Longtime Marvel fan here — this feels like another miss, and it honestly hurts
I’ve been a Marvel comics fan for decades, and this is the first time I’ve felt more sadness than excitement about a new MCU project.
It’s not about change — Marvel has always evolved. It’s about fighting characters that already have 20–40 years of history instead of using that foundation to tell great stories.
With WonderMan especially, it feels like a narrative being pushed years after the cultural moment passed. The result doesn’t feel bold or modern — it feels forced and visually disconnected from the character’s core identity.
What’s frustrating is that Marvel used to win because it respected legacy while modernizing storytelling. Now it often feels reversed: the character is reshaped first, and the story has to bend to justify it.
I don’t think audiences are tired of Marvel or comics. I think they’re tired of being asked to do extra mental gymnastics instead of being immersed.
My real worry isn’t that this show will be a dud — it’s that enough misfires will convince studios that the source material is the problem, when it’s really execution and creative direction.
Marvel comics are one of the greatest long-form storytelling universes ever created. Watching that goodwill erode is honestly heartbreaking for fans who’ve supported it for decades.
I want Marvel to succeed again. I just want character-first storytelling back.
It’s not about change — Marvel has always evolved. It’s about fighting characters that already have 20–40 years of history instead of using that foundation to tell great stories.
With WonderMan especially, it feels like a narrative being pushed years after the cultural moment passed. The result doesn’t feel bold or modern — it feels forced and visually disconnected from the character’s core identity.
What’s frustrating is that Marvel used to win because it respected legacy while modernizing storytelling. Now it often feels reversed: the character is reshaped first, and the story has to bend to justify it.
I don’t think audiences are tired of Marvel or comics. I think they’re tired of being asked to do extra mental gymnastics instead of being immersed.
My real worry isn’t that this show will be a dud — it’s that enough misfires will convince studios that the source material is the problem, when it’s really execution and creative direction.
Marvel comics are one of the greatest long-form storytelling universes ever created. Watching that goodwill erode is honestly heartbreaking for fans who’ve supported it for decades.
I want Marvel to succeed again. I just want character-first storytelling back.
Commentaires
You are consuming a different medium. The MCU is not the comics. Directors and writers are not able to do their best work if they are just adapting stories from the comics in direct 1 to 1 translations. Creativity is at the core of great storytelling.
The comics are still there for you to enjoy. It's weird to complain about Wonder Man for telling a contempory story not seen in the comics when it's being received overwhelmingly positively by critics and general audiences alike. And general audiences are NOT needing to do any "mental gymnastics" to understand this story. That's a very extreme way to describe your perspective as a comics purist.
Also obvious AI slop thread. Account's first ever post, em-dashes, several "it's not X it's Y" structures, too many adjectives, talking vaguely about the topic rather than specific criticisms of at least the trailer.
This show is a low budget Character driven comedy/drama set in the MCU, it's brilliant, it's different (for marvel) and it's fun.
Wait I'm not sorry about not reading AI Slop LMAO.
Wonder Man has 40+ years of history — family, redemption arc, Avengers ties, West Coast Avengers, Vision connections. That history is the reason the character exists. The MCU version feels like a near-total reboot using the same name, which creates instant visual and narrative dissonance.
What makes it worse is timing. This kind of narrative push is 4–5 years late. Audiences today want character-first storytelling and strong writing, not reinterpretations that fight the source material.
My real worry isn’t this show flopping — it’s Marvel mistaking execution failures for “comic fatigue.” The problem isn’t the comics. It’s forcing stories instead of letting great characters do the work.
As a longtime fan, that’s honestly heartbreaking.
But your issue with the series obviously seems to be that you just loved the comic book version way too much.
Every post complaining that a Character or Story is changed and different from the Comics falls on deaf ears.
The Comics changed Tony Stark to act like RDJ's Stark and the Guardians were wildly different, I haven't read if they've changed or not.
People can't say that Marvel don't respect the legacy of Characters now when they didn't have a problem with it then
I didn't need this to be a superhero end the world dire situation. This was an ode to film production and the struggles of a lonely man with big dreams and trauma. This show spoke to me. And I loved the last episode. I hope they give us a season 2.
I love how this subtly expanded the lore of the MCU and connected it without being so overt. I would've loved for the episodes to be maybe 5 min longer but this is essentially a chopped up movie. This show was like Marvel's answer to the Studio but self deprecating. the MCU needs more low level shows like this that fill gaps in what the bigger event shows and films can't.
Also if we could get this team on for a She-Hulk S2 that would be great.
But I had no idea who Wonder Man was going into this. And this shows is so brilliant and refreshing. Yaya and Kingsley are incredible in this. I feel like Kevin Feiges been letting his creatives cook recently and not getting overly involved. That the director is also doing Brand New Day gives me high hopes that we’re about to get the MCUs best Spider-Man Project.
I also think you’re projecting what you want personally to what the audience wants. I think it’s interesting that you say they need to get back to character first story telling. And people in the comments are like what are you talking about this is clearly character first story telling. It’s because we’re talking about two different things. You are taking about Legacy Character First story telling that you can’t just change too much of the characters that this universe is even built on, that this genre is given a floor because there’s comic book fans who have so much history with the original content and they are coming to watch no matter what. Which I think there’s definitely some importance there and swinging too left of that criteria would be problematic. But I don’t think they’ve done that too often. But I think more importantly the Character first that the larger audience wants in any kind of storytelling. Is that we are immersed in the character. That while I’m watching this show I’m only thinking about the people and story in front of me and not
comes next and how it fits into the larger picture. Which Wonderman does an incredible job in.
My wife isn’t a big super hero person but she really enjoyed this show. And like we were talking about the moms birthday party episode and her taking about how alone he was as a child and the thing he said to her on accident something that led her know that it did bother him. And we were discussing how relatable that felt to like be alone as a child but to you parents you tried hard to convey to them that you were fine with jt. But like those conversations come from character first story telling. But like the cool thing about the MCU i hope there building is that the universe is big enough that they can have stories like this that are so small and contained and personal. But also
Avenger level events and just normal super hero action stuff.
Sorry for the book lol.