This could prove to be a tricky post to write. While I really liked Wonder Man, it's not the kind of series I usually have that much to say about. Though under the Marvel umbrella, it's not really that nerdy, but more of a straightforward drama about friendship. And that was what was surprising about it.
Not the lack of nerdiness, mind you. The marketing of this series made it clear that there would not be much superheroing going on, although one of the protagonists has superpowers. However, I did get the impression that the show would be a light-hearted comedy. I thought the setup of an art-house director taking on a superhero movie would be much more central to the plot than it was, and a source for friendly Hollywood satire and meta-humour.
And it is, up to a point. But the focus is on the friendship developing between Simon Williams, a young, serious American actor who has yet to catch a break, and Trevor Slattery, a has-been, cheerfully immoral British actor whose comeback is hampered by the fact that in the past he posed as a terrorist called The Mandarin.
Simon is losing gigs by over-analyzing his bit-parts, when he hears about a remake of an old cheesy superhero classic called Wonder Man. The old film has personal significance to him, and he feels he just has to get the starring role. The problem is, not only is he difficult to work with, he's also hiding his superpowers (which basically consist of blowing stuff up with ionic whatsits while remaining unscathed) as superpowered actors are more or less banned in Hollywood. Trevor, on the other hand, has been arrested for his past misdeeds by a policing agency (especially interested in superpowered people) called the DODC. He strikes a deal with them to get close to and dig out the dirt on Simon, who's already under suspicion. Only then, of course, he warms to Simon and no longer wants to sell him out.
Simon and Trevor becoming real friends is a given, but not the way it's depicted. I've always has a lot of time for Trevor (he also appeared in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), played with enjoyable lightness of touch by the Grand Old Man of drama Ben Kingsley. What I hadn't banked was that I'd care so much for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's troubled Simon. The power dynamic between the two actors is different from what I'd imagined it would be. In his previous appearances, Trevor Slattery was the comic relief, and the protagonists more or less rolled their eyes at him. Simon, though, looks up to him as a mentor and quickly realises what a good actor he is. Trevor ends up with the upper hand, and zero idea of what to do with it.
As someone stage-struck since childhood, I especially liked the acting-related parts of the plot – like Simon and Trevor bonding over favourite passages in plays (and films?), or art-house director Von Kovak's putting actors vying for the roles of Wonder Man and his sidekick Barnaby through barmy-seeming improv exercises. The improv brings forth some great acting from the hopefuls, and when Simon tries to fob Von Kovak off with something already scripted he calls him out immediately ("that was a scene from Pretty Woman"). Von Kovak's no fool.
The acting shenanigans are only part of it, though. I did not expect this series to lean so heavily into drama as it did. I caught myself thinking that if it hadn't been branded Marvel, I'd probably have thought it Too Serious for Me and not given it a chance. There's an episode where Simon attends his Haitian-born mother's birthday with Trevor in tow, and you realise what an outsider he has been most of his life, what with the neighbours barely making an effort to be civil and Simon's punchable successful brother showing his displeasure with the prodigal (Ma Williams stands by her boy, though). A self-contained episode shows the horrific incident involving DeMarr "Doorman" Davis which led to the Hollywood ban on superpowered people. Though it has its funny moments, the episode is mostly gut-wrenching as it shows the tragic rise and fall of a decent man who didn't even want to be famous.
Is it a little dishonest to float a show like this under the Marvel banner when it's so different from what you connect with Marvel (not just when it comes to superheroing but also fun and games)? Maybe, but as long as a show is good I don't think it has to excuse itself, and Wonder Man is good. I'm guessing it's thanks to the Marvel connection that the ending is as satisfying as it is instead of ultra-bleak, as it could very well have been in a different context. Simon, Trevor and their friendship will pull through – but the same can probably not be said for "Doorman" Davis.
