Marvel TV’s Wonder Man is a buddy comedy that subverts expectations, putting the focus on the relationship between Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery.<\/b>
\nWhen the first trailer for Wonder Man debuted, there was speculation that the Marvel TV series would tackle the topic of superhero fatigue. It seemed like a novel and meta concept that could work for a TV show, and at the same time bring a new Marvel Comics hero into the fold. There was a fair bit of zip to the promotional material \u2014 it was a little cheeky, and that felt refreshing in an era where some audiences do genuinely feel superhero fatigue.
What you might think Wonder Man is about and what it actually is about are likely not one and the same, but the good news is that Marvel\u2019s latest is a fantastic buddy comedy that does keep the hero stuff to a minimum. It leverages some interesting concepts surrounding the existence of enhanced humans in the MCU, but its focus is on something simpler in the grand scheme of things. When it comes down to it, Wonder Man is a buddy comedy that works mostly because its leads are so exceptional. The show surprises with how little it follows prior Marvel TV formulas, and what makes it different is what makes it special.
At its core, Wonder Man is a story about the struggle to make it in Hollywood. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, an actor who is over-prepared for every role he takes on, almost always to a fault. He\u2019s in his own head regardless of the job, and can\u2019t seem to get past a process that is off-putting to the creatives around him. Then he meets Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley), who MCU fans will know as the fake Mandarin, and Simon finds a mentor and a friend.
That\u2019s all you really need to know about Wonder Man. Yes, Simon has powers, and yes, the show tackles Slattery\u2019s past exploits, but it is the relationship between the two that makes the series sing. This isn\u2019t an origin story as we have seen in the MCU countless times before; it\u2019s the origin story of a friendship where one man has superpowers and the other pretended to be a terrorist. It\u2019s funny, it\u2019s heartfelt, and it paints a perfect picture of what it\u2019s like to be an actor seeking their big break.
The fun in Wonder Man is in watching how this relationship develops, and what colorful characters the duo comes across. We meet Williams’ family, some of Trevor’s colleagues, and the idiosyncratic director who is bringing Wonder Man back to the big screen, and each is more interesting than the next. You’re along for the ride as soon as the two link up, and Wonder Man knows how to leverage their dynamic for laughs, and even a few emotional beats.
Perhaps the biggest criticism I had with the show is that one of the beats feels played out for this type of story, but it resolves in an unexpected way that feeds back into building up the Williams\/Slattery relationship. And Kingsley and Abdul-Mateen II are just such a joy to watch together on screen. I know it has a lot of haters, but I loved how Slattery subverted expectations in Iron Man 3 and was excited to see him return for Shang-Chi. And now it’s no surprise to see Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton go back to the Trevor Slattery well and mine some more comedic gold.
I love how Wonder Man never puts an overt focus on Simon\u2019s powers. It is a key part of the story but it\u2019s never what drives things forward. With two excellent leading performances, a brisk pace that carefully peppers in exposition and world-building, and a clear heart at the center, Wonder Man takes a big swing by not going big. A few years ago, you would have expected the show to conclude with some big action scene where Williams embraces his role as Wonder Man and enters the MCU proper. Instead, by the end, you just want to see more of the adventures of Simon and Trevor. And I hope we do.
Wonder Man premieres January 27, 2026 on Disney+.<\/p>\n