So... Wonder Man was a pleasant surprise.
To my surprise, Marvel is on a roll.
If we discount Captain America, Ironheart, and Marvel Zombies, I think the MCU productions in 2025 were quite good.
Now, 2026 starts with Wonder Man, and I think it's a pleasant surprise to kick off the year. Unlike other series or movies, this show doesn't aim to be spectacular, epic, or try to contribute to the multiverse concept.
It is, above all, a series about friendship and a tribute to the beautiful art of acting. This doesn't mean the series lacks connections, obviously.
We know Simon is a mutant, and Damage Control is gaining strength; it seems they and Kingpin's anti-vigilante squad are going to give the superheroes a major headache in the next saga. Among the things I liked most:
The Doorman episode. At first, it seems like pure filler, but it's a story about the rise and fall of an actor due to his powers.
I think it's one of the first times (along with Sentry) where we see how powers can ruin a person's life. And no, I'm not talking about Josh Gad.
Which, by the way, and this is another thing I liked: The celebrity cameos, like Joe Pantoliano (as a Sopranos fan, this is a treat for me) and the aforementioned Josh Gad. It's very similar to The Studio in that sense, but I doubt that was the intention given the production dates of both.
The bad: Perhaps what I liked least is that the last episode has that MCU-style rushed ending. I feel like the entire film could have been a full series, something like The Offer.
I also don't like that they don't dare to offer a more realistic and biting critique of the genre, as the trailers suggested. But oh well, I prefer that to the self-pitying and self-indulgent comedy of She-Hulk.
Honestly, I don't think Wonder Man is required viewing. It's likely that many here will find it boring, which is respectable since it deviates significantly from the norm. (Just saying there's no final battle or supervillain says it all.) But it's a good production, and I'd like to see what else they could tell us in a hypothetical second season, perhaps with Simon trying to mature his career but still being typecast as a superhero.
If we discount Captain America, Ironheart, and Marvel Zombies, I think the MCU productions in 2025 were quite good.
Now, 2026 starts with Wonder Man, and I think it's a pleasant surprise to kick off the year. Unlike other series or movies, this show doesn't aim to be spectacular, epic, or try to contribute to the multiverse concept.
It is, above all, a series about friendship and a tribute to the beautiful art of acting. This doesn't mean the series lacks connections, obviously.
We know Simon is a mutant, and Damage Control is gaining strength; it seems they and Kingpin's anti-vigilante squad are going to give the superheroes a major headache in the next saga. Among the things I liked most:
The Doorman episode. At first, it seems like pure filler, but it's a story about the rise and fall of an actor due to his powers.
I think it's one of the first times (along with Sentry) where we see how powers can ruin a person's life. And no, I'm not talking about Josh Gad.
Which, by the way, and this is another thing I liked: The celebrity cameos, like Joe Pantoliano (as a Sopranos fan, this is a treat for me) and the aforementioned Josh Gad. It's very similar to The Studio in that sense, but I doubt that was the intention given the production dates of both.
The bad: Perhaps what I liked least is that the last episode has that MCU-style rushed ending. I feel like the entire film could have been a full series, something like The Offer.
I also don't like that they don't dare to offer a more realistic and biting critique of the genre, as the trailers suggested. But oh well, I prefer that to the self-pitying and self-indulgent comedy of She-Hulk.
Honestly, I don't think Wonder Man is required viewing. It's likely that many here will find it boring, which is respectable since it deviates significantly from the norm. (Just saying there's no final battle or supervillain says it all.) But it's a good production, and I'd like to see what else they could tell us in a hypothetical second season, perhaps with Simon trying to mature his career but still being typecast as a superhero.
Commentaires
I wouldn't be against a higher quality season 2
but man, Sir Ben Kingsley plays it perfectly
I completely disagree, but also see exactly what you mean and that's why I like it so much. I cannot agree that it's 'detached', as it feels so grounded in the MCU - but just further removed from the interconnectivity that people have come to expect. I mean it's obviously not about superheroes battling supervillains, but it's pretty much exactly how I'd imagine Hollywood in the MCU being. For me, it makes the MCU feel lived in.
I felt that Wonder Man was one the Disney+ shows that understood its identity as a miniseries best, and not a movie divided into episodes. I think it worked its format to perfection, delivered really strong acting performances from Yahya and Sir Ben, and was written in an equally intelligent and entertaining manner. Its distance from the more bombastic parts of the MCU gave it more scope to freely explore its own themes, which I thought was great. I'd love to see more projects that don't have to link into the saga's primary storyline, but still have a strong identity and place within the universe.
I really liked it, as you said, it is grounded, feels a little bit like Phase 1, maybe it's just me overlooking some connections, as I binged it til 2am
I mean the entire DODC plot line is kinda that, no? They've been popping up in MCU projects for almost a decade at this point, in Homecoming, No Way Home, She-Hulk and Ms Marvel off the top of my head. I also noticed on Von Kovak's Wonder Man moodboard (I'm not sure what it's called) at his house that there are a bunch of pictures of MCU heroes (inc. Black Panther and Captain America) - presumably his inspirations for the film. Also saw a big Rogers: The Musical billboard in the first episode.
I sort of get what you mean, but personally I really don't think that Wonder Man needs those tie-ins in terms of connecting to events happening elsewhere in the MCU. There's plenty of little nods that acknowledge the connected nature of the universe, which is more than enough I reckon. I mean, the show felt like it had a very clear vision of what it wanted to be, and a lot of love from its creatives, and forcing more connections could easily have hampered more than helped idk.
Definitely agree with what you said about it feeling like a Phase 1 project - it felt so fresh and unhampered by anything that came before. Just a good story and some people really passionate about telling it.
Beetle and Ghost became Thunderbolts.
I think the shows being optional is a must for the MCU. There shouldn't be anything in here that one HAS to watch before watching any of the movies.
We're in a time where the joke about studying MCUology to understand new movies and series has become reality...
Now, everyone is focusing on Doomsday, hoping that there is a cameo in here or whether Wonder Man will appear in Doomsday. But it is a self contained story and it works well in this part of the universe.
The finale was fun and made me want to see them both come back again. I really enjoyed this show.
I think non superhero fans would like this show as well because of the story and acting. I’ve shared that with marvel and non marvel fans at work hoping to spread the word.
That said, if they can follow this up with another season or even a film with more action and keep the same focus on characters, the sky's the limit.
It’s like as if it never even released
Yes. Comic book themed shows do need at least a little action. I watched (and mostly enjoyed) all 8 episodes. For such a self contained product it left more questions than answers. It's so desperate to avoid the comic book movie tropes that it forgets to explain anything about Simon or his abilities at all. He's just someone with completely undefined powers that has almost no control over, and is dangerous. He needs to be strong? Sure I guess he is. He needs to be able to fly? Make him be able to fly. He causes hugely damaging explosions whenever he gets mad, but how does that work? He blew up an entire studio building, but we are supposed to be sympathetic? These things are glossed over because they don't want to be a traditional superhero show, and don't want to show any action. Action can help answer a lot of these questions and taking it all away doesn't help the narrative at all.
Leaving things open to interpretation is not a satisfying or strong writing style. People enjoy getting answers from their fiction, and it's creators, rather than depending on themselves to do all the heavy lifting.
Explaining important details is boring? That's not a trope. A trope would have been some villain comes along, and Simon creates a costume and stops the villain, learning that with great power comes great responsibility. This series trope became guy with completely undefined superpowers is being hunted by a government agent who somehow knows about Simon, but can't prove anything. The lack of action makes you question everything about everyone. Why is any of this happening? It makes zero sense. Unknown failed actor has superpowers? Why would anyone know that, so nice there is no action given onscreen to prove it?
What powers?
I wasn't asking for an origin.
That's not the only unanswered questions.
Why is the government involved? How do they know anything about Simon? Has Simons unspecified and uncontrollable explosion power hurt people? That building he blew up late in the show had to have people in it. Has Simon accidentally killed anyone?
These are the sort of unanswered questions that affect the enjoyment of the show. Him having super powers is central to the show. The show cannot exist without that point, but then that point is hidden from the audience. None of this makes any sense unless Simon has been using his powers in front of other people and it would make a better, more compelling story if the audience could see that.
Did you watch the show? They said he has ionic powers like in the comics that both he and the government don't fully understand. They established in this show that the government is keeping an eye on individuals with powers after Doorman, and in other Marvel shows they've shown that DODC is monitoring people with powers or people they suspect have powers like Simon. He blew up a building at night so the presumption is the building was empty. Not everyone needs every little detail spoon fed to them to enjoy a show.
How does the government know this, if Simon does not use his powers?
And no. His ionic powers are nothing like his comic book powers. I don't care about them being comic book accurate or anything, just that they have some sort of actual definition. Rather than whatever we need for that moment.
Marvel does have the issue that it contains many genres by now, from classic action iron man, to light hearted GoG and to the deeper, more philosophical thunderbolts or wonder man. Not all of that can be for everyone and that is absolutely okay, but to say it has little reason to exist or "underwhelming because no action" is simply false. (As long as the classic marvel formula still exists and the "classic fans" don't get neglected)
Where did you pick this pearl of wisdom from? Art always has a purpose.
Couple that with all 8 episodes being dumped at once and it's like Marvel wanted to get this thing out as fast as possible and move on.
The exceptions I felt were X-Men '97 and Daredevil: Born Again were unusually highly promoted relative to their respective categories. And on the other side, The Marvels was completely un-marketed for a movie, though half of that was because of the writers strikes.
Beyond that though, not much internet presence
They didn’t advertise this thing at all. Just dropped it to be binged and forgotten. Even Moon Knight got a weekly release.
This show was so good that I genuinely believe it should be winning Emmy’s. But I think we’ll find it ignored when they roll around and it will be a true crime.
Wonder Man is easily the best tv show they’ve ever made.
Wonder Man, Ant-Man/Wasp, She-Hulk and Shang Chi are all from California. Maybe it’s a sort of West Coast Avengers. Add Cap & Falcon and maybe (White) Vision and an Eternal (Sersei is a comic book Avenger; but Kingo or Makarri would work too). Big team though-maybe too big. Capable of handling an Age of Ultron type event, but cumbersome for story telling.
Honestly I think he could front a post-secret wars story line with others and build up to a new avengers movie.
This series is an outlier, from cinematography, narrative, color grading, production and soundtrack. The weakest episode is the last.
I just wish that Trevor mentioned what even happened in Shang-Chi.
I've had that problem before.
Wonder Man was a good show. Not everything needs to be a popcorn flick.
Give it a chance. Actually gets better from the first 2 episodes.
I'm a huge Sopranos fan too and literally yelled "Ralph!" when Joe popped up on the screen.
It would have been insane if Iron Heart had been released, and this masterpiece wasn't.
It’s not hard to square this away in your head but saddos online really want to make such a big deal out of it lol.
It just makes me wonder, man.
Also really liked the shorter episodes. I'm more inclined to watch 4 half-hour episodes than I am to watch 2 1-hour episodes.