"Let your misery drive the bus."
Marvel Television
Amusingly, Ben Kingsley's washed-up thespian turned fake Mandarin terrorist, first seen in Iron Man 3, Trevor Slattery, returns this time as Abdul-Mateen's acting sidekick. They team up in a fun satirical setup of a buddy comedy exploring their own version of the comic book movie industrial complex. Much of Wonder Man amusingly parallels the realities of show business by taking familiar elements then dialing them up to eleven.
In this world, anyone with special abilities is strictly prohibited from participating in any film or television production for liability and insurance reasons. This tension for Abdul-Mateen's over-eager Simon Williams anchors the series' basic premise as both a performer and superpowered individual trying to hide and suppress his true nature while auditioning to get his big break. We follow his desperate but comical efforts to get cast in the new big-screen adaptation of the title character in a highly-anticipated remake of a cheesy but beloved fictional 1980s comic book action movie.
As a standalone piece of superhero entertainment, Wonder Man refreshingly sets itself apart from the rest of Marvel's shared universe of characters without much prior awareness required. It features superpowers but is hardly a superhero show in the mould audiences are usually accustomed to. Abdul-Mateen impresses in a committed performance that's something both familiar and subversive within the massive Marvel banner—sans any random cameos or multiversal shenanigans.
Wonder Man's eight-episode season is available to stream on Disney+.
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