Wonder Man
Review by Mark Woodring
This Marvel “Spotlight” limited series is another strange choice for Disney+. We get an existing IP name, but the character is completely different from its comicbook origins.
Simon Williams, his comic origins as an industrialist like Tony Stark has been replaced, and he is now an actor, struggling to make his way in Hollywood.
Heck, Wonder Man isn’t even Simon’s secret identity: it’s a character from a cheesy 80s action film being remade and for which Simon is desperate to audition.
On the upside, we do get the return of the DODC, Department of Damage Control, which was originally a comedic afterthought but which Disney Marvel hasn’t done much with, although they did make an appearance in Sony’s Spider-man: Homecoming.
**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
8 Episodes, Rated TV-MA
Created by Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Guest
Synopsis:
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.
Downside, of course, is that Disney continues to believe that Trevor Slattery is a good character. But whatever.
My thoughts on this 8 episode series are similar to ones I’ve had about previous Marvel movies and series, and that is how they seem to not have a life of their own, but rather exist only to point to something on the horizon.
While I must admit that Wonder Man does this far less than other recent titles, it still does fall victim to the “how do I fit into the larger narrative” role. Clearly within the larger Marvel Universe, it’s easy to assume it takes place Earth-616, though for my taste, I’d like to believe that it exists on some other Earth, but one that still has the aforementioned Trevor Slattery and “the blip.”
But what it also has is stories of “enhanced” individuals doing things like using their powers/abilities in such mundane ways as performing “stunts” in films and television with the public in on it. They’re not hiding it.
Until the one episode that explains why “powered” folks can’t work in media any longer.
Hence Simon Williams’ dilemma as an actor: the “Doorman Clause.” It’s… a thing.
I was trying not to be too critical of this one, and I can honestly say that if it was just a weird little show without the Marvel tag and the larger connotations that holds, I’d say it was a fun buddy comedy as Simon and Trevor navigate a world designed to keep both of them down as they try desperately to do what it is they love: act.
I still don’t care for Trevor Slattery too much, although this iteration is a bit more palatable than his previous incarnations. I wonder if “13 years sober” has anything to do with it?
Damage Control is also a bit of a conundrum of an organization. Instead of a glorified “clean-up crew” for post-hero destruction, here they feel a bit like SHIELD in their intense interest in monitoring and controlling Enhanced folks.
In the end, Wonder Man carries too much of the weight of the name “Marvel” to forget it’s part of a large whole, one which still cannot seem to get out of its own way, instead finding new and creative ways at every turn to undermine itself.
Which is sad, because like so many recent projects, you can see glimpses of a better product trying to fight its way free.
But failing.
All 8 episodes of Wonder Man will explode onto Disney+ on January 27 (which is an indicator, by the way) and will stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, Arian Moayed, Lauren Glazier, Zlatko Buric, and Demetrius Grosse.
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