Wonder Man is an odd one out among Marvel series. But perhaps that's exactly what Marvel Television needed. Since Marvel entered the television landscape in 2021 (at least from an MCU perspective), there have been major hits, but also significant misses. The quality of the series varies greatly, and Marvel received much criticism for the interconnectivity of all the series and films. In short, fans couldn't keep up, and if you missed something, you'd end up not understanding half of it. Therefore, the formula was adjusted, and different types of series emerged. Some series would henceforth appear under the 'Marvel Spotlight' banner. This means you don't need prior knowledge of other films and series to understand this series. Wonder Man is the second MCU series (after Echo) launched under this banner.
What intrigues me about Wonder Man is that it seems to be a series that explores the edges of the universe. And by that, I mean the edges of the MCU. The ordinary person living in the city where all the film action, alien affairs, and magic take place.
Wonder Man tells the story of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an aspiring actor whose breakthrough keeps eluding him. However, Simon has a secret: he has superpowers (although he's not quite sure what to do with them, and he's not really focused on them either). In the first episode, we primarily get to know his character. The other characters revolve around him, giving us an impression of who our main character is. We are also reintroduced to Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). We know Slattery from previous Marvel films (there have to be some fun links for the real fans, of course) and know that he's a kind of failed, fifteenth-rate actor. The two become somewhat friends in the first episode, although there might be other motives behind it. But I'm not sure about that yet, as I've only seen the first episode.
What intrigues me about Wonder Man is that it seems to be a series about the fringes of the universe. And by that, I mean the fringes of the MCU. The ordinary people living in the city where all the film action, alien stuff, and magic occur. Such a story can be very boring. But it can also be very interesting. At the same time, the main character does have superpowers, so it's not entirely on the fringe, but the story isn't about that. I am, in any case, curious about where the rest of the season will go. I can't make a good prediction about that at the moment.
So far, I am intrigued by the series. However, I wonder how interesting it is for someone who isn't a Marvel fan. With Spotlight, the aim might be to reach non-Marvel viewers, as you don't need prior knowledge. But I wonder if they'll tune in. Conversely, I wonder how interesting die-hard Marvel fans will find this series. The initial reviews are positive, so that's promising. But reviews often don't reflect the overall audience's feelings. I'm very curious about how the series will be received.
Judging just the first episode of a mere 30 minutes is, of course, little to base an opinion on. I will conclude this review here. My words are: intriguing, promising, and skeptical. Because that last one, I still am. This is also reflected in my rating.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
