'Wonder Man' Works as a Best Friends Studio Homage Parody
This show should be watched by everybody
Image Credit Disney+
I’ve been a Marvel fan for the better part of 30 years and have followed just about everything the company’s done since the late 90s. And I’ve noticed, for the past few years, Disney has all but abandoned the idea of its bombastic approach to marketing, as Marvel has quietly dropped off its vertical integration of selling you its… well, EVERYTHING, in the hopes that the brand itself does the heavy lifting.
Wonder Man feels like a beneficiary of that strategy. At least in the strangest of ways. It doesn’t need noise because it works because it’s a small yet comedically wholesome approach that looks at the studio system with a hint of superhero.
Like The Studio meets Heroes or even HBO’s Barry, but with superheroes instead of assassin drama, this is a tale about a working actor with a special ability; someone that’s just trying to live his life. It’s not a show that tries to be outright funny, but rather, embraces itself for what it is with confidence, and by the end of it, reveals itself to be an unusually well-written series. One that’s more interested in the people, and in character, than in spectacle.
The premise is an homage to Wonder Man as a character, where actor Simon Williams, played by the talented Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is an actor trying to land the lead role in Wonder Man, a remake of a beloved childhood IP. This Wonder Man, coincidentally, also happens to be a real, super-powered person, one who loved the original movie.
Unlike other Marvel shows, it doesn’t require MCU knowledge outside of the fact that Trevor Slattery, aka The Mandarin in Iron Man 3, who’s played by the legendary Ben Kingsley, used to be a fake domestic terrorist who’s returned back to his acting roots.
It’s a stack of meta concepts that should collapse under its own weight, but the writing keeps it grounded. With critics largely agreeing that the scripts are the show’s secret weapon, using Hollywood satire not as a gimmick but as a way to talk about insecurity, relevance, and the quiet panic of performers aging out of the spotlight. Which to be fair… is an important theme about the MCU that rarely gets addressed, as we’re looking at a juggernaut that started in 2008.
Almost 20 years ago.
Image Credit Disney+
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II brings a controlled vulnerability to Williams, while Ben Kingsley’s Trevor is really a solid redemption story. There are some serious laugh-out moments from both at times, but what works is how it both glamorizes and demonizes Hollywood, with sadness and humor that can often occupy the same breath.
Perhaps the best thing about the show is this chemistry between Kingsley and Abdul-Mateen II. An odd couple that works through the powers of best friendship. Their conversations feel lived-in, occasionally funny, though often bruising about the cruel natures of ‘making it’, in a series that gets vulnerable in ways Marvel television often lacks.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s a good deal highlighted about Haitan culture, Hollywood Studio parodies (Superman fans will find Zlatko Buric’s Von Kovac as brilliantly funny as a Hollywood director as he was a corrupt tyrant in that movie), and what the struggle of disappointment in an industry that asks you to always be yourself–despite the fact, that it’s littered with rejection. If anything, this is a love letter to working actors whose dream was to be in an MCU movie.
Ultimately, Wonder Man won’t satisfy anyone looking for constant action or universe-shaking stakes. Even some positive reviews note its low-key pacing. But that restraint is exactly what makes it stand out, and for a Marvel show that trusts its performers and lets Ben Kingsley remind everyone why giving a great actor room to breathe is still one of the most powerful special effects there is, this one shines through and through.
So go see Wonder Man streaming on Disney+ right now. Watch it if you’re wondering where you place in the world is regarding making art, or if curious, because you’d like to see the surprisingly good MCU introduction of a surprising superhero having fun with Josh Gad.
Also, shoutout to my boy Earl Baylon, who’s in the first 5 minutes of the series. Filipino friends represent!
;)
Christian Angeles is a writer and entertainment journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering comics, video games, and digital media. He was senior editor at The Beat during its Eisner Award–winning year and also served as managing editor of The Workprint. Outside of journalism, he writes comics and books.
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