half-hour of TV, balancing the ongoing plot with comedy premises built around and lifting up the central relationship between Trevor and Simon. One episode finds the duo desperately trying to find a place to film a self-tape audition, ending up at The Matrix star Joe Pantoliani’s house in a hilarious self-effacing cameo. In another, Trevor tags along as Simon heads to his mother’s birthday where his brother proves his arch villainy by revealing the lack of respect he has for Simon’s acting. And the stand-out episode that will likely be the most buzzed about doesn’t feature Simon and Trevor at all, but instead is a half-hour, black and white episode about Doorman (Byron Bowers), a superpowered individual who we’re told caused all of Hollywood to ban superpowers on set. Here, we find out why, complete with another hilariously self-effacing cameo, this time by Josh Gad.
Each episode of Wonder Man is its own wonderfully sweet delight, full of surprisingly funny and tender moments in turn, leading to a satisfying finale that sticks the landing. And that’s the last aspect that separates it from other Marvel shows: this does not end in a big, dust-up superhero battle teasing The Future Of The MCU. Instead, it never loses focus on its two main characters, its themes, and what it’s trying to say about both, bringing them home in a way that is cleverly executed while leaving the door(man) open for the future.
In short? Wonder Man is a wonder, man.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man premiere Tuesday, January 27 at 9pm ET on Disney+.
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